Celebrate on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day with Ireland's foremost Celtic super-group – Altan – during their 25th Anniversary Tour! They’ve moved audiences worldwide with heartwarming & dynamic live performances, while their exquisitely produced award-winning albums - ranging from sensitive traditional Irish songs to hard hitting reels & jigs - have gone gold & platinum in their native Ireland. Altan has also recorded or performed with many other internationally recognized artists including The Chieftains, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss & Ricky Skaggs.
“Still the most dynamic and exciting band playing Irish music today." — Irish Times "...under no circumstances should they be missed in concert" - Irish Echo
Carrying a three-decade legacy, The Blasters blend Rock & Roll, Country, Blues and Rockabilly into a dynamic musical brew. They still feature founding members vocalist-guitarist Phil Alvin, drummer Bill Bateman & bassist John Bazz with Keith Wyatt on guitar. Best known for their concert faves “Marie Marie”, “I'm Shakin'” & “Border Radio”.
Tom Rush first introduced the world to the songs of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor over thirty years ago, and has been captivating audiences throughout the country ever since with his ever-romantic, gently rustic folk music. A Harvard grad, Tom combines his time-tested mix of new & old with songs like “Urge for Going”, “Mother Earth”, “Who Do You Love” & “No Regrets”; his legendary Circle Game album – released nearly 30 years ago - helped usher in the era of the singer-songwriter.
"Never miss a chance to see Tom Rush live he's got that rare one-of-a-kind quality that makes you realize you've seen somebody who really matters." - Eric Thom, EXCLAIM Magazine (CA)
Steve Brosky is a singer-songwriter who makes his home and his music in the Lehigh Valley region of PA. With six albums of original material, Steve's songs speak a truth sometimes glad, sometimes sad, but always brilliant. Jimmy Meyer’s been wowing audiences big and small with his signature guitar stylings for over thirty years.
Leon Russell has been a major force in music for five decades with a resume that includes: half dozen gold albums; session-player for Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound plus artists like The Byrds, Herb Alpert, Barbra Streisand & Frank Sinatra; wrote songs that became chart-toppers for Joe Cocker (“Delta Lady”), The Carpenters (“Superstar”), George Benson ("This Masquerade" - first single to become #1 in jazz, pop & R&B); and is well-known for his own string of hits including "Tight Rope", "Back To The Island" & "Lady Blue". Leon always sells out Sellersville Theater with his captivating performances, so we strongly suggest getting tickets well in advance!
Combining equal parts folk, rock & Americana, NYC singer/songwriter Joe Whyte's songs have been described as "alt-country pearls that shimmer with simplicity and effectiveness” and "beautifully crafted, melancholic Americana." Whyte’s vocal delivery, storytelling and confessional lyrics convey a sense of urgency not typically seen in today’s music industry.
Performing with a parade of razor-edged one-liners camouflaged in a slack-jawed drawl, Chuck Prophet’s songs are about heartbreak & everyman heroism, drenched in twisted lines of a rude Telecaster. Chuck has corroborated with a wide rage of artists such as Alejandro Escovedo , the late Warren Zevon, Lucinda Williams & Aimee Mann; his music is often featured on NPR – especially the XPN hit "Summertime Thing" - and he’s appeared on national TV including Austin City Limits, Letterman and Carson Daly.
Craig Shoemaker was named Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards, won two Emmys, and performed at every major comedy venue in the country. His “Lovemaster” routine was voted Most Popular Comedy on XM Radio’s Big Schtick Award, and was voted one of the top 20 stand-up specials on Comedy Central. Making his debut on KYW-TV in his Philly hometown, Craig went on to write for and/or appear in over 100 television shows & films – including Comedy Central Presents, The View, Comic Relief, Showtime’s Comedy All-Stars, Hollywood Squares, Scream 2, and he also wrote, produced & stars in National Lampoon’s Totally Baked- A Potumentary plus released successful comedy CDs & DVDs.
