Shannon McNally's new album with Dr. John is a tribute to late great American songwriter Bobby Charles. She plays the Iron Horse on Thursday, May 9th at 7PM.

Bobby Charles wrote “See You Later Alligator,” “Walking to New Orleans" and others. The album has guest performances by Derek Trucks, Will Sexton, Luther Dickinson, and Vince Gill.

The death of Bobby Charles, in 2010, touched off a resurgence of interest in the work of the Louisiana-born singer-songwriter. The standard obituaries focused mainly on the swamp pop that Charles pioneered in the late fifties and early sixties; he wrote “See You Later, Alligator,” which was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets, and “Walking to New Orleans,” which was recorded by Fats Domino. But longer appreciations also made room for assessments of the gently biting solo material Charles recorded in the early seventies, which sounded like Randy Newman fronting the Band. That solo work is at the heart of “Small Town Talk” (Sacred Sumac), a collaboration between the singer Shannon McNally and the pianist Dr. John. Shannon talks about the project in this short video.

Bobby Charles’s wrote for himself and other rock and roll greats like Joe Cocker, Etta James, Bill Haley and the Comets, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles. He performed with Chuck Berry, The Platters, and Little Richard.

Small Town Talk is out April 30 and Shannon McNally is at the Iron Horse on Thursday, May 9th at 7PM
Stream the new album here.

By including no fewer than seven songs from Charles’s eponymous 1972 solo album—which was reissued in a deluxe edition by Rhino Handmade in 2011—McNally seems like she’s making a case for Charles as one of the great lost singer-songwriters of the era. She should; he is. Charles’s greatest asset was his subtlety—his insinuating melodies and laid-back vocals made him both easy to listen to and hard to fully digest. The title song, co-written with Rick Danko, of the Band (who later recorded it), is an indelible portrait of provincial life, done in loping tempo and with a jaunty whistling solo (here reconceived as a harmonica part). The funky “Street People” (which celebrates the social value of laziness, or at the very least the absence of ambition) and “Save Me Jesus” (which laments greed, war, runaway technology, and nearly everything else) are just as pointed, and just as charming. Charles is not new to McNally—she included a winsome cover of “Tennessee Blues” on her album “Geronimo” back in 2005—and she wisely handles his songs with a mix of clear, simple phrasing and a restraint that suggests even deeper reserves of power. Dr. John and his band, the Lower 911, provide New Orleans funk throughout, especially on rousing renditions of the broken-love tracks “Love in the Worst Degree” and “Long Face,” the latter of which includes spoken (and hilarious) interjections by the good doctor. Charles’s loveliest song, the Zen-like “I Must Be in a Good Place Now,” is saved for last, where it produces both peace and sadness. Great Article here in The Advocate.

Dr. John and Shannon McNally (click for high res)

Small Town Talk is out April 30 and Shannon McNally is at the Iron Horse on Thursday, May 9th at 7PM. Opener Sandy Bailey’s blend of Patty Griffin Americana with the gossamer sonority of Mazzy Star makes for a soothing, vibrant soundscape that has enjoyed much praise and popularity among artistic communities in Western Massachusetts.

Tickets for Shannon McNally at the Iron Horse with Sandy Bailey on Thursday, May 9th at 7PM are on sale now at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Bobby Charkes (UK Guardian obituary with a good bio)

Tim Eriksen and the Trio de Pumpkintown Songs from an Imaginary New England Village Friday, April 26th 7PM Iron Horse Music Hall

L to R: Tim Eriksen (“Tip”), Zoë Darrow (“Zip”), Peter Irvine (“Potter”)

Tim Eriksen is acclaimed for transforming American tradition with his startling interpretations of old ballads, love songs, shape-note gospel and dance tunes from New England and the Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto - a twelve string Mexican acoustic bass - creating a distinctive hardcore Americana sound that ranges from the bare bones of solo unaccompanied singing to the lush, multi-layered arrangements on his latest album "Josh Billings Voyage" (timeriksenmusic 2012).

