Joseph Arthur; musician, writer, and visual artist, returns to the Iron Horse Music Hall on Friday, August 6th at 7PM

"Jo is one of those rare writer-performers where you get the sense, whatever your belief, that something greater is being channeled through his music and voice. Like Patti Smith, Grant Lee Phillips, Thom Yorke, he trances, and the voice, the meaning, becomes bigger than him, bigger than a few pop chords or words strung together. It touches something very deep and universal." – Michael Stipe-R.E.M.

For his decade-long recording career, Joseph Arthur has been a fountain of creativity. He has an ongoing exhibition of his paintings at Toronto’s 360 Gallery and his music has shown up on TV shows like House and Hung. He released a coloring book called ‘”Color Me Courageous,” maintains a poetry blog, and has a continuing residency at NYC’s City Winery. He bikes, he paints, and he’s currently crafting his new album All You Need Is Nothing in his Brooklyn studio. Arthur is both lyrically inventive and musically restless. His two previous full lengths, released just nine months apart—Let’s Just Be and Nuclear Daydream— showcased two different sides of his musical leanings—raw, Stones-y swagger on the former, and meticulously produced atmospheric pop on the latter.

From Akron to the “Real World”

Joseph Arthur was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and in the individualism of his approach, he’s often been compared to the idiosyncratic artists who hail from the same region—from Devo to Pere Ubu to the Pretenders. Arthur’s musical life started off like many others, with mandatory piano lessons. But once he realized he could use the piano to conjure up his own musical worlds, he took to the instrument and began writing songs, eventually playing in bands while in high school. Upon graduation he moved to Atlanta with a band, playing bass and supporting himself with day jobs—from a music store to a hipster jewelry/tattoo shop. Cat Power’s Chan Marshall was on the scene at the same time, serving up pizza just across the street from a store where Arthur worked, and urban performance artist Benjamin was turning heads in his shambolic ensemble Smoke.
When a demo tape of Arthur’s songs somehow made its way to Peter Gabriel and Real World Records, next thing Arthur knew, he was playing at Gabriel’s WOMAD Festival, jamming with Gabriel and Joe Strummer in Real World studios in Bath, England, and was subsequently signed to Real World Records. Arthur’s debut, Big City Secrets, was a smashing success in France, putting Arthur in front of large enthusiastic crowds but the album made barely a stateside ripple. His second album however, Come To Where I’m From, was placed in Rolling Stone’s Best of the Decade issue where David Browne named it his favorite album of the decade. The album features one of Arthur’s signature songs, “In The Sun” which, with its emotionally vulnerable lyrics, touching on open-ended spirituality, has had an active second life, with a 2006 iTunes single featuring six covers of the song (from R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, with remixes by Justin Timberlake and will.i.am) to benefit Hurricane Katrina relief.

Armed with an acoustic guitar, little electronic boxes and some fairy dust, songsmith and visual artist Joseph Arthur will work his magic at the Iron Horse on Friday, August 6th at 7PM. Tickets are available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686, and online at IHEG.com

Leading women of country and jazz at the Iron Horse; Suzy Bogguss Thu. 8/12, Jane Monheit Group Fri. 8/13

Renowned country singer/songwriter Suzy Boggus performs at the Iron Horse on Thursday, August 12th at 7PM
While ingenuity and integrity are the hallmark of a musical career that spans two decades, thirteen studio albums, and countless miles on the road, it's the spontaneous showmanship of Suzy Bogguss’s live performance that truly brings the talent and versatility of Grammy winning country artist to the forefront. Eight of her singles have cracked country music's top 5. Her songs have been heard on television shows and in commercials. She has performed on many national television shows including: In Performance At The White House (PBS), A Capitol 4th (PBS), Austin City Limits, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live With Regis And Kelly, and The View. Suzy is a frequent guest on National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Jazz singer extraordinaire Jane Monheit and her group play the Iron Horse on Friday, August 13th at 7PM
Jane Monheit is one of the great young voices of jazz and traditional pop. Her professional career began at age 20 after winning the first runner-up prize at the 1998 Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition. Shortly thereafter she began work on her first album, which came out in 2000. Her seventh and most recent album, “The Lovers, The Dreamers And Me,” is a sumptuously sung passionate song cycle of 13 tracks by songwriters past and present whom Monheit greatly admires. Said Time Magazine of Monheit, “Jane Monheit can’t miss. She has, in a word, everything.”

