The JVC Jazz Festival-Newport was a client for 21 years. Photo: Sue Auclair
Michel Camilo and his lovely wife Sandra have been close friends with Sue over the years, working with her at Newport, at Scullers Jazz Club and at The Tanglewood Jazz Festival.
photo: Sue Auclair
After Sue went to a private party in 2014 held by the new “buyers” of The Cabot, she wrote a plan to manage and run The Cabot along with promoter Fred Taylor and her friend Casey Soward. About a year or so later, the project came on board and Sue recommended Casey to become the Executive Director. Together, Soward and Auclair launched the nearly 100 year old theatre with Soward raising renovation funding and overseeing bookings and more while Auclair’s contacts, tons of experience and fine tuned skills at marketing and public relations, put the place securely on the map.
photo: Sue Auclair
One of the key features of Sue Auclair’s successful efforts for The Cabot was getting various artists like Dweezil Zappa, Darlene Love and Judy Collins on Boston Public Radio with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan.
photo by Eric Antoniou
Darlene’s annual Christmas shows became a “must-see” event in Beverly. Promoter Fred Taylor booked her a featured artist to “make a big statement” after Auclair and Soward had taken the reins at the theatre.
Auclair put together a robust press party with Darlene attending and coverage that circulated around the country and also with a story on the BBC’s The World, internationally.
photo by eric antoniou
The Indigo Girls had performed at the Women’s March in Washington after Donald Trump became President. Suddenly, their careers were revived and this show at The Cabot sold out in 3 days.
It was a wonderful moment backstage when the “girls” reconnected with Sue Auclair who had worked with them at The Newport Folk Festival for decades.
photo by sue auclair
photo by eric antoniou
photo by eric antoniou
New Year’s Eve 2018/2019. Sue’s final night at The Cabot. Wolf gave her kudos from on stage saying, “Without Sue Auclair, we wouldn’t be here tonight!”
photo by sue auclair
Concerts on The Common was not a client of Sue Auclair, but she had backstage access and photo credentials . . .
Symphony Hall concert 1987
photo by sue auclair | JVC Jazz Festival was a client for 21 years. Eartha Kitt was added to the festival a week before the lineup was announced, as a replacement for another artist and at the recommendation of Sue Auclair.
The Casino concert sold out after Sue created a huge media buzz by getting Eartha to attend the champagne breakfast press conference in early May and arranging for exclusive extended interviews with Associated Press Television and one Providence TV station. At the breakfast, Eartha appropriately gave a Catwoman “growl” to the audience and told everyone “how happy I am to be back at Newport.” No one knew she had ever performed there previously, including George Wein, but she said that she had danced with The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band at the very first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954!
photo by sue auclair
photo by sue auclair
For nine years, a dedicated Reuters Television crew featuring producer Justin Kenny and cameraman Greg covered the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport with key artist performance footage and one-on-one interviews backstage inside the crumbling rooms at Fort Adams. Their work, along with Sue’s devotion to getting clearances for footage and interviews with key artists, allowed television footage to circulate around the globe every year, giving the festival international television coverage every year at TV stations subscribing to Reuters.
photo by eric antoniou
photo by sue auclair
Nancy Wilson had been Sue’s idol as a teenager. She sang with so much emotion and fire. This shot was snapped at Scullers Jazz Club at one of its sold out shows.
Backstage at Boston Symphony Hall in the 1980s . . .
photo by sue auclair
photo by Sue Auclair
The Starlight Roof was a joyous little club on Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square on the top floor of the old Howard Johnson’s hotel. Booker Buck Spurr and publicist Sue Auclair launched the spot back in the mid ‘80s with artists such as Annie Ross, Carol Sloane, Vance Gilbert, George Wein, Dakota Staton and many others.
One of the club’s highlights was the launch of a “Rising Star” series in which comedians, singers, jugglers and magicians performed over a 12 week period and members of the press and media were invited to be judges! At the end, there would be 6 finalists and one lucky winner would get huge press coverage and prizes. This was an early and much smaller form of “America’s Got Talent.”
Before a concert at The Orpheum Theatre in Boston, KISS 108 FM had one of the very first cell phones and volunteered to meet James Brown at the Delta Airlines terminal at Logan International Airport. Sue is on the right with her clipboard as Brown—complete with fur coat and red sunglasses—called his Mother before doing the interview . . . “Hey Ma! How ya doing?”
June 26, 2021 is the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis's comeback in Boston at KIX. It was also the start of Sue's work with Fred Taylor. A friend of a friend, David Greenleaf, framed this ticket stub and gave it to Sue over a dinner gathering at La Voile. Amazing!