Eriksen's new project The Trio de Pumpkintown (Tip, Zip and Potter) celebrates the multicultural folksong of a fictional New England village in fresh, acoustic arrangements. Much of the Trio's music comes from the 18th and 19th centuries: love songs, murder ballads, songs of travel on the high seas, rollicking Afro-Celtic sing-alongs, music of local francophone and Scottish communities and shape-note harmony including that of 18th century Native American composer Metacomet Samson. In addition to their Traditional New England Repertoire, the Trio also plays their own original music and, occasionally, songs by local P’town bands and music drawn from their contact with more recent immigrants to the area.

While The Trio de Pumpkintown’s own compositions have been praised as “strange and original works” (NetRhythmsUK) and “wicked awesome” (The Pumpkinville Daily Sewer), the band is also devoted to preserving other local music of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries, and their performances sometimes include an acoustic cover version or two of songs by P’town bands like Weasel Stain (copcore), Crucifer (vegan doom) and Vaginasaur (anarcho-feminist postpop). Adding to their historical and original repertoire, The Trio de Pumpkintown sometimes draws on material gathered during the course of their collaborative research into minority musics in the region.

Pumpkintown has been known regionally as a musical destination for nearly two hundred years, from renowned 19th century singer Josh Billings Sr. (“Black Josh) to the indie rock scene that popped up virtually overnight after an early 70’s gig by The Shaggs at the old meetinghouse. The Trio learned much of its traditional repertoire from their friend Silas Billings III, a font of traditional songs he learned from his great uncle Josh Billings Jr., who in turn learned them from his father. Silas, who also has a longstanding relationship to Sprigfield County’s indie scene, is just one of several local musicians to have made a guest appearance on the Trio de Pumpkintown’s pre-debut album Josh Billings Voyage: or Cosmopolite on the Cotton Road. The album is available online at timeriksen.bandcamp.com, at A.J. Hastings Newsdealer and Stationer in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts and worldwide at various locations where the band has hidden copies in the woods.

The Players/Cast:

Tim Eriksen (“Tip”): voice, bajo sexto, fiddle, bowed banjo, guitar

Zoë Darrow (“Zip”): fiddle, voice, morin khuur
Peter Irvine (“Potter”): glockenspiel, frame drum, voice

Website: http://timeriksenmusic.com

Josh Billings Voyage streaming: http://timeriksen.bandcamp.com/releases

Josh Billings Voyage reviews and articles: http://bit.ly/Q4C2Sm

Tickets are on sale now at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.  Direct Ticket Link Here.

Stephen Kellogg solo at the Iron Horse Thursday, April 25th

 My name is Stephen Kellogg. I’m thirty-six years old. I say that I’m from Northampton, MA because that’s where I got my start, though now I live in Southern Connecticut. I’ve spent the better part of the last ten years on the road or in the studio, but I have four daughters and a beautiful wife too. I asked if I could write my own biography, partially because it saves money, and I figured if someone wanted to learn about me, I’d just as soon tell them myself.

My music has been described as Americana, Country-Rock, Folk, Singer/Songwriter, and, somehow, pop. I have always thought of it as American-rock n’ roll. It’s a product of my father’s record collection, from Jim Croce and Cat Stevens to Eagles and The Band. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with showmanship and acts that put on great concerts. Sometimes that meant Van Halen, other times it meant the Grateful Dead, and most recently it’s probably more to do with John Prine. For what it’s worth, Tom Petty is my favorite artist. Although it’s been pointed out to me by one quite popular publication that I’m “no Bruce Springsteen," I’ve decided to continue making music anyway (I’m laughing as I write this in case that’s not clear).

The thing is…I fell into this job. I like people. I like sharing a world-view. I don’t mind singing and playing guitar, but I never expected that I’d do it for a living. Like a lot of folks, I think I just figured I wasn’t good enough or that maybe it wasn’t possible. The fact remained though that I needed a way to provide for my family, presumably just like those of you reading this biography (or for the younger generations, the same way your parents have). Ultimately writing songs and playing them for people has become that living. There are many occupations for which I have immense admiration - doctors, soldiers and teachers topping the list. But there isn’t another job I think I’d necessarily be suited for, so this is what I do.

