Berklee at the Boston Book Festival

The Berklee community reads music—and more. Professor Livingston Taylor and other Berklee bands will take the stage at the inaugural Boston Book Festival in Copley Square on Saturday, October 24, 2009.

Five student and alumni acts are slated to perform from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the main outdoor stage: bluegrass mandolinist Sierra Hull; singer/songwriter Liz Longley; the jazz, pop, hip-hop, and r&b-inflected Berklee City Music All-Stars; Berklee's Bob Marley Ensemble; and bluesman Johnny Duke and the Aces.

On Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m., singer/songwriter and Berklee faculty member Livingston Taylor headlines Boston Out Loud at Trinity Church, a festival-eve celebration of music and the spoken word. After an introduction by mayor Thomas Menino, who will read a passage from his favorite book, Taylor will perform and discuss the craft of songwriting with WBUR's Robin Young. Tickets for this concert are $12.

The festival's amazing lineup includes presentations and panels with 90 internationally known writers, scholars, critics, and commentators, among them Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, Richard Russo, Anita Diamant, John Hodgman, Dennis Lehane, Cornel West, actor Alicia Silverstone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Skip Gates, and Jill Lepore; a focus on technology as it relates to reading; and writing workshops and competitions. Outdoors on the Copley Square plaza, exhibitors will include the Children's Museum, E-Ink, and 826 Boston. 

Unless otherwise noted, all festival events are free and open to the public with no reservations required. The festival will run from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both outdoors and at indoor locations including the Boston Public Library at 700 Boylston Street, Old South Church at 645 Boylston Street, and Trinity Church at 206 Clarendon Street. Visit bostonbookfest.org for more information and to purchase tickets for Boston Out Loud.