Ronnie Milsap, The Temptations, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Symphony to Highlight SVMF Summer Season.

“Legendary” is the word to describe the lineup at the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival’s 2010 summer concert series.

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The season includes established legends – Ronnie Milsap, owner of 40 number 1 hits on various county and pop charts; The Temptations, kings of the Motown sound will appear with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra; five-time Grammy Award winning singer songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter plays in August and one of Ireland’s most popular folk rock bands, the Saw Doctors includes the Orkney Springs concert venue on its summer tour in Auguust.  Those musicians are joined by soon-to-be legends Celtic Crossroads, Israeli pianist Alon Goldstein with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Cherryholmes, the first family of bluegrass and the legendary swing sounds of The Tom Cunningham Orchestra.

In all, the Festival will present eight concerts on the grounds of the old Orkney Springs Hotel, a national historic landmark property now owned by the Shrine Mont Camp and Conference Center in Orkney Springs, Va., in southwestern Shenandoah County.

• Ronnie Milsap, Friday, July 23, at 8 p.m.
Ronnie Milsap ranks as the preeminent country/soul singer of his generation with seven Grammy Awards, eight Country Music Association Awards; four Academy of Country Music Awards and numerous other accolades, in addition to those 40 number 1 hits. Ticket prices are $42 reserved pavilion and $37 general admission lawn.

• Celtic Crossroads, Saturday, July 24, at 8 p.m.
Celtic Crossroads is critically acclaimed as the most exhilarating and authentic show to come from Ireland in decades. It is an explosion of youthful energy and dazzling musicianship. The group fuses traditional Irish music, bluegrass, gypsy and jazz and pulsates with the rhythms of exciting Irish dance percussion. Tickets are $30 reserved pavilion and $25 general admission lawn.

• The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, with Alon Goldstein pianist, Friday July 30, at 8 p.m. Conductor Christopher Zimmerman makes his Orkney Springs debut with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra with an exhilarating journey through the 20th Century’s post-romantic period world. The program will include rich nationalistic dances from Latin and Mediterranean cultures and other pieces based on the tango, flamenco and the sensuous, exotic and jazz-like Parisian sounds of the 1920s. Goldstein will play Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G.” He is widely admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality. Tickets are $40 in the preferred pavilion; $35 in the regular pavilion and $30 general admission lawn.

• The Temptations with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Saturday, July 31, at 8 p.m.
Icons of American music, The Temptations have brought rhythm and blues music to a mainstream popular audience for more than 40 years. The history of The Temptations is the history of contemporary American pop music. The band, lead by the only surviving original, Otis Williams, has created hits that include “My Girl,” and “Ain’t To Proud to Beg.” Tickets are $42, preferred pavilion; $37, regular pavilion and $32 general admission lawn.

• Mary Chapin Carpenter, Friday, August 13, at 8 p.m.
Since rising to stardom in Washington D.C.’s music scene during the early 1980s, Mary Chapin Carpenter has made 12 albums, won five Grammy Awards and has sold more than 13 million records. This is her first visit to the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival and she’ll be playing music from her newest album, “The Age of Miracles.” Tickets are $45 reserved pavilion and $40 general admission lawn.

• The Saw Doctors, Saturday, August 14, at 8 p.m.
A true “people’s band,” this Irish supergroup from County Galway holds the record for their homeland’s biggest selling single. They charted number one there as recently as October, 2008 and are known for their fervent following in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Tickets are $32 reserved pavilion and $27 general admission lawn.

• Cherryholmes, with special guest Drymill Road, Saturday, September 4, at 7 p.m.
For the second year in a row, the Cherryholmes family brings its unique bluegrass style to the Music Festival. The Cherryholmes style consists of hard driving instrumental virtuosity and explosive vocal harmonies, featuring a mixture of carefully chosen classics and original songs written by members of the band. Tickets are $27 reserved pavilion and $22 general admission lawn.

• The Tom Cunningham Orchestra, Sunday, September 5, at 7 p.m.
This orchestra is acknowledged as the top swing band in the Washington D.C. area. The band’s resume is impressive – it has played at the Smithsonian Institution, The Barns at Wolf Trap, Blues Alley and its television appearances have included BET’s Jazz Central. The Washington Post says the band is “…bound to please.” Tickets are $25 reserved pavilion and $20 general admission.