In November of 2012, my band of the last ten years decided to take a hiatus. We performed our final show at Webster Hall in New York City for three hours and said goodbye for now. 2012 also took with it my mother-inlaw and my grandmother. Most of this happened in late Spring, when my house was under renovation; the foundation was still there, but the house was literally ripped apart. Some metaphor, huh? 2012 was a year of change if nothing else. The musical result of this tumultuous period is Blunderstone Rookery. The title comes from the boyhood home of my favorite character in my favorite book, “David Copperfield”. I produced Blunderstone Rookery in conjunction with my long-time musical collaborator, Kit Karlson. Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk) mixed the album.

We chose to make the record in Bridgeport, Connecticut because, after making the last few in Los Angeles and New York, I really wanted to work on home turf. The music was played by a number of friends of mine, some of them play in bands you may have heard of (Travis McNabb and Annie Clements from Sugarland, Sean Watkins from Nickel Creek, Jerry DePizzo from OAR), and many of them, including me, you may not have heard of. I loved working on Blunderstone Rookery more than any album I’ve ever made and it’s my ninth studio effort. It was a fresh process. One that began with the exciting notion, “what if I say exactly what I want to say” and ended with me handing my father a vinyl copy to add to his record collection.

That, after all, is why I do this. Using words and intention in the hopes of a positive legacy for my family.

Stephen Kellogg
February 2013

The valley doesn't have to wait any longer for Paula Cole, who plays the Iron Horse Friday, January 18th

All of the uncertainty of going independent for the first time is history for Paula Cole. Her fans’ support helped make her first do-it-yourself album, “Raven,” a reality. The disc will drop this spring.

Cole will preview tracks from the forthcoming project Friday, January 18th at 7PM at the Iron Horse in Northampton flanked by guitarist Mark Erelli, who's back at the Horse with Antje Duvekot  two weeks later on Friday 2/1.  Paula is pleased her followers made her latest project a reality.

“My fans are tremendous,” Cole says. “I can’t thank them enough. They’ve enabled me to put out more music.”

“Raven” is reminiscent of her 1994 debut “Harbinger,” which is full of intimate, poignant and bittersweet cuts.

“There is definitely a connection between the two albums,” Cole says while calling from her suburban Boston home. “I think it would be a good idea to play some songs from ‘Harbinger’ on this tour. They would certainly fit. Of course, I’ll also play the songs people expect me to play.”

“Where Have All The Cowboys Gone” and “I Don’t Want To Wait,” which was the opening theme for the ’90s television series “Dawson’s Creek,” will be rendered.

“That song was obviously huge for me,” the multiple-Grammy winner says. “It bumped me up to this incredible level that I never imagined. There was the good and bad with that. More people discovered me, but all that goes along with it didn’t necessarily fit with my introverted self.”

The vocalist-pianist is hardly a careerist. Cole did the unthinkable in 2000, just two years after winning the Grammy for best new artist. She took a seven-year hiatus to have and raise her daughter Sky.

“You don’t see that too often these days,” Cole says. “It’s about getting bigger and bigger for some. I just decided to go with what’s most important. I don’t regret the decision to be at home for those years one bit.

“But I’m back now, and my daughter will miss me cooking breakfast for some mornings, but she understands.

“This is what I do. I’m a musician, but I’m also a mother. Life gets complicated, but it’s fine. I’ve made a couple of decisions a lot of people wouldn’t have made.”

That includes turning down a deal from a jazz label during the late-’80s in favor going to college.

“I didn’t want to sing other people’s songs,” she says. “I wanted to sing my songs. I do what I have to do. I ultimately make the decisions and I think I’ve made some good ones.”

Paula Cole plays the Iron Horse on Friday, January 18th at 7PM. Tickets HERE or call 413-586-8686.

Tuneful trifecta at the Calvin: Guster, Bela Fleck, Get The Led Out -Thu-Sat 1/17-1/19

 

A Night of Acoustic Music featuring the Guster String Players
8PM Thursday, January 17th at the Calvin Theatre 

Just when you thought The Gusters were going to hibernate for the winter, BANG! "Out from our caves we wander, crusty-eyed, hungry, ready to claw salmon to death. We’re playing a stripped down acoustic set with a small string section at the Calvin Theatre on Thursday, January 17th. Expect deep set lists with B-sides, unique arrangements, and general unpredictability." Yellowbirds open the show . On their 2011 album The Color, listeners are immersed in electric autoharp glissandos, bubbling 50's echo guitars, and glowing psychedelic pedal steel. Yellowbirds is the moniker for Sam Cohen, whose lauded guitar playing and tenor voice hover above the lush bed of sound delivering songs that are both dreamy and existential.

