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Photos: Concert on Westport's Main Street 'a win-win for everyone'

Jarret Liotta

For Annette Norton, Main Street downtown always had a special feeling centered on its independent shops and unique "artsy" feel.

That's why on Saturday afternoon she helped organize a music show, which took place outside her boutique store Savvy + Grace. Partnered with local performer and teacher Cynthia Gibb, students from her Triple Threat Academy demonstrated their talent - several professional performers among them, including Jamie Mann who appears in a Netflix TV show called "Country Comfort."

"It's a win-win for everyone," said Gibb, noting that the isolation of the pandemic has kept everyone apart. "The singers, who lost their shows, concerts and recitals, get a chance to be seen and heard," she said, while it provides another means of attracting people to town.

"I think everybody is just so ready for things to feel a little bit more normal," said performer Momo Burns-Min, of Weston.

"It's exciting to get people back downtown living their lives again," said Rob Morton, of Westport, who performed and helped emcee. "It's really the generosity of Annette."

"I grew up coming downtown and everybody was complaining that it's all changed," said Norton, who modeled her shop on the some of the funkier, independent style of past popular stores, such as The Remarkable Book Shop and the Selective Eye.

"I love Westport ... and I want to keep it local," she said. "I want to keep it real."

Ayla Nahmias, 14, of Westport, sings at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.
Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta

Ayla Nahmias, 14, of Westport, sings at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.

Free live music was to be had at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.
Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta

Free live music was to be had at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.

People gathered across Main Street to watch the show at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.
Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta

People gathered across Main Street to watch the show at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.

Rayn Porio, 16, of Westport, warms up before the show at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.
Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta

Rayn Porio, 16, of Westport, warms up before the show at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.

Westport father and son, John Porio and Ryan, 16, perform a Pink Floyd song together at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.
Jarret Liotta / Jarret Liotta

Westport father and son, John Porio and Ryan, 16, perform a Pink Floyd song together at the Triple Threat Academy pop-up performance outside Savvy + Grace on Main Street on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Westport, Conn.