Mountain Man in Concert

We were delighted to present the intimate harmonies of Mountain Man, which comprises three devoted friends—Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig—who in 2018 released their highly anticipated second album, Magic Ship, a magnetic fourteen-song reflection on the joys, follies, and oddities of existence. In the eight years since Mountain Man’s debut Made the Harbor, the trio took an unintentional hiatus. Amelia Meath created the electro-pop band Sylvan Esso with Nick Sanborn. Molly Sarlé headed for a Zen center along the California coast. And Sauser-Monnig returned to Minnesota, then decamped to a farm in the North Carolina mountains.

William Tyler in Concert

William Tyler has been hailed as one of Nashville’s greatest electric guitarists, but on his brand-new album, Goes West, he returns to the purity of acoustic guitar, backed by a band that includes guitarists Meg Duffy and Bill Frisell, bassist and producer Brad Cook, keyboardist James Wallace, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, and engineer Tucker Martine.

Rebecca Makkai and Christopher Castellani in Conversation

Authors Rebecca Makkai and Christopher Castellani discussed their latest novels, both capturing pivotal historical moments in gay history. Makkai’s The Great Believers, listed by the New York Times as one of the Best 10 Books of 2018, is about friendship and redemption in 1980s Chicago, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, and in contemporary Paris. Castellani’s Leading Men, a historical novel inspired by the romance between Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, is set in 1950s Italy and modern-day New York and Provincetown. Dwight Garner of the New York Times declared it a “blazing” success, “an alert, serious, sweeping novel. To hold it in your hands is like holding . . . a front-row opera ticket.”

Alex Kotlowitz and Adam Moss in Conversation

In his most recent book, An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago, acclaimed journalist Alex Kotlowitz once again takes up the subject of youth, poverty, and gun violence in urban America that he explored so powerfully in There Are No Children Here. Joining him at the Hawthorne barn discuss his work and the issues it tackles was Adam Moss, whose fifteen years of innovative work as editor-in-chief of New York Magazine made it the must-read that it is today.

Stonewall 50: Matthew Riemer, Leighton Brown, and Garrard Conley in Conversation

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we hosted a conversation featuring Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown, creators of Instagram’s @lgbt_history, and acclaimed author Garrard Conley (Boy Erased). The three authors and activists discussed Riemer and Brown’s wildly popular @lgbt_history page and their debut book, We Are Everywhere, a rich and sweeping photographic history of the Queer Liberation Movement, along with Garrard Conley’s best-selling memoir. Boy Erased was adapted for the 2018 film of the same name, as well as the podcast UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America. Their shared experience casts a powerful light on the LGBTQ+ community’s hardships in the past, its challenges for the future, and what Stonewall means to us today.

Jeffrey Foucault & Kris Delmhorst in Concert

Americana singer-songwriters Jeffrey Foucault and Kris Delmhorst may be husband and wife, but each has a distinctive sound and an extensive arsenal of songs to share. They shared the Twenty Summers stage to perform songs from each of their collections of music.

Mirah in Concert

Veteran independent singer-songwriter Mirah joins us for a duo set in which she and a fellow musician share work from her vast collection of songs. Her 2018 album Understanding, her sixth full-length solo record and third release through her Absolute Magnitude Recordings, marks a return to her early, unconventional recording process, celebrating a spirited imperfection that embraces rough first takes, natural room sounds, and a fair amount of broken equipment.

Sidney Gish in Concert

Sidney Gish is a singer-songwriter and full-time student with a wry sense of humor in Boston, where she's been recording and releasing her own work since 2015. She dropped her first album, Ed Buys Houses, in 2016 and No Dogs Allowed this year.

Darlingside in Concert

Boston-based indie folk quartet Darlingside brought their signature superpower harmonies to Provincetown. Darlingside draws frequent comparisons to late-sixties groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Byrds, yet their penchant for science fiction and speculative futurism shows their aesthetic to be anything but "retro." NPR Music describes the four friends’ collaborative work as "exquisitely arranged, literary-minded baroque folk-pop" and pronounces their album Extralife "perfectly crafted."

Taylor Ashton in Concert

Taylor Ashton grew up surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the old-growth rainforests of Canada's west coast. His songs are inspired by the crooked primeval funk of traditional old-time music, the humor and heartbreak of Randy Newman, the cosmic emotionality of mid-career Joni Mitchell, and the sage vulnerability of Bill Withers.

Monica Lewinsky and Ari Melber in conversation

Social activist, public figure, and author Monica Lewinsky will join us for an intimate conversation in the Hawthorne Barn with Emmy Award–winning journalist and NBC host Ari Melber. Together, they will reflect on matters both public and private related to the culture of bullying and how public perspective on women’s stories has evolved in the #MeToo era. And as a one time key witness in the Ken Starr investigation of President Clinton, Lewinsky will share her unique (and very timely) insights on how an independent counsel probe of the White House works.

Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky is a social activist, a global public speaker, a consultant and contributing editor to Vanity Fair. She advocates for a safer social media environment and addresses such topics as digital resilience, privacy, cultivating compassion, overcoming shame, and equality for women. Her 2015 TED talk, “The Price of Shame,” has been viewed nearly 14 million times. She has also spoken at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit and given the Ogilvy + Inspire Lecture at Cannes Lions. In her national work against bullying, Lewinsky created the campaigns #ClickWithCompassion and #DefyTheName. She is a founding board member of the Childhood Resilience Foundation, an advisory board member of Project Rockit, and an ambassador for The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Program and Bystander Revolution.

Ari Melber, an attorney and writer, is the host of “The Beat with Ari Melber,” which airs nightly on MSNBC at 6:00 p.m. EST. He also serves as MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent and an NBC News legal analyst. Melber received a 2016 Emmy Award for his reporting on the Supreme Court.

*Note: This event was completely off-record meaning no video or audio recording devices were permitted.

Sponsored by: Mass Cultural Council

Season Five Trailer

Watch the teaser for Twenty Summers' event videos from its 2018 season of concerts and conversations. Season Five features concerts with Kevin Morby, Dar Williams, Bedouine, Martha Wainwright, John Gorka, Marissa Nadler, and Overcoats; conversations with fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi with actor Alan Cumming, journalists Jodi Kantor and Andrew Sullivan, authors Michael Cunningham and Daniel Mendelsohn, poets Robert Pinsky and Monica Youn, and playwright J.T. Rogers with journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran; plus a theatrical reading of the play POLLOCK.

Isaac Mizrahi and Alan Cumming in Conversation (full)

We were delighted to host award-winning performer and author Alan Cumming interviewing the outrageously versatile Isaac Mizrahi, fashion legend turned actor-director-TV host on Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Provincetown's Hawthorne Barn. Their conversation featured tales from the upbringing and prolific careers of both men, each a unique persona in his field, focusing on Mizrahi's second-act success in the entertainment industry.

Kevin Morby in Concert - Full Concert

Singer-songwriter Kevin Morby performed solo in the Hawthorne Barn in Provincetown, Mass. as part of Twenty Summers' annual month-long arts festival.

Martha Wainwright in Concert - Full Concert

On Saturday, May 19, 2018, performer and songwriter Martha Wainwright shared her distinctive voice and arsenal of powerful songs in the Hawthorne Barn in Provincetown, Mass. as part of Twenty Summers' annual month-long arts festival. The solo performance featured her on an acoustic guitar, performing new and old material, including fan favorites "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" and "Proserpina," and telling intimate stories along the way.

Dar Williams Select Songs: "Iowa," "The Christians And The Pagans," "When I Was A Boy"

Singer-songwriter, performing artist, and author, Dar Williams, joined us for a solo concert in the Hawthorne Barn on May 26, 2018, where she shared her music from her extensive collection of folk tunes, along with stories from her many journeys and experiences. Below you can watch select songs, "Iowa," "The Christians And The Pagans," and "When I Was A Boy."

J.T. Rogers and Rajiv Chandrasekaran in Conversation (full)

Tony Award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers (Oslo) and seasoned foreign correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran (National Book Award finalist for Imperial Life in the Emerald City) sat together on June 9, 2018 in the Hawthorne Barn to discuss the intersection of politics, war, journalism, and art.

Dar Williams in Concert (full)

Seasoned singer-songwriter, performing artist, and author, Dar Williams, joined us for a solo concert in the Hawthorne Barn on May 26, 2018, where she shared her music from her extensive collection of folk tunes, along with stories from her many journeys and experiences.

J.T. Rogers and Rajiv Chandrasekaran: Select Topics

Tony Award–winning playwright J.T. Rogers (Oslo) and seasoned foreign correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran (National Book Award finalist for Imperial Life in the Emerald City) sat together on June 9, 2018 in the Hawthorne Barn to discuss the intersection of politics, war, journalism, and art. In these select topics, they talk about how they evoke characters and places in their writing, balancing facts and creativity, and how they keep their optimism when working on challenging topics.

Bedouine Select Songs: "Solitary Daughter," "One Of These Days," "Louise"

Syrian-born, Los Angeles-based songstress Azniv Korkejian, known onstage as Bedouine, performed in the Hawthorne Barn on June 15, 2018, sharing her modernized take on sixties folk and an arsenal of beautiful songs, including the songs 'Solitary Daughter,' ‘One Of These Days,’ and ‘Louise’ from her debut album.