The Glengarry Bhoys continue to combine the traditional elements of Celtic music with contemporary sensibilities and have been thrilling audiences internationally, establishing themselves as a major act on the Celtic festival circuit. With roots in Glengarry, Ontario, their music draws on combined French and Scottish musical heritages. The energy and good humour - as much a part of their shows as their musicianship - crosses all cultures & ages and its commonplace to see a grandparent & grandchild dancing together in the aisles! Their concerts are an expression of joy, honest and compelling.
”…. The Glengarry Bhoys provide a sold out party wherever they go” – The Irish Voice
Bill Frisell Trio featuring
Rudy Royston
and
Eyvind Kang
Grammy Winning Guitar Giant
Thursday, March 4, 2010
One of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music, Frisell has collaborated with Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, The L.A. Philharmonic, Van Dyke Parks, Rickie Lee Jones, John Scofield, Lyle Mays, David Sanborn, Bono, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and countless others. Mixing rock and country with jazz and blues, the Grammy winning Bill Frisell found what connects them: improvisation and a sense of play. Much has been made of the un-categorizable nature of his music and the seamlessness with which his bands have navigated such a variety of styles..
“Frisell is a revered figure among musicians – like Miles Davis and few others, his signature is built from pure sound and inflection; an anti-technique that is instantly identifiable.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Playing in many groups since 1980, Chris Duarte has established himself as one of the most formidable fret-board scorchers on the contemporary blues-rock scene. He gathered experience as a sideman, learning many musical styles recording both as a session player and on his own. His experience, intuition, passion & knowledge fuel the uniquely powerful sound and emotional energy of the Chris Duarte Group.
Drawing on the diverse musical backgrounds of its band members, Shannon Lambert-Ryan & RUNA brings a contemporary & refreshing experience to traditional and original Celtic music. Shannon fronts the band with rich, vibrant vocals & gentle piano playing. Celebrating their latest release Jealousy, RUNA’s repertoire of energetic & graceful acoustic melodies fuse the music from Ireland, Scotland, Shetland Islands, Canada & US.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
7:30pm
Cabaret: $37.50*
Regular:
$25.00* (Cabaret Reserved for Members until 12/28/10)
From her first recorded appearance as a lead vocalist with the celebrated traditional Celtic group DeDanaan in 1981, to her latest Suger Hill release – Naked with Friends - O'Connell has married an unmistakable deep, rich, flexible voice and her signature talent for finding what's most potent in a song. Her latest is a collection of a cappella songs sung with guest vocalists including Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Paul Brady, Mary Black, Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott. Featuring five traditional tunes in both English and Irish alongside songs by such writers as Darrell Scott, Janis Ian, Joan Armatrading, Elvis Costello, and Holly Near, Naked With Friends reflects O'Connell's longstanding commitment to seeking out powerful songwriting, regardless of genre.
A musical form Trevor refers to as “experiential”, his live show conveys relaxing yet emotive quality, incorporating sound looping which creates "walls of sounds" surrounding the listener. Although Trevor’s pieces range from edgy, driving rhythms to sweet melodic phrases, each piece sends one on a journey and promotes a sense of inspiration & peace.
"Sharp…absorbing…beautiful meditations for guitar…will get your mind moving in new ways." – Tom Moon, Contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered, Rolling Stone, GQ, Blender, Vibe, & Spin
With a career spanning more than 30 years including over 50 solo albums & eight releases with Glass Harp, Phil Keaggy’s fans range from professional musicians who’ve been strongly influenced by his guitar style to those who find solace in his beautifully penned lyrics & memorable melodies. Keaggy has won several Dove Awards (while dominating the “Instrumental Record” category) and was thrice voted one of the top finger-style guitarists by Guitar Player Magazine readers including Gold Level Award Winner for Best Spiritual/Worship Guitarist. Phil makes his Sellersville Theater debut with a special solo acoustic performance!
Oh Boy: The Timeless Music of Buddy Holly
& The 1950's
with Rivers Rockabilly Trio
Fab ‘50s Dance Party
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Get your poodle skirt or white tee out of the attic! It’s the new multimedia stage show from The Rivers Rockabilly Trio with special guest Eddie Marra, celebrating the life and music of rock'n'roll legend Buddy Holly. Sing along with Peggy Sue, Not Fade Away, Maybe Baby, and others, including songs by Bill Haley, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley and more! We DARE you to sit still!
