MILLBROOK — Despite the damp, dreary January weather, the Millbrook Free Library was warm and lively with the sounds of The Carnival Band, a reggae and calypso steel drum trio, on Saturday, Jan. 12. The concert kicked off the Millbrook Free Library’s Around the World in Three Nights, a series of free musical concerts and gallery talks at the library.The Carnival Band was upbeat, getting attendees involved and on their feet. Everyone seemed to be doing the limbo while children waited anxiously for a chance to play the steel drums. The Carnival Band also educated attendees about the instruments they were using. The band talked about the history and culture of the Caribbean, focusing on Jamaica, Trinidad and Haiti. In addition to the music there was also work by visual artists Karen Caton and Stacie Flint in the library’s Off The Wall Gallery. There was a brief gallery talk by the artists in the beginning before attendees enjoyed the Calypso music. The Millbrook Arts Group and Millbrook Free Library teamed together to host the evening of music and art — free and fun for the entire family.“The Dutchess County Arts Council gave the Millbrook library a grant for us to put this together, said Teressa DelCampo, Millbrook Arts Group board member and Barrett Art Center secretary and press liaison. “It started last year with the collaboration of the Millbrook Arts Group and the library. This year we thought we would tie in the Barrett Art Center with our organization. So all the artists that are in this series are all Barrett Art Center members.”DelCampo said the artwork that was chosen for the gallery was colorful and vibrant, which she felt was a perfect match to accompany the music.“Last year we did a classical theme, but this year we wanted more of a variety. We already built the trust in our audience that they know it will be a good turnout with good music,” said DelCampo. “It’s important to get out to see some great art and have it all come together for free.”The Carnival Band rocked the house, transporting attendees from Millbrook to the shores of the Caribbean. Attendee Diane Schnoor said it is beneficial to have events such as these in the community to bring people out of their houses during the winter months. “I think it brings people into Millbrook on a Saturday night; it’s a warm wonderful evening on a cold winter night,” said Schnoor. “It helps the restaurants, too, because people stay and they go out to dinner afterwards. My husband and I are going to the Millbrook Café when this is done so it’s a good date night. I like the tropical feel; they are really lively, and I love the way they are getting the kids involved. I almost regret leaving my children at home.”
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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