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Banjo Summit featuring Béla Fleck, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg, & Noam Pikelny
Calvin Theatre Friday, January 18th at 8PM

Bela Fleck 

 

Many of the world’s most influential bluegrass banjo players will unite to perform a “Banjo Summit” at the Calvin Theatre on Friday, January 18th at 8PM. Generally considered the most accomplished master of the instrument, Béla Fleck will be joined by fellow pickers Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg, and Noam Pikelny in a concert that will find the banjo being performed in both conventional and unexpected ways. In performances ranging from solos and duets to full-tilt banjo blowouts with all the players and an acoustic band, the concert stage will range from the traditional backdrop of bluegrass and old-time country music to the more unconventional banjo genres including jazz, classical and rock music.

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Get The Led Out: the American Led Zeppelin return to the Calvin Theatre at 8PM Saturday, January 19th
The glow of their insanely great Mountain Park show last summer remains strong.

Hammer as they might, other Led Zeppelin cover bands are over the hills and far away compared to Get The Led Out, Jimmy Page's handpicked favorite Zep tribute band. Get The Led Out brings the studio recordings of the mighty Zep to life on the big concert stage in all their power and complexity. They have an uncanny presence and will leave you dazed and delightfully confused.

Tickets for all shows are on sale now at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

January 2013 off to an eclectic start at the Iron Horse with Folk, Jazz, Tuku from Zimbabwe, and a Lilith Fair icon.

Livingston Taylor 

Livingston Taylor plays two nights at the Iron Horse Friday & Saturday, January 4th and 5th at 7PM
Chelsea Berry opens both nights.

Livingston Taylor picked up his first guitar at the age of thirteen, beginning a forty-year career that has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Born in Boston and raised in North Carolina, Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first record at 18 and has continued to create well-crafted, introspective and original songs that have earned him listeners worldwide. From top-forty hits “I Will Be in Love with You” and “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. His musical knowledge has inspired a varied repertoire, and he is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads. Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over eighty shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth that connect him to his fans.

Chelsea Berry (opening for Liv Taylor)

Chelsea Berry, who opens both nights, is a 29-year-old Alaskan born Boston based singer/songwriter with the edge, power, and finesse of legends. Livingston Taylor said she has  “A voice of remarkable power and control with a joyous soul. Brave and bright, Chelsea Berry is the real thing. She draws the entire house into her world like moths to a flame.”

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World renowned jazz pianist Bill Charlap brings his trio to the Iron Horse Thursday, January 10th at 7PM

Bill Charlap 

One of the world’s premier jazz pianists, BILL CHARLAP has performed and recorded with many leading artists of our time, ranging from jazz masters Phil Woods and Wynton Marsalis to singers Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand. Since 1997, he has led the Bill Charlap Trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, now recognized as one of the leading groups in jazz. Charlap is the artistic director of New York City’s Jazz in July Festival at the 92nd Street Y, and he has produced concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the JVC Jazz Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. A two-time Grammy nominee, Charlap is married to renowned jazz pianist Renee Rosnes, and the two often collaborate in a duo piano setting. In the spring of 2010,  Charlap and Rosnes released "Double Portrait", their acclaimed duo piano recording on the Blue Note label. "Charlap approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved...when he sits down to play, the result is an embrace, an act of possession. The tune rises, falls, disappears and resurfaces in new forms as Charlap ranges over the keyboard with nimble, crisply swinging lines, subtly layered textures, dense chords and spiky interjections.” -TIME Magazine

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Cheryl Wheeler plays two nights at the Iron Horse -Thursday and Friday, January 11th and 12th at 7PM

Cheryl Wheeler 

 It hardly seems fair that Cheryl Wheeler is as funny as she is gifted as a singer and songwriter. Wheeler uses both to excellent effect, in her songs and especially in concert. If you’re unfamiliar, listen to her new concert album “Greetings: Cheryl Wheeler Live,” where she sets up funny songs like “Pop Tarts and Spam” and “Lady Gaga’s Singing Program” with funny stories. She does more than goof around, though: like many performers with a wry sense of humor, Wheeler also has full command of a finely honed sense of poignancy that follows laughter with a deep sigh. It’s a powerful combination. Raised in a Maryland suburb of Washington D.C., Wheeler moved to Rhode Island in the mid-’70s, so she’s practically a native New Englander by now. Although she’s been releasing albums — and good ones, at that — for decades, they represent but a fraction of her catalog. Wheeler’s music lives mostly on stage, where she often performs songs that never make it onto albums. In other words, you’ll never know what you’re missing until you see her perform.