"Rockabilly is fun. The Rivers Rockabilly Trio Proves it!" - ALLENTOWN MORNING CALL
The Chicago-born & based singer-songwriter shared the stage with Van Morrison, The Wallflowers, Cracker, 10,000 Maniacs & The Cowboy Junkies among others. McDermott's personal world and (Irish American) heritage serves the basis of many of his songs yet remains ever accessible in bringing to light universal experiences of the common man (and woman). Expect to hear many concert favorites including “A Wall I Must Climb” & his XPN hit “Everything I Got.”
This ain't gonna be no prayer meetin'! Straight from the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Country, Raymond the Amish Comic returns to Sellersville! A regular guest on the WZZO morning show with the Bearman & Keith, he also guests on radio stations in Boston, Baltimore, NYC and Ohio. Raymond has appeared on MTV, Philly After Midnight, in the movies (For Richer or Poorer, Kingpin, and Witness) and in Weird Al's video for "Amish Paradise".
Please note this is an adult event - 18+ strongly recommended due to adult language.
Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of America’s top emerging singer songwriters with her debut Big Dream Boulevard, produced by Solas’s Seamus Egan (and made the “Top 10 Releases of the Year” by NPR’s Folk Alley). Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious Kerrville “Best New Folk Award” and the Boston Music Award for “Outstanding Folk Act”.
A meticulous craftsman of song whose albums have been revered by critics & fans alike, Richard Shindell weaves tales that interchangeably champion the downtrodden, exalt the disaffected or wax empathetic to those lost to society’s fringes; conversely, he’s also capable of writing tunes that are simply clever & amusing. Expect this Moravian College Alumni to perform songs from his latest album Not Far Now plus some familiar faves such as “The Ballad of Mary Magdalene”, “A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress” & “Are You Happy Now?”
Capturing the heart of American roots music, The Lowlands perform timeless original songs featuring the rich vocal harmonies of Chris Kasper (guitar), Adrien Reju (guitar) & Todd Barneson (mandolin) complimented by dobro/pedal-steel guitarist Adam Davis & bassist/producer Jeff Hiatt. Reuniting for this special show, The Lowlands create a sound that is at once distinctive and familiar!
Credited by Chet Atkins for single-handedly saving country music, Ricky Skaggs became a super-star in the 80’s racking up dozens of #1 hits such as “Crying My Heart Out Over You”, “Country Boy”, “Cajun Moon” & “Uncle Pen” and has has won 14 Grammy’s, eight CMA awards & is a two-time Dove Award recipient. Expect to hear selections from Ricky Skaggs recent album Songs My Father Loved in addition to performing other classics with Kentucky Thunder.
Shaping the sound of Jazz, R&B and Rock over four decades, Randy Brecker’s trumpet & flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a diverse range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen & P-Funk to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Horace Silver & Zappa. Randy also won several Grammy Awards both as a solo artist and with The Brecker Brothers who he co-fronted with his his brother Michael (who passed away in ‘07). In addition to being an in-demand studio musician, the Philadelphia born Randy Brecker also played with Booker T & the MGs, BS&T, Stevie Wonder, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Mingus & Clapton and co-formed the seminal fusion group Dreams.
Performing an exhilarating, powerful and sometimes terrifying new style that's real, raw & wickedly intense, Eric Sardinas is a welcome reminder of the finest unfiltered music from an era bygone with a unique sound & honest delivery. Eric performs aggressively soulful, self-penned compositions plus searing renditions of several obscure treasures from the back catalogues of classic blues artists.
When Eurhythmics founder Dave Stewart first witnessed Joanne Shaw Taylor at the the age of 16, he thought her Telecaster skills were so perfect, he asked her to join his super-group D.U.P. to tour Europe. "Catch her live if you can, then you can say: I was there at the beginning" - Blue Print Magazine "Joanne IS the new face of the blues" - Blues Matters
Grammy award winning singer-songwriter/bar-room guitar player Dave Alvin has been a constant force in traditional American roots music for over 25 years. Forming the Blasters with his brother Phil Alvin, Dave penned most of their earliest hits & played lead on the classics “American Music”, “Border Radio” & “I’m Shakin’”; he also had stints with punk-folkies X & The Knitters and released some critically acclaimed solo projects. Dave’s songs have been recorded by Los Lobos, Buckwheat Zydeco, Robert Earl Kean, Dwight Yoakam, and Little Milton among others!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Re-live the excitement of one of the most creative and influential bands in rock ‘n roll history. Get The Led Out is a flashback concert experience like no other! Sellersville Theater will host TWO NIGHTS of this premier Led Zeppelin tribute band - performing two unique shows with minimally repeat songs. Get your tickets early as GTLO always sell-out their only intimate venue public performance - ST94!