Tickets for both shows are available at Northampton Box Office, 76 Main Street, 413-586-8686, and online at IHEG.com

The Be Good Tanyas' Frazey Ford returns with her debut solo album "Obadiah" and an Iron Horse appearance Thursday, July 29th

The Be Good Tanyas’ Frazey Ford released her debut solo album Obadiah on July 20th. Obadiah combines Frazey’s gorgeous sultry vocals that helped define the Tanyas' sound, with her ever growing love for soul music, adding a rich fullness and bottom end to the 13 tracks that comprise the debut. Free MP3 dowload of the single Firecracker here.
Recorded during a blissful Vancouver summer, Obadiah is a collection of songs hand-carved by the hardships and exaltations of life, and stained with the rich colors of soul and folk music that fueled artists like Joni Mitchell, Ann Peebles, Neil Young, and Donny Hathaway.
Fronting the beloved East Vancouver alt folk trio, The Be Good Tanyas, Frazey and the band achieved cult status since their beginning in the late 90's. With classic albums Blue Horse, Chinatown and Hello Love, the three young women received critical and fan acclaim, garnering 4 star reviews in Rolling Stone and MOJO and selling out concert halls across North America and Europe.

Frazey Ford, The Sweet Remains, and Reed Foehl play the Iron Horse next Thursday, July 29th at 7pm. Tickets here.

It's a week of insanely great live music in Northampton and Holyoke

Here at IHEG Towers high above Main Street in downtown Northampton, we put our pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. (Well, before we come to work.) But once in a while we look out the window at the little model railroad town below and the rolling mountains to the North in the distance and we say, “hey, let’s book some amazing shows.” On occasion, there’s a perfect storm of shows that, when viewed on the calendar, causes us to audibly gasp and stand in awe of our booking prowess. This week is an example.

Tonight (Tuesday), two artists who pack the Iron Horse on their own are paired up on a co-bill at The Calvin Theatre. Alejandro Escovedo and Kathleen Edwards. Escovedo is backed by his band the Sensitive Boys and Kathleen Edwards has a full band as well. We just saw Kathleen on Main Street and she was praising Northampton’s excellent coffee options. Kathleen used to open for the likes of Kasey Chambers and The Be Good Tanyas at the Iron Horse. We’ve always loved Kathleen and it’s a thrill when our favorite openers inevitably “go viral.” She and Alejandro will be live on 93.9 The River this afternoon before the show.

Those who prefer a litte Va Va Voom (and a more intimate room) can get their gawk on with Burleque-A-Pades at the Iron Horse at 7PM tonight. BURLESQUE-A-PADES is a sexy, sultry, randy and racy 90 minute show conceived by The World Famous Pontani Sisters, trailblazers of the burlesque movement!

Wednesday it’s Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Show outdoors at Mountain Park with Augustana and Adam Duritz’s rapper find, Notar. Adam says “I love hip-hop. I grew up in Oakland, and NOTAR is a flippin' genius." Adam continues, “The Circus was always meant to be about playing with a friend. It's the idea that opening bands…. no one hears them, and then there's a middle band that people hear but they don't hear much of, and you don't get your band until the end and it's never enough. And so I wanted everyone onstage together and to just go, everyone out to the end. It's one big thing. We play together, we play separately, we guest on each other's songs or we don't. It's just fun to stand there and stand back and sing a seven, eight part harmony. It's a wall of harmony, like the Beach Boys or something.” Gates are at 5:30 and based on the above, it’s probably a good idea to be there in time for the 7PM start of the show.

Wednesday at the Iron Horse you can enjoy the very entertaining Roger Clyne and his band the Peacemakers. Roger is formerly of the wonderful band The Refreshments and he’s the composer of the theme song to Mike Judge’s TV institution King Of The Hill.

Thursday, witty nerdsmith Jonathan Coulton will again pack the Iron Horse to the rafters. Jonathan, along with They Might Be Giants and many more, is featured on our friend Bill Childs’ new benefit CD Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti. With a national release on August 10^th, the CD is the first release from Spare the Rock Records. “This unique collection of songs is filled with uplifting messages from some of today’s very best family musicians.”

On Friday, Interpol, the world's largest international police organization… oh wait….. wrong group…okay. Interpol, the epic NYC band that has been compared to Joy Division, The Chameleons, and dark, rich, chocolate rum cake, take over the Pearl Street Ballroom. Interpol has returned from their major label adventure to their first home, Matador Records, and have a grand new eponymous album out.