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Oliver Mtukudzi + Black Spirits at the Iron Horse on Wednesday, January 16th at 7PM

Oliver Mtukudzi + Black Spirits

Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi is arguably the most powerful creative force to emerge from Zimbabwe in the last three decades. Carefully balancing compelling rhythms and accessible melodies with insightful lyrics, Tuku has built a vast body of work that is politically and socially relevant, yet entertaining and accessible to a worldwide audience. Throughout a career that spans more than 45 recordings and virtually every corner of the globe, he has remained committed to the live music scene of his homeland, where he and his band, The Black Spirits, continually play to enthusiastic audiences in even the most remote regions. Worldwide response to Mtukudzi’s music has been glowing. Parade called him “one of the few genuine innovators of the Zimbabwean music scene,” while Prize Beat in his native country proclaimed that his music “has been instrumental in strengthening our freedom, socially, politically and economically.” American blues/country/roots artist Bonnie Raitt has referred to him as a cross between soul shouter Otis Redding and reggae legend Toots Hibbert.

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Paula Cole plays the Iron Horse on Friday, January 18th at 7PM

Paula Cole 

“An extraordinary songwriter with a gorgeous voice” – Rolling Stone
“… a feisty poet with a soaring voice and a funky groove.” – Entertainment Weekly
“Paula is an original voice both in what she is saying and how she is saying it.” – Peter Gabriel.

Grammy winner and 7 time Grammy nominee Paula Cole has released six solo albums spanning an eighteen year career.  The Lilith Fair icon has sold approximately three million albums and has performed with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Dolly Parton.  Cole’s emotionally deep and thrilling performances are a trademark.  Poetic and fiercely touching, intelligent writing makes Cole stand apart.  Her compositions have been covered by Herbie Hancock, Annie Lennox, and others..  Paula Cole was raised in Rockport, Mass. in a musical family with whom she and her daughter remain close.  Cole is a scholarship alumna from Berklee College of Music with a background in jazz.  Paula teaches and gives clinics in a spirit of giving back to the circle of music.  With a loving allegiance to her fans, she maintains loyal communication online and after her live shows. She was the first woman in history to solely produce and receive the Best Producer Grammy nomination for her work, “This Fire”, her second album released in 1996. The album's debut single, "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone" became an instant smash. The follow-up single,  "I Don't Want To Wait" was a #11 pop hit single and the seminal theme song for the hit teen drama series Dawson's Creek.  From her top ten hits of the 1990’s to her more recent critically acclaimed albums, Paula Cole continues to write, produce, record and perform heartfelt, meaningful, lasting music that defies categorization.

Tickets for these shows and more are on sale now at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Holiday Shows Galore at the Iron Horse, Pearl Street, and Calvin Theatre

The Salvation Alley String Band, the local combo that puts the "Western" back in Western Mass., celebrate their sophomore album this Sunday, November 18th at 7PM at the Iron Horse

The Salvation Alley String Band

The Salvation Alley String Band plays original music influenced by honky-tonk, western swing, Bakersfield country, bluegrass, and rock and roll. Following the release of their 2010 album The Pioneer Valley Rose and Other Favorites, audiences began falling in love with "Sal Al’s" catchy songs, guy/girl harmonies, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, and twangy guitars.  Shucks, they even opened for Country Music legend George Jones at the Calvin Theatre this year to clearly favorable audience response. Hoots and hollers were heard. The band is releasing their self-produced second album, The Salvation Alley String Band presents The Space Wanderer on the local Rub Wrongways Records label tomorrow, Tuesday. November 13th and will celebrate the release with a show at the Iron Horse this Sunday, November 18th at 7PM along with The Beatroot Band and Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons. The album cover, in the Country & Western tradition, features a truck driving dinosaur (Triceratops?) on the cover. Tickets are $10 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Band website.