Hastings (Sussex) native & Philadelphia resident Wesley Stace has penned two novels and released 15 albums ranging from traditional folk to full on pop music, such as his recent WHO WAS CHANGED AND WHO WAS DEAD. Considered a critical smash, it garnered considerable XPN airplay & received rave reviews: "terrifically catchy" (NEW YORKER); Harding is "hyper-aware, expertly tweaking the lyricist's game at every turn" (LA TIMES); "lyrics that dazzle" (WALL STREET JOURNAL). John Wesley Harding has appeared on Conan, Letterman & Leno and his songs have been featured in films (including High Fidelity) & covered by other artists.
NEW RELEASE: HOLDSWORTH
PASQUA HASLIP WACKERMAN -
“BLUES FOR TONY”
Friday, February 5, 2010
Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most prominent guitarists, Allan Holdsworth is a rock & jazz innovator. He was in the legendary Soft Machine, co-founded the prog-rock super-group UK and played in many of the era's landmark recordings with Jean-Luc Ponty, Gong and Bill Bruford (of Yes & King Crimson). Guitar Player Magazine's Hall of Fame inductee, Holdsworth is a five-time winner in their readers' poll and Musician Magazine placed Holdsworth near the top of their “100 greatest guitarists of all time..”
In addition to being an accomplished solo artist, Pianist Alan Pasqua collaborated with the who’s who of the music industry – Dylan, Santana, Benatar, Cocker, Cooder, Fogerty, Elton, Aretha, Quincy & Brother Ray among countless others. Alan also co-composed of the “CBS Evening News Theme”, which has been airing nightly since ‘87.
Bassist Extraordinaire Jimmy Haslip’s credits include pop & jazz’s biggest stars - Jerry Garcia, Bo Diddley, Bonnie Raitt, Pat Metheny, Rod Stewart, Al Jarreau, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dave Mason, Dave Koz, Kenny G, Dusty Springfield, Herb Alpert, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Bruce Hornsby, George Harrison... and the list goes on!
Combining the power & conviction of rock with the sensitivity & finesse of jazz, Chad Wackerman recorded & toured with a diverse range of artists - from Barbra Streisand to Men At Work plus spent seven years with Frank Zappa playing on 26 of his albums! Chad also composed music for 'The Dennis Miller Show.'
“[David] is just one of these guys who is in his own class. A great singer and guitar player.” - Jorma Kaukonen “David Jacobs-Strain sings and plays slide-driven country blues with a passion and authority that few artists of any age can muster. But besides firing off compelling covers of traditional tunes. . . his original songs have served to update and evolve the idiom, winning widespread respect from the contemporary blues community.” - Guitar Player
Celebrating three decades as Louisiana’s musical ambassador, Buckwheat Zydeco just won a Grammy for Lay Your Burden Down and has three of the top selling Zydeco albums. In addition to also winning an Emmy, Buckwheat has made several television appearances including Letterman, Today Show, CNN, MTV, PBS & BBC. Buckwheat Zydeco also collaborated with many musical peers including Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Keith Richards, Ry Cooder, Wynton Marsallis, Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, Gregg Allman & Robert Plant.
Join some of Sellersville Theater’s favorite musicians as we raise funds to help the people of Haiti. Hosted by Roger Apollon, lead man for the Super Ska band Bigger Thomas (whose parents are Haitian immigrants), the night will really be one to remember! Sellersville staff are all donating their time and 100% of the ticket will go directly to the International Red Cross. Rennaisance vocalist and visual artist Annie Haslam has graciously volunteered to present a new work of art to be raffled at the show with all funds also helping the cause. Please check back here on this part of the website as additional artists plan to join this special one-time event!