Friday at the Iron Horse at 8:30, Chicago’s Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l featuring Samba Mapangala are joined by Makaya McCraven, formerly of Northampton and full time drummer in local legends Cold Duck Complex. After playing the Pitchfork festival in 2008 and GlobalFest in January 2009, the OBDBI experienced a meteoric rise–graduating from Chicago street festivals to the stages of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Montreal and Vancouver Jazz Festivals in the course of a year. They play classic Central and West African dance music—specializing in soukous, Highlife, Rumba, Dry Guitar, and other delights from the great continent.

Saturday at Mountain Park in Holyoke, the anticipation is palpable for The Flaming Lips. Excitement about this concert has been building exponentially as rave reviews of recent shows make the rounds. The band’s musical power alone would be enough, but the visual magnitude of their live show may leave you sputtering and trembling with joy and transcendence.

But get out your pen and stationary set because Saturday night in Northampton is worth writing home about as well. You’ve heard the irresistibly hooky Matt Kearney on WRNX and Mix 93.1. Well, he headlines the Pearl Street Ballroom with Jim Carrey’s daughter Jane Carrey opening.

Across town one man guy Loudon Wainwright reports into the Iron Horse at 7PM with his latest lyrical update on the glories of middle age, family, and other strange weirdness.

But wait, before you exhale, on Sunday at Pearl Street, the ballroom will bow to the ridiculously popular Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a band who has gone from zero to pinning the speedometer in just over a year. They had the most popular song as voted by listeners on WRSI last year.

Sweet fancy Moses, it just keeps going next week. Monday at the Iron Horse: Rogue Wave, Tuesday: Vieux Farke Toure, Wednesday: Andy Mckee, Thursday: Frazey Ford of the Be Good Tanyas (now with Reed Foehl on the bill with the Sweet Remains as co-openers), and Friday: Justin Townes Earle.

Gasp.

The summer concert season at Mountain Park continues on Wednesday, July 21st with Counting Crows

The Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Show is rolling across the country and their appearance Wednesday, July 21st at Mountain Park in Holyoke will feature them, Augustana, and rapper NOTAR. The three bands will be playing together: two at a time: one at a time: and sometimes the band members just mix it up for fun. This isn't a show to be missed. But get there on time because Counting Crows often goes on right away.

In a recent interview Adam Duritz said, “NOTAR is on my label. We’re on there, and him. I started it for him, to work with him. I love hip-hop. I grew up in Oakland, and NOTAR is a flippin' genius.
"And I wanted the tour to be a mixture of style. You have country-rock-pop Augustana, our country-punk-rock-soul-whatever, and then half of our band is playing on NOTAR's hiphop. The Circus was always meant to be about playing with a friend. It's the idea that the thing with opening bands is that no one hears them, and then there's a middle band that people hear but they don't hear much of, and you don't get your band until the end and it's never enough. And so I wanted everyone onstage together and to just go, everyone out to the end. It's one big thing. We play together, we play separately, we guest on each other's songs or we don't. It's just fun to stand there and stand back and sing a seven, eight part harmony. It's a wall of harmony, like the Beach Boys or something.”
August and Everything After, the T-Bone Burnett produced 1993 debut from Counting Crows established the band and frontman Adam Duritz as the heirs apparent to the Van Morrison/Bob Dylan/Bruce Springsteen songwriting tradition. The fusion of Duritz’s hauntingly smooth vocals with Hammond B-3 organ and accordion and hits like “Mr. Jones,” “Round Here,” and “Rain King” catapulted them to stardom. In 2008 they released their most recent work, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. To date the band has sold over 20 million CDs worldwide. But as good as they are in the studio, Counting Crows and Adam Duritz are renowned for their energetic and passionate live performances.

Tickets for Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Show at Mountain Park in Holyoke this Wednesday, July 21st at 7PM (doors at 5:30) are available at NBO, 413-586-8686 or online at IHEG.com.

Valley guitar legend Al Fuller back in town from Florida for a gig with Stewart James at The Basement this Saturday

Listen to "Crazy About You Baby" while you read. Entertainer, Guitar, Harmonica, Singer, Songwriter...it’s what Al Fuller lists as his occupation on his business card. But it doesn’t tell you what dynamic quality entertainment, singing and guitar playing Al Fuller can deliver.

