‘Eight to the Bar’ Kicks Off First Friday at the New Britain Museum of American Art
The fall season of First Friday kicked off at the New Britain Museum of American Art on October 7th. The event featured a variety of activities from live musicians to local bites and beverages. This month, the Museum featured a performance by highly acclaimed jazz band Eight to the Bar, named “Best Live Band” by Hartford Magazine in 2014. Guests could “travel back in time” by listening to the band’s jazz and swing hits of the forties as well as fifties blues. Visitors also had the opportunity to enjoy an acoustic blend of Americana, folk, and bluegrass performed by Lindsey Fyfe and Dan Tressler of The Bluegrass Pals.
First Friday, as its name describes, is a great way to kick off the new month, and, in this case, the season. Speaking of seasons, this month’s local food vendor, Sazon Seasonings, brought out the flavor of fall by offering samples of their hand-blended seasonings, gourmet salts, herbs, and more.
Admission is $10 for Members and $15 for non-Members and includes entrance to the Museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, snacks, soft drinks (including the monthly specialty drink; this month’s concoction was Bat’s Brew), and entertainment. Beer, wine, and cocktails are served at a cash bar for $5.
The New Britain Museum of American Art, at 56 Lexington Street, in New Britain, is the first art institution in the United States dedicated solely to acquiring American art. Spanning four centuries of American history, the Museum’s permanent collection is renowned for its strengths in colonial portraiture, the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, the Ash Can School, as well as the important mural series The Arts of Life in America by Thomas Hart Benton. The singular focus on American art and its panoramic view of American artistic achievement, realized through the Museum’s extensive permanent collection, exhibitions, and educational programming, make the New Britain Museum of American Art a significant resource for a broad and diverse public.