Special Guest:
From WYSP, the hilarious
Ed McGonigle
Big Daddy Graham
“Philly's Funniest Comic”
Saturday, January 30, 2010
In his 12th year on sports talker WIP, Big Daddy Graham loses his mind weeknights and appears on the “Overlap Show” with Angelo Cataldi & the Morning Guys. BDG appeared on the Showtime Comedy Club Network, his hilarious videos have aired on MTV & PRISM and his satirical songs have been played on Dr. Demento, the American Comedy Network, Dick Cavett Comedy Hour, WXPN's Kids Corner & WMMR (where he was a morning zoo regular in the 80’s). Big Daddy has been voted “Philly's Funniest Comic” by Philly Magazine, The City Paper & other publications.
Professor "Louie" & The Crowmatix from Woodstock, NY, have been recording and touring nationally for the past seven years. They have been featured artists many times on the syndicated radio show "Acoustic Cafe" from Ann Arbor, the Mitch Albom Radio show in Detroit.. Rave reviews continue in magazines and newspapers. The Village Voice said: "Professor Louie's upstate ensemble is an Americana template that jams out and New Orleans influenced originals". From The Record Review : "- a tasty mix of rhythm & blues and rock & roll. This is a great band".
Commander Cody got off to a racing start with the hit single "Hot Rod Lincoln" which sold a million copies and become a classic rock staple. They followed up with other fan faves including “Beat Me Daddy to the Bar”, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” and “Don’t Let Go”. They’ve won multiple music industry awards including Billboard International’s Best Live Band and are still fronted by the Commander, George Frayne.
Since the debut of his self-titled Charlie Hunter Trio in 1993, Charlie has recorded 17 albums including his most recent Baboon Strength. The collection of songs drew from all different influences including Staxx Soul, 70's/80’s new wave & the sounds of a busy city and has been regarded as one of Hunter's most innovative efforts to date. Charlie has been in the studio and is just about done wrapping up the recording of his next as-of-yet untitled record. The Charlie Hunter Trio features Curtis Fowlkes on trombone and Eric Kalb on drums.
The Sellersville Theater will host "An Evening with Gemini Rising", the award winning web series hailed as a "stylistic triumph" by Bucks Life Magazine, and cited in The Washington Post as part of the new revolution of web TV.
Cast and crew will be on hand for this entertaining evening of the arts which will include several episodes of the Webby Award Honoree series leading up to the dramatic season finale. The evening will conclude with live music from the show.
In addition to Gemini Rising, select short films will screen including the popular Prog Rock comedy series, Polyester Dreams created by NYU graduate, Andrew Harrison.
Gemini Rising is an innovative and fresh comedy/drama series that follows the lives, romantic entanglements and struggles of a 1970s progressive rock band as they attempt to navigate their way through the music industry; the series is produced by filmmakers Gina Andreoli and Christopher Marston, both Bucks County natives. It features an outstanding local cast. Gemini Rising is distributed widely throughout the web.
Philly’s own Eric Bazilian charted with Hooters on "Day By Day”, “And We Danced”, “All You Zombies” & "Where Do The Children Go" plus hit the album charts with a half dozen releases including their multi-platinum Nervous Night; they also participated in three of the most important musical events of the century, Live-Aid, Amnesty International Concert & Roger Waters’ extravaganza at The Wall in Berlin. In addition releasing his own critically acclaimed solo projects which he’ll perform during his ST debut, Eric collaborated with Cyndi Lauper (including her groundbreaking debut She's So Unusual), Joan Osborne's debut Relish (penning the Grammy nominated "One Of Us") and wrote songs cut by Ricky Martin, Leann Rimes, The Scorpions, Little Feat & Journey.
Boise-born & Boston-based, Eilen Jewell has quickly distinguished herself as one of the rising stars of a new generation of roots musicians with her understated yet insightful songs with a rugged blend of Americana styles.
“In an industry in which it's too easy to do it wrong, Eilen Jewell has done it very, very right, resulting in this superb and seamless romp through swing jazz, smoky country ballads, and nostalgic old-time music...” - Sing Out!