Al was raised in the musically lush Western Massachusetts Pioneer Valley. I remember him playing every Monday at Sheehan's with the Kenny Johnson Band back in the 80s. I think I do anyway. (Kenny sadly passed at 53 in 2005.)

With all the warmth of a tropical August night at his home in Sarasota, Florida, Al Fuller brings his special style of music to every performance. Smooth, fluid guitar playing with an easy, sensitive sound that can soothe and sparkle, or hard hitting blues sounds that speak of nights in dark, smokey places. His renditions of musical favorites range from lighthearted island songs to folk tunes, and of course The Blues. Al's friendly, outgoing personality wraps his listeners within his performances, while he spins tunes of happiness, love, loss and the gamut of human emotions.

A Veteran Performer, Fuller has performed for troops in Vietnam, in clubs and concerts in England, Spain, and in the U.S. in California, Colorado, Seattle and the east coast from Key West Florida to Bar Harbor, Maine.

Local blues harpist and vocalist supreme Stewart James (above) will perform with Al and who knows who else might stop by. The show is FREE (tip jar) this Saturday, July 1oth at The Basement, 21 Center Street in Northampton from 8-10. Start your Saturday night right in Northampton with All Fuller and Stewart James. MORE INFO HERE.

His early albums are now on CD. You can also buy Al Fuller's latest blues CD, "In The Back Of My Mind". Get Fuller-ized with Al's newest solo music here.

Direct from New York City, Burlesque-A-Pades bring classic burlesque with a modern twist to the Iron Horse on Tuesday, July 20th at 7PM

BURLESQUE-A-PADES is a sexy, sultry, randy and racy minute show conceived by The World Famous Pontani Sisters trailblazers of the burlesque movement! Burlesque-A-Pades harkens back to a more glamorous time in entertainment, evoking the classic imagery and feel of traditional burlesque, but with modern twists and turns that will have you cheering in the aisles.

The sisters have assembled an award winning national all-star core cast of the best in burlesque, vaudeville, sideshow and variety entertainment! From side-splitting humor, earthquake inducing shimmies, spark igniting tap dances, high kicks and back flips! In addition to the core cast, Burlesque-A-Pades will feature guest acts in each local, representing the best of each cities burlesque performers! Hosted by "Albert Cadabra, The Great Deceiver" and starring Miss Exotic World Winners Angie Pontani, & Kitten DeVille plus Helen Pontani, Melody Sweets, the World Famous Pontani Sisters (below) and special guests!

Tickets are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com

Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys, Kathleen Edwards and band co-headline the Calvin Theatre on Tuesday, July 20th at 8PM

Alejandro Escovedo shares a manager with Bruce Springsteen these days, a connection that’s inescapable on this tenth solo LP, Street Songs of Love, released last Tuesday 6/29. His Bossness himself adds brawn to the suitably muscle-bound duet “Faith”, and indeed there’s a ‘big production’ feel to this whole thing, no doubt aided by the presence of Born In The USA mixman, Bob Clearmountain. Yet it remains very much a personal Escovedo project, a meditation not only on the myriad forms of love but also a tribute to both family and departed friends. The songs themselves (mostly co-written with Chuck Prophet) were forged over a two-month residency at Austin’s Continental Club, where he and his trusty backing band – The Sensitive Boys – chiselled and chipped until they took shape. Then along came Tony Visconti, adding the same robust, freewheeling production that he brought to 2008′s Real Animal.
This is Escovedo in lean, bullish mood, tunes like “Silver Cloud” and “This Bed Is Getting Crowded” almost a throwback to the inflamed roots-rock of his ’80s band, the True Believers. “Tender Heart” even finds him and the band buzzing away like early Elvis Costello & The Attractions. That said, Escovedo is as reflective as he is melodic, and never more so than on “Down In The Bowery”. Here, aided by old buddy Ian Hunter (who he’s publicly thanked for sticking by him when stricken by Hepatitis-C a few years back), Escovedo addresses his teenage son, Paris, currently undergoing a turbulent stage. “I’d buy you a smile in a minute,” he sings in soft tones, “But would you wear it?”

Then there’s “Tula”, a tribute to late Mississippi writer and friend Larry Brown, a slippery swamp-funk thing that recalls both Little Feat and the Los Lobos of Kiko. And “Fort Worth Blue”, an acoustic elegy to his onetime guitarist Stephen Bruton, who died last year. The aforementioned “Faith” finds Escovedo and Springsteen punching out verses like an affirmation of the religious power of rock’n'roll itself. Which is more than apt and highly symbolic of this record as a whole. Escovedo sounds truly spirited.