Band Facebook

Jake Shimabukuro makes the leap from the Iron Horse to the Calvin Theatre for his next Northampton show, Saturday, December 1st at 8PM. New album produced by legendary Alan Parsons.

“Jake is taking the instrument to a place that I can’t see anybody else catching up with.” - Eddie Vedder

In his young career, ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro has already redefined a heretofore under-the-radar instrument, been declared a musical “hero” by Rolling Stone, won accolades from the disparate likes of Eddie Vedder, Perez Hilton and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, wowed audiences on TV (Jimmy Kimmel, Conan), earned comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis, and even played in front of the Queen of England.

 

With his new record Grand Ukulele, Shimabukuro’s star may burn even brighter.
An ambitious follow-up to 2011’s Peace, Love, Ukulele (which debuted at #1 on the Billboard World Charts), the Hawaiian musician’s new record finds him collaborating with legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons, best known for his work on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles’ Abbey Road and his own highly successful solo project. “It was very organic how it happened,” says Shimabukuro (she-ma-boo-koo-row). “He attended a couple of my shows near where he lives in Santa Barbara and the concert promoter put us in touch. I was stunned. I mean, THE Alan Parsons? We ended up having dinner before the show and he casually mentioned the idea of possibly working together on a project. It was a priceless opportunity I didn’t want to pass up – he’s a genius.”

Parsons ended up helping Shimabukuro expand his sound, bringing in a 29-piece orchestra and a big-name rhythm section, including drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, Toto), session superstar bassist Randy Tico and Kip Winger (Winger, Alice Cooper), who helped with the orchestration.
“The best thing was that, even with all those people, we recorded everything live with no overdubs,” says Shimabukuro. “It was great, tracking live with an orchestra and a rhythm section. We picked up on each other’s subtle emotional cues – you could feel everyone breathing together. It was like the old days of recording – when everyone tracked together – there’s a certain magic that happens.”

Tickets are $35 and $25 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Dark Star Orchestra keep the Grateful Dead concert experience alive at the Calvin Theatre Sunday, November 18th at 8PM

The Dark Star Orchestra has been performing Grateful Dead shows live since 1997, just two years and change after the passage to a higher place of Jerry Garcia.  For earlier generations of Deadheads they offer a chance to revisit some long strange trips and for latter day fans it's the closest thing to a time machine back to a concert experience that is hard to come by  any more. Using entire shows from the Grateful Dead’s decades of touring as a launching pad, Dark Star Orchestra recreates song for song performances straight from historic set lists. Not merely mimicking the Dead, DSO instead seeks the individual style of each era and offers its own interpretations and improvisations for a group famed and loved for their interpretations and improvisations. Having toured worldwide to the tune of over 2000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra’s determined commitment to ‘raising the Dead’ has drawn them much critical acclaim."The most talented and accomplished tribute band out there. Fanatical attention to detail." – Rolling Stone

“As close as you’ll get to the Grateful Dead.” – New Times Newspapers

“One of the most durable and ingenious cover bands out there.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press

Five original members of the Grateful Dead have played alongside DSO onstage. “Playing with Dark Star Orchestra is something that feels just exactly like it felt when I was playing with the Grateful Dead.” – Donna Jean Godchaux, Grateful Dead vocalist, frequent DSO guest

Dark Star Orchestra

Comprised of Jeff Mattson (lead guitar/vocals), Lisa Mackey (vocals), Dino English (drums), Rob Koritz (drums), Kevin Rosen (bass), Rob Eaton (rhythm guitar/vocals) and Rob Barraco (keyboards), Dark Star Orchestra does not try to match Grateful Dead live songs note for note. Anything more formulaic would quickly dispel the free spirit embodied in the music. Precision is king with DSO, which position the stage plot based on the year of Grateful Dead show to be performed, adapting phrasing, voice arrangements, and even arranges specific musical equipment for the various eras of Dead music performed. At the end of every performance, the band announces the date and venue where the original show just covered took place. Dark Star Orchestra dips into every incarnation of the Dead, so most fans can “see” shows that happened long before they were born.  Dark Star Orchestra isn’t a cover band. Its shows are not even meant as tributes. What Dark Star Orchestra achieves is a continuation of the spirit of what has now become over forty years of the Grateful Dead’s timeless music.