Singing country songs in close, surrogate-sister harmony with matching dresses, The Sweetback Sisters repertoire combines several of the Sisters' passions - country music from before they were born and new interpretations of those traditions - to create a fresh take on what it means to be country. They also earned a spot on A Prairie Home Companion’s talent contest for twenty-somethings.
International
Guitar Night featuring Brian Gore,
Lulo Reinhardt, Itamar Erez
& Stephen Bennett
A World of Guitar Talent
Thursday, January 21, 2010
THE INTERNATIONAL GUITAR NIGHT (IGN) brings together the world’s foremost acoustic guitarists to perform their latest original compositions and exchange musical ideas in a public concert setting.
Brian Gore is a melodic fingerstyle guitarist, author, and impresario from San Francisco. He founded International Guitar Night in the 1990’s as a cultural haven for the world’s finest guitarists to share their original ideas in a public setting.
Lulo Reinhardt is a spontaneous and passionate musician. As a boy he learned to play Gypsy Jazz on his grandfather's Django Reinhardt model guitar. His travels took him to southern Spain in search of flamenco roots, and to South America, exploring various musical styles of Latin Jazz.
Stephen Bennett is a guitarist to hear, whether playing his great-grandfather's harp guitar, his 1930 National Steel, or a standard 6-string. On stage and in the recording studio, his diverse musical influences and interests reflect a lifelong love affair with the sound of guitar strings.
Itamar Erez is a classically trained musician and composer whose works have been performed by soloists, ensembles and orchestras in North America, Europe and the Middle East. He formed the Adama Ensemble to explore the connections between jazz and Middle Eastern music and it is these earthy, ethereal melodies that form the backbone of his solo guitar work.
North Carolina singer-songwriter Thad Cockrell hails from the old school of country music, the days before Nashville went pop. “There’s no ‘alt’ in my country,” says Cockrell, who possesses the kind of high-lonesome, wistful tenor that’ll make you long for a cabin in the pines, or set you to yearning for a long-lost love.
Since winning the Gospel Music Association’s Spotlight Competition in 1994, Jars of Clay has achieved multi-platinum status and collected numerous awards including a Grammy & four Dove Awards. They’re played on both contemporary Christian radio & mainstream alternative rock stations resulting in 10 #1 singles including “Flood” and have a talent for blending edgy & dynamic sounds with thought provoking lyrics. They took their name from II Corinthians 4:7 - “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
The wildly popular comedy, written by Rob Becker, has become a peacemaker in the ongoing misunderstandings between men and women. People all around the world LOVE Defending the Caveman! It has won the hearts of millions in more than thirty countries and is performed in over fifteen different languages. With hilarious insights on contemporary feminism, masculine sensitivity and the erogenous zone, Defending the Caveman mines the common themes in relationships that go straight to the funny bone.
Thrilling fans with an accurate reproduction of the signature Genesis sound, The Waiting Room recaptures the live energy & drama with their extensive repertoire featuring mostly Peter Gabriel vintage classics such as “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”, “Carpet Crawlers”, “I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)” & “Musical Box”.
TWR’s first set will feature Peter Gabriel solo faves – this time with a female back-up singer – including “Don’t Give Up”, “Solsbury Hill”, “In Your Eyes” & “Games without Frontiers”.
Since we were first introduced to Bo Bice on American Idol Season 4, he has not slowed down. The songs on Bo’s new album, See The Light are meant to be played live, in the most straightforward manner possible. "I don't need a laser show," Bo says. "I don't need a bunch of pyro to blow up in front of you to impress you. That's not the show. The show is the music and being entertained for an hour and a half. The album and the show have the same concept…not over-produced, just raw, Southern rock and getting back to basics.
“Writing an arranging songs like he’s the godchild of Al Green and Alex Chilton, singer-songwriter/guitarist Greg Humphries has happened on a sound that, from the first note, crackles with freshness an inspiration.” - LA Weekly
Calling Chris Smither "my Eric Clapton”, Bonnie Raitt has cut many of his songs including her signature “Love Me Like a Man”. Chris returns to Sellersville Theater in celebration of his new album Time Stands Still from which you can expect to hear new material plus some faