By Gianna Volpe
Grammy Hall-of-Famer Nile Rodgers seems to have taken a liking to the East End.
Not only has Mr. Rodgers been the celebrity backbone behind two of the most successful concerts in recent North Fork history, but the composer, producer, arranger and guitarist is scheduled to return to the region next weekend for a series of events aimed at both educating and promoting local musicians, artists and organizations.
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Niles Rodgers[/caption]
Last summer Mr. Rodgers returned to Martha Clara Vineyards to hold the first in his production company's “Freak Out Let's Dance” concert series after headlining a 2013 concert benefitting All For The East End. The “Chic” co-founder plans to perform again at the Entenmann family's Riverhead property this August for the second New York installment of his production company's expanding FOLD festival.
This Saturday, Mr. Rodgers will announce the musical line-up for this summer's FOLD concert during a press conference at Riverhead's Suffolk Theater — the first of two separate East End venues where he can be found on May 7 — following the musical icon's Master Class presentation on both navigating and succeeding in today's music industry, among other topics like musical composition.
“Nile suggested doing the Master’s Class to benefit East End Arts,” the local non-profit organization's
executive director Pat Snyder said in an April 20 interview. “He is absolutely the type to give back...He's the kind of celebrity we want to have; someone that uses his celebrity for good.”
Ms. Snyder said the writer of Sister Sledge's song, “We are Family” started the “We Are Family Foundation,” which has, according to the organization's website, built “17 schools in four of the world's most illiterate countries” to combat a startling statistic claiming that more than one-quarter of the world's adult population is considered illiterate.
“It's all about world peace and making opportunities for kids all over the world,” Ms. Snyder said of the We Are Family Foundation, which has its own gala coming up on Friday, April 29, at the Manhattan Center's Hammerstein Ballroom. The WAFF website says, while Mr. Rodgers started the non-profit in 2001 to help promote civic pride among American citizens following 9/11, its mission has since grown beyond the nation's borders in favor of a more globalist approach to “inspire and educate the next generation about respect, understanding and cultural diversity.”
Ms. Snyder said the innovative musical pioneer's philanthropy for all people across the planet seems to go wherever he does, meaning his passions have already begun to include Riverhead.
“Nile believes in supporting local organizations,” she said of how Nile Rodgers Productions began working closely with East End Arts this winter, adding it was Mr. Rodgers' personal suggestion to hold the “Master Class” before the non-profit’s May 7 gala at the East Wind in Wading River, where the music legend will also give the keynote address.
“He gives back where he can...Because of the conversations I've had with Nile Rodgers Productions, we're going to be doing what we call an ‘emerging artist project’ where musicians, bands and solo performers can submit a video of 2-5 minutes to Nile and be considered to play on the stage at FOLD, so that's pretty big.”
The initiative providing local performers the chance to apply online for the opportunity to share a stage with world-class acts will be rolled out the first week in May, according to Ms. Snyder.
For more information about the Nile Rodgers Master Class, visit the Suffolk Theater's website www.suffolktheater.com or call the box office (631) 727-4343. For more information about the East End Arts ARTworks gala, visit www.eastendarts.org, send an email to info@eastendarts.org, or call 631-727-0900.
For more information about We Are Family Foundation's 2016 Celebration Gala, visit www.wearefamilyfoundation.org.
