Popa Chubby’s collection of jet-fueled originals just grew with the release of his new CD, “The Catfish.” Popa Chubby offers up 12 tunes that embody the badass attitude that defines the King Of The New York City Blues.
It embodies what makes Popa Chubby who he is. Regal and delicious, the recording shines with multiple flavors and worldliness.
“It’s about the excitement and the feeling of raw power. All I can tell you is you need rock and roll in your soul and I am the man in control. The Blues are alive and well and Rock and Roll will never die! Are you ready to rock?”
His style translates into blues-rock numbers about, in Popa’s words, “love, life, betrayal, diesel, jet fuel, marriage, murder, stress and passion,” subjects that many would say are the only ones that matter.
His performances these days have never been more tempestous and soulful. Despite his imposing presence, the shaven head, tattoed arms, and performance style he describes as “the Stooges meet Buddy Guy, Motorhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi meets Robert Johnson,” Poppa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.
Doors open 7PM – Showtime 8PM
TICKETS $23
The Beautiful Ones are New England’s premier PRINCE tribute band. Dressed 2 the 9’s, Dean Ford embodies PRINCE with every fiber of his being, giving you a show as close as you will ever get to the real thing. Ford and company perform all the hits you know and love, including the “Purple Rain” album in its entirety.
But, it’s more than just the songs. He’s got the look, the moves, and the sounds down jaw-droppingly well. So well, you’ll forget it’s only a tribute.
It all started in 2012, when Dean Ford and his musician friends put on their first of many sold out tributes to the Purple One in Portland, Maine. The show, lovingly entitled “Purple Brainz” is now held annually at the prestigious, Port City Music Hall.
Past shows have featured Prince and The Revolution’s own keyboardist Matt “Doctor” Fink. Lately, Ford has been sticking with a rotation of his core band, The Beautiful Ones. Though, he and the band have plenty of surprises up their frilled sleeves.
Hear – and see – for yourself what it sounds like when Dean Ford’s doves cry.
The Fillmores East and West were the standards by which all other live venues measured themselves. They still do. The Craig Thatcher Band salutes them as only they know how.
Performing cuts from some of the most iconic bands to perform there (Derek and the Dominoes, Blind Faith, Santana, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix), The Craig Thatcher Band is well-known for delivering phenomenal shows of rock’s most classic music. Step back in time and memory in this remarkable show.
They bring back the spirit of a legendary, exceptionally creative time in music history. With an outstanding lineup of vocalists and musicians, the Craig Thatcher Band not only rips it up, but tells the great story of rock’s two most iconic venues.
Doors open 7PM – Showtime 8PM
TICKETS $29 VIP $50
“Sounding like no other singer of her generation” (Allmusic.com), Mary Fahl is an expressive, emotional singer-songwriter who first achieved fame as lead singer and co-founder of the mid-1990s band October Project, an East Coast chamber-pop group that recorded two poetic albums for Epic, selling over 300,000 albums.
With what the Boston Globe dubbed “a voice for the gods” Fahl wraps you up in her rich contralto and transports you to every corner of a song with power and subtlety. As a solo performer, she has recorded albums for SONY Classical and V2 Records, and has written and performed songs for several major motion pictures, including the lead song (“Going Home”) for the Civil War epic, “Gods and Generals.”
During the show, Mary Fahl and her remarkable band will perform an unforgettable version of Judy Collins’ timeless “Both Sides Now,” as well as the debut performance of a song just completed, which was written by Mary and John Lissauer for the audio version of Anne Rice’s new novel “The Wolves of Midwinter.”
With a repertoire of beautiful melodies and sumptuous textures, her acclaimed version of “Dark Side of the Moon” and her own elegant compositions that draw on classical and world music sources, Fahl can either put forth big, cinematic, and lush songs, or she can simply be by herself onstage with no more than a guitar, a spotlight, and her unmistakable voice.
She will also perform songs from her outstanding record, “Love and Gravity.”
Understanding the virtuosity of Reckless Kelly requires the perspective of where the band has been. Cody and Willy Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They moved to Bend, Oregon, and then migrated to that great musical fountainhead, Austin, Texas.
The band’s co-founders and frontmen toured the country as part of their father’s band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice. Their father taught his four sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. They overcame hardships, struggled for recognition, and learned the lessons of the trial and error that defined them.
In one sense, it’s remarkable in the way of any musician, athlete, or businessperson who bucks the odds. In another, though, it’s utterly natural that Reckless Kelly, born in the dreams of the two Braun brothers and their heritage but nurtured in the bumpy road of maturity, became the very essence of Americana music in all its far-flung glory.
“We came along in that second wave of the movement,” Cody Braun says. “Son Volt’s album “Trace” had a major effect on us. People like Joe Ely, Ray Kennedy and Robert Earl Keen were always big supporters. Our goal was to make music that had a country vibe but a solid rock edge.”
In the end, all the recipe required was to just add water. Water facilitates life. It enriches the soul. As Music Row magazine proclaimed, “In my perfect world, this is what country radio would sound like.”
“This” is Reckless Kelly.
Alexis P. Suter is the owner of that big, booming voice you can hear roaring out of Brooklyn into the heart of North America and beyond. Alexis P. and her band are on the rise as accolades pour in and they continue to captivate audiences from town to town.
Miss Suter and her powerful and unique ensemble artfully blend the lines between Blues, Soul, Roots and Rock music.
When the great Bluesman B.B. King first heard Alexis sing, he was visibly impressed and said so after her opening set for him at BB Kings in NYC. Shaking his head in wonder in his characteristic way, he remarked, “It’s a rare thing to share the stage with great talent like that young lady.”
