Oyster Festival headliners announced

NORWALK, Conn. — The musical headliners slated to perform on the Norwalk Oyster Festival’s “Built Ford Proud” stage Friday Sept. 8 through Sunday Sept. 10 at Veterans Park have been announced:

• Gary LeVox, whose legendary chart-topping trio Rascal Flatts provided the blueprint for today’s genre-crossing Nashville style, will deliver a pastiche of Rascal Flatts hits intermixed with his own new material. During an unprecedented 20 years of nonstop recording and touring, Rascal Flatts sold 27 million albums and 11 million concert tickets, scored 17 #1 singles, and notched several billion streams on Spotify and Apple Music.  Opener J.D. Leonard, a powerful country rocker is also a must-see.  Saturday, 6 p.m.

• John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, veteran crowd-pleasers best known for their enduring 1983 top 10 hit “On the Dark Side” and triple platinum Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack album, still bring the fun with a full tank of hard rock energy and showmanship.  Local favorites BadBoy will kick things off.  Sunday, 3 p.m.

• Mullett, a nationally-known 80s-style “hair band” tribute act will replicate classic hits by the likes of Van Halen, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Journey, Poison, and others of that ilk.  Longtime Stamford-based rock & soul outfit Pimpinella will open. Friday, 7 p.m.

Festival Chairman and Norwalk Seaport Association President Mike Reilly said, “We are so excited to bring Gary LeVox, a world-class entertainer to the Norwalk Oyster Festival to help us celebrate our 45^th annual Festival.   Mr. Levox’s award-winning songs and legendary voice promise guests a show with all the hits that people love from Rascal Flatts plus some new stuff that they haven’t heard yet, making this performance one they will remember for years.”

Along with the music, festival-goers will find two new special attractions:

• The WOW Water Circus, featuring a daringly unique high-speed Jet Ski aerial act that is as unique as it is thrilling.
• Canines in the Clouds, an enactment of a canine journey “from a shelter to stardom” in which athletic dogs perform unique gravity-defying stunts. The audience can meet and greet the dogs after the show.

According to a news release, tickets are now on sale at seaport.org,  and will also be available at the festival gate.  Discounted ride wristbands will be offered on Saturday and Sunday — and on Sunday, children under 12 will be admitted for free.

Chairman Reilly said, “The Norwalk Oyster Festival, now in its 45^th year, is the last big event that takes place before the end of the summer. It’s a great family-fun event that won’t break the bank because all the entertainment is included with the price of the ticket! To make it more affordable for families we offer discounted ride wristbands on Saturday and Sunday, and best of all, kids under 12 get in free on Sunday…it’s our way of giving back to all our supporters.  The Festival is very important to the Seaport Association because it is our major fundraiser for Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Connecticut’s maritime icon. We couldn’t put this festival together without the support of our many sponsors including our Presenting Sponsor, First County Bank and Ford, for our “Built Ford Proud Stage.”