It’s hard not to love Kathleen Edwards as she delivers with conviction and confidence on songs suited for both quiet country roads and late night city bars. As one of the latest great female voices to emerge on the Alt-Country scene, she stands tall next to other significant genre partners including Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Patty Griffin. Her words are delivered with rough edges and heavy, somewhat smoky breath, yet nothing is overstated. Bursting onto the music scene in 2003 with her critically acclaimed debut album Failer, Edwards quickly found herself performing on the Letterman and Leno shows, opening for The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and championed by Rolling Stone as one of the year's most promising acts. She’s released three excellent albums in a row, without the slightest sign of anything being rushed, duplicated, or half-hearted. Kathleen's spending most of the summer hunkered down, writing new songs for her fourth album but she is stretching her performing muscles a few times, including this gig at the Calvin.

Get tickets here for Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys and Kathleen Edwards at the Calvin Theatre on Tuesday, July 20th at 8PM

International Music Explosion this summer at the Iron Horse! Four superb shows.

Grupo Fantasma, plus DJ Bongohead of Latin Night, Tuesday, July 13th at the Iron Horse at 7 PM

Grupo Fantasma is the funkiest, finest & hardest working Latin band to come out of the US since Ozomatli. Their trademark sound is guided by the deeply rooted traditions of cumbia, salsa, funk, & psychedelia. This masterful 11-piece Austin-based ensemble has forged a fresh new standard of excellence in Latin music. The song “Gimme Some” for example starts with some wondrously plump, boisterous notes on the baritone sax, the band kicks in behind it with sinuous guitar, a sharp horn arrangement and a crackling Latin funk groove; the result resembles a summit between the Godfather of Soul and Santana circa its first album. With a cheerfully mercenary chorus that echoes the latter's "Evil Ways," the group chants, "It's time to pay up / We're tired of working, of working so hard / Give us some money / Whatever you got." Then it's into another fiery break with Maceo Parker, one of the linchpins of the James Brown sound, taking the lead.


African Highlife from …Chicago? Yes! Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l featuring Samba Mapangala at the Iron Horse on Friday, July 23rd at 8:30 PM

Chicago’s Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int’l plays classic Central and West African dance music—specializing in soukous, Highlife, Rumba, Dry Guitar, and other delights from the great continent. The multi-racial band mixes their backgrounds in traditional African music, jazz, and underground rock to bring these classic sounds to life. The group has been winning over a diverse audience of listeners, dancers and rockers, and causing a buzz among established African music critics. Word of the group’s electrifying live shows is spreading as they play sold-out shows with Afropop legend Oliver Mtukudzi and art-pop superstar Andrew Bird.


Vieux Farke Toure, son of great Malian bluesman Ali Farke Toure, brings his desert blues and astounding dexterity on the fretboard to the Iron Horse on Tuesday, July 27th at 7 PM

Vieux Farka Toure’s has flourished with the historic passing of the torch from father to son. A highly talented guitarist, singer, songwriter, and percussionist, Vieux has crafted a global-minded style all his own. With flourishes of rock and reggae amidst Saharan Blues and traditional Malian melodies, Vieux Farka Touré ushers in the next generation of Mali blues. “Vieux Farka Touré's beautifully realized debut recording both honors and extends the life work of his father, Ali Farka Touré: to explore and promote the rich music of Mali's desert north.” - Afropop Worldwide


Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba at the Iron Horse Sunday, August 1st at 7 PM

Bassekou Kouyate is one of the true masters of a precursor of the banjo, the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West and. Bassekou toured with Ali Farka Toure as the band's solo ngoni player and was one of the key musicians on his posthumous album 'Savane. He has played in the Symmetric trio alongside Toumani Diabate (kora) and Keletigui Diabate (balafon), was a part of Taj Mahal's and Toumani Diabate's 'Kulanjan' project and features prominently on Youssou N'Dour's latest album 'Rokku mi Rokka' and Dee Dee Bridgwater's 'Red Earth' Quotes: "..a genius, a living proof that the blues comes from the region of Segu." - TAJ MAHAL "..a MUST for anyone seeking new musical adventures." - DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER "...ancient and utterly contemporary .... like some African answer to Hendrix." The Guradian UK

Tickets for all four shows are available at Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686, and online at IHEG.com.