Alexis burst on to the music scene as a regular performer at Levon Helm’s legendary Midnight Rambles held in Woodstock, NY. Levon was captured by what he called Alexis’ wonderful spirit and had her and the band open for him nearly 100 times.
Levon said, “She is one of those wonderful spirits, she’s got her arms around you; you can feel that!”
Suter and her band have been blazing trails and taking their music to festivals and venues both nationally and internationally, pushing the blues just a bit beyond its normal boundaries with Suter’s powerful, deep soulful voice charging forward.
RUBIX KUBE is taking the universe by storm as the most original ‘80s tribute band of all time. Its one-of-a-kind “THE EIGHTIES STRIKE BACK Show” is performed in their NYC headquarters, across the planet, and to galaxies far . . far away. The KUBE is more than just a cover band – it’s a totally awesome, true ’80s Experience! Every super-charged show takes it to the max and guarantees to set the roof on fire and burn down the house. (Metaphorically speaking of course).
RUBIX KUBE is led by a male and female dynamic duo of karma chameleons, able to transform in the-blink-of-an-eye into the voice and character of any ’80s icon. Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cher, Prince, Devo, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, and more teleport right before your eyes on the same stage, in one concert! Their supporting sidekicks are some of the most-excellent and versatile musicians around, including Steve Brown of the million-selling Rock band TRIXTER and David Z from The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. All are decked out in vibrant, vintage ’80s threads and with enough hairspray to take down Freddy Krueger, The Terminator, Beetlejuice, and all The Gremlins at once. The KUBE is able to crank out Pop, Rock, New Wave, Dance and Hair Metal hits from the decade of decadence, and perform them just like the originals – yet with their own gnarly twist.
Talkshow host Kelly Ripa has praised RUBIX KUBE as “Amazing. You definitely have to check it out, it’s so much fun. It’s like going back to The Eighties!”
RUBIX KUBE has shared the stage with actual ’80s rockstars & legends including: Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Bret Michaels of Poison, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, MC Hammer, Night Ranger, Mike Score of A Flock Of Seagulls, Colin Hay of Men At Work, Taylor Dayne, and Tone Loc. RUBIX KUBE has had featured TV segments & interviews on The TODAY Show, FUSE, FOX News, Bethenny and parts on hit reality TV shows “Cake Boss” and “Dirty Money”. The ever-expanding list of celebrity fan attendees include: Kelly Ripa, Katie Couric, Lance Bass & Chris Kirkpatrick (of N ‘Sync), Boomer Esiason, Mark Sanchez, Miley Cyrus, and Ivanka Trump.
Audiences of all ages . . prepare for the most bodacious, totally rad and ultimate time-warp back to The Eighties with RUBIX KUBE!!
Founded by multi instrumentalist and vocalist Cruz Contreras, The Black Lillies have created their own brand of country, roots, rock and blues via Appalachia.
They are alternately rip-roaring and deeply intimate, showcasing both frontman Cruz Contreras’ lyrical evolution as a writer and a more sonically sophisticated side of the band. The album stands as the finest yet in The Black Lillies’ outstanding catalog.
When it Comes time to record, the bar has already been set high with the group’s previous releases, which were hailed as “buzzworthy, genre-mashing roots music” by Rolling Stone Country and praised everywhere from Vanity Fair and The Wall Street Journal to CMT and Entertainment Weekly. Their sound reflects their raucous live show, which prompted NPR’s Ann Powers to name them a top pick at SXSW, and has earned them festival slots from Bonnaroo to Stagecoach, as well as the honor of playing The Grand Ole Opry more than any other independent band in history.
It’s nothing short of remarkable how far the band has come, both in terms of miles and in terms of musical growth. Through the ups and the downs, they’ve established themselves as one of the hardest-working and most dynamic bands touring today. With a re-imagined six-piece live lineup, it won’t be hard to please Black Lillies fans, and they’ll bring a whole lot of new ones into the fold, too.
West Virginia’s own The Trainjumpers plays funky music with fat backbeats and soul music that sounds like it was made in a different age.
In praising its “soul-swinging” style, late great Steubenville rock critic Mark J. Miller once said the Trainjumpers “sound like they haven’t listened to anything after 1975.”
That might be stretching it a bit, but the band’s first three records – “Deadtown” then “Bring on the Trainjumpers” and finally, “Wide-Eyed Tragic Myth,” all have definite reggae, soul and Americana influences. A new recording is currently in the works that would further stretch the sound.
The band’s focus on groove is logical considering the drummer is Brian “Nugget” Gorby, the center of the Hackensaw Boys’ rhythmic throwdown the last few years during extended international touring.
Nugget is a great throwback reggae/funk drummer and he and guitarist Matt Heusel have been playing together for years, while looking forward to making more good music. Bassist/vocalist/outlaw Scotty Harkness is a Trainjumpers veteran, a great player, and goes way back to the early Wheeling jam years with Heusel and Gorby. The tight sound the little group makes is testament to the years of logging musical minutes together.
Fri 6/29 – SPLINTERED SUNLIGHT
WITH SPECIAL GUEST: CONTROL FOR SMILERS
Doors open 6PM – Showtime 7PM
TICKETS $20 DOS $25
Formed in 1992, Splintered Sunlight has been captivating audiences with their authentic tribute to The Grateful Dead for years. The band’s faithful following reflects their deep understanding of the improvisational traditions of The Dead.
With special guest Control for Smilers, Phish tribute.
Splintered Sunlight is every bit the equal of the various bigger-name Dead bands. From its authentic two-drumset lineup, to Butchy Sochorow’s soaring lead guitar and naturally dead-on Jerry-like voice, to Dan Leyden’s rhythms and Bob Weir vocals, Splintered can do it all in a big way. If you have never heard them, well, look out!
They’re musically superb, imaginative, and always changing set lists, like the Dead. Experience them for yourself!