Tickets are $27 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Blues infused post-Thanksgiving Weekend at the Iron Horse with Roomful of Blues Friday, November 23rd at 7PM and Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters Saturday, November 24th at 7PM

Roomful of Blues

Roomful of Blues, according to DownBeat magazine, “are in a class by themselves.” With their masterful combination of jumping, horn-heavy, hard-edged blues and R&B, it’s no wonder why the great Count Basie called them “the hottest blues band I’ve ever heard.” Since 1967, the group’s deeply rooted blend of swing, rock ‘n’ roll, jump, blues and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and a slew of other accolades. The band has been led since 1996 by guitarist Chris Vachon. Guitar Player says, “Vachon burns with explosive solos and a delightfully greasy sense of rhythm.” Roomful of Blues has always maintained its signature sound by boasting great musicianship and a stellar horn section—featuring tenor and alto saxophonist Rich Lataille, who first joined the band in 1970. Lataille’s masterful playing can evoke either the fat-toned honking sax of the glory days of early rock or the cool elegance of big band swing jazz. The Chicago Sun-Times said, “This is a band on top of its game, sliding easily from big-band jazz-blues to guitar-drenched urban blues...let the party begin.” Their latest album Hook, Line & Sinker packs a dozen hand-picked songs from Little Richard, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Amoz Milburn, Floyd Dixon and more, all given the swinging, stinging Roomful treatment. "Marvelous wall-to-wall grooves, wicked guitar work and brassy horns...things never stop swinging." USA Today

Ronnie Earl

"Perhaps the finest living blues guitarist on the planet." Boston Phoenix. Legendary Blues guitarist Ronnie Earl is a two-time W.C. Handy Blues Award winner as Guitar Player of the Year. Impeccably schooled in the 'T-Bone Walker Institute of Rhythm' and imbued with the passion and soul of such Chicago West Side masters as Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Earl Hooker, Ronnie Earl  plays his guitar with unerring instinct, channeling and expressing his inner emotional state.  He has served as an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music. Ronnie Earl has played alongside such legends as Hubert Sumlin, Earl King, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band and many others, including, B.B. King, who said about Ronnie, “I feel the respect and affection for him that a father feels for his son. He is one of the most serious blues guitarists you can find today. He makes me proud.”

Tickets are on sale now at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com.

Dinosaur Jr. play Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton on Wednesday, November 28th

 

The original line-up of one of indie rock's seminal bands is back with a new album called I Bet On Sky, and yes, they are just as good as you remember.

Dinosaur Jr. is now widely recognized as one of the most significant American rock bands of all time; the sound they pioneered in the late-80s having permeated through the past 20 years. Preceding Nirvana by several years, they were instrumental in bringing the crashing sounds of lead guitar back to indie rock. It wasn't just their signature metallic haze that made an impression on listeners; their effects-laden guitars were wrapped around some of the best songwriting of the decade. The first three albums -- Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me and Bug -- were cult masterpieces and when the original line up of Mascis, Barlow and drummer Murph re-formed in 2005 for select live dates it was apparent that the years apart had not eroded any of their vitality. In fact, many critics claimed their shows were even better than they used to be. It was natural, then, that the band would begin to work on new material.

 

If you were a Dinosaur Jr. fan the first time around, it still seems amazing, three albums into their fantastic post-2005 reunion run, that they're together at all.  At this point, though, the stories about bickering and drama aren't as interesting as the fact that the new albums-- 2007's Beyond, 2009's Farm, and now I Bet on Sky-- are all essential Dinosaur Jr. It takes a certain kind of group to reunite and create vital music and J, Lou, and Murph are up to the task. This is the sound of one of America's greatest living rock bands hitting their stride.

Opening the show is Ecstatic Peace's Hush Arbors, whose Keith Wood has played with Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Current 93, and Thurston Moore.

Tickets are $25 at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413 586 8686 and online at IHEG.com. Showtime is 8PM.

A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit The Common School in Amherst. 
 

Dinosaur Jr. - "Watch The Corners" (Official Video)

J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. interviewed by Portlandia's Feminist Bookstore Lady (Fred Armisen)