Highmount, NY * Motown legends The Spinners, red-hot country superstar Josh Turner and 19-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny are among the headliners for this summer’s Belleayre Music Festival.

Rock Hall of Fame nominees The Spinners will roll out their repertoire of timeless hits to get the Belleayre Music Festival’s 21st season off to a nostalgic start on Saturday, July 7 at p.m. The Spinners’ classic group sound and approach remains universally appealing more than five decades after the band burst onto the pop and R&B charts. The group has garnered 12 gold records on the strength of hit singles like “Rubberband Man,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “I’ll Be Around” and Could It Be I’m Falling in Love-” and “Working My Way Back to You.”

The Spinners, 2012 Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame nominess, put the “S” in soul and their irresistible beats are remix favorites for many DJs Including Fatboy Slim. Original members Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough are joined onstage by lead singer Charlton Washington, Jessie Peck, Marvin Taylor and a soul-infused five-piece band.

The entertainment takes a different turn when the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store presents Josh Turner on Saturday, July 14 at 8 p.m.
Josh Turner is one of country music’s most consistent hit-makers. His latest chart-topper is “Time is Love,” the first single from his new album. “All Over Me,” the second single from his latest album “Haywire,” was chosen as BMI’s 2011 “Song of the Year” and was one of ASCAP’s “Top Five Most Played Songs.” His previous single, the 4-week No. 1 hit “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” was the Most Played Song of the Year for 2010. Josh has have sold over five million albums and been nominated for two Grammy awards.

Tony Award-Winner Christine Ebersole graces the Belleayre stage on Saturday, July 21 at 8 p.m. She received virtually every Off-Broadway award and her second Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her “dual role of a lifetime” as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beale in “Grey Gardens.” Other memorable stage performances include her Tony Award-winning performance as Dorothy Brock in the smash hit revival “42nd Street.”

The Belleayre Festival Opera presents the Puccini masterpiece “LaBoheme” on Saturday, July 28 at 8 p.m. Donald Westwood’s spectacular new production, produced exclusively for the Belleayre Music Festival, features a cast of today’s most gifted young opera stars, led by Diana McVey, Violetta in last season’s magnificent “La Traviata.” Performed in Italian with SuperTitles. The audience and be transported to 19th-century Paris via the world’s favorite Puccini opera, performed by a company of 50 singers and musicians including members of Richard Tucker’s Community Chorale of the Catskills.

New York City’s hottest tribute jazz band Ed Palermo’s Frank Zappa Little Big Band will get the Catskill Mountain Jazz Series started on Friday, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. At Ed Palermo’s Big Band shows, listeners might hear Zappa, Hendrix, the blues of Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield or one of Ed’s own compositions, loaded with lush turns and unexpected twists.

The jazz series continues on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. with M.F. Production’s Celebration of Lionel Hampton featuring Jason Marsalis & Dianne Schuur. Two-time Grammy winner, jazz singer Diane Schuur and youngest of the Marsalis brothers percussionist Jason Marsalis lead an all-star jazz ensemble in a memorable tribute to Lionel Hampton who played the Belleayre Music Festival with his big band 17 years ago.

The final weekend of Belleayre’s jazz series gets underway with Stefon Harris and Blackout bringing to the stage their unique jazz for the “Here and Now” sound on Friday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of he most important young artists in jazz.” He is a three-time Grammy nominee and has earned six Best Mallet Player selections by the Jazz Journalist Association.

The Pat Metheny Unity Band with Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez and Ben Williams closes out the Catskill Mountain Jazz Series in scintillating style on Saturday, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. Nineteen-time Grammy winner and Downbeat Poll’s #1 Guitarist, Pat Metheny has been acclaimed by critics and fans alike as “the most outstanding jazz guitarist of his generation.” Pat’s versatility is almost nearly without peer on any instrument. He has performed with artists as diverse as Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and David Bowie.

“America’s Got Talent” sensations The Texas Tenors bring their irresistible act to Belleayre on Saturday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. The Texas Tenors skyrocketed to national fame as the top vocal act in the history the “America’s Got Talent” hit TV show.The group won the hearts of millions with their melodic three-part harmonies and Texas charm in 2009.

Carolines Presents Comedy in the Catskills starring Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. Susie Essman has played the sassy Susie Greene for all seven seasons of the critically-acclaimed HBO comedy series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Her hilarious bouts of withering sarcasm and uninhibited insults have become her character’s trademark. She is also a featured headliner at Caroline’s Comedy club in NYC. The Los Angeles Times calls Susie, “The most lyrical purveyor of profanity on television. She makes the entire cast of The Sopranos look like rank amateurs. It really is a gift.” Her appearance at Belleayre will be an “adults only” event, with the promise of a full evening of off-color, uproarious humor.

Classic rock rules on Labor Day weekend when “America’s No. 1 Tribute Show,” The Music of Led Zeppelin – Rock Symphony, concludes the Belleayre season on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. Bridging the gulf between rock-n-roll and classical music, conductor/arranger Brent Havens takes the podium to present “The Music of Led Zeppelin,” a soaring, orchestral interpretation of some of rock’s most classic tunes. Performed by a full orchestra and amplified with a full rock band and the Robert Plant-like vocals of Randy Jackson, Havens and his ensemble capture Led Zeppelin’s “sheer blast and power” riff for riff while cranking out new musical colors. The two-plus-hour concert features 18 Zeppelin tunes, including “Stairway to Heaven,” “Heartbreaker,” “Black Dog” and “Immigrant Song.”

Festival info
Tickets go on sale April 15 via Ticketmaster. For additional information, please call 800 942-6904, ext. 1344 or visit: www.belleayremusic.org or e-mail: [email]belleayremusicfestival@gmail.com[/email]

For information on where to stay, dine, shop or to simply enjoy the great outdoors when you’re in town for the Belleayre Music Festival, please visit: www.catskillhighpeaks.com, www.ulstertourism.info or www.greatwesterncatskills.com .

Belleayre Music Festival concerts are held on the grounds of Belleayre Mountain in Highmount.

Belleayre Mountain is located in the heart of New York’s Catskill Mountain region. The area is located just off Route 28 and is 37 miles west of Thruway Exit 19 at Kingston; 55 miles southeast of Oneonta on Route 28; 40 miles from the Route 17 exit at Roscoe; and 95 miles southwest of Albany and just two hours north of NYC.