The Mansfield Downtown Partnership is pleased to announce the headliner for its 21st Annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival is

JAKE KULAK and the MODERN VANDALS

Award-winning musician and guitar phenom, Jake Kulak has been performing professionally in front of audiences since the age of 12. Thrilling audiences from Norway to Boston, from Sydney to New York City, and down to the Mississippi Delta, Jake plays guitar-driven rock music which highlights his improvisational and jam abilities. Jake has spent five summers playing in the home of the Blues - Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Jake was voted Best Blues Band or Singer by The Hartford Courant’s CTNOW Reader’s Poll. He and his power trio were also nominated for a New England Music Award for “Best New Act of the Year.” In 2019, they competed all summer in the Foxwoods Resort Casino’s prestigious “Battle of the Bands” and took home the $10,000 Grand Prize award.

His original pop song “Better” and his rock tunes “Circles” and “Caution Tape” were all chosen as semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition, the “competition to take note of,” according to The New York Times. The band has won the Connecticut Blues Society Band Challenge and performed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Jake’s debut album, Get Faded and Go, was recognized in The Hartford Courant’s “Best Album by CT Musicians.” 

Jake is a cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston with concentrations in guitar performance, songwriting and music business, along with a minor in philosophy. He has been inducted into the Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame.

“Connecticut native Jake Kulak and his power trio are a must-see act no matter what size stage they are taking. Kulak is a fiery blues musician with an old soul and a rock aesthetic who wows crowds with his guitar work...they are sure to get the attention of everyone in earshot.“ ”
— The Hartford Courant

Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals will perform from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on the stage of the Jeffrey P. Ossen Family Foundation Pavilion on Betsy Paterson Square.

Visitors are invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair. Refreshments will be available for purchase from the Festival food booths and at Downtown Storrs restaurants.

Please note: Alcohol and smoking/vaping are prohibited on the Square.

The Celebrate Mansfield Festival is free and open to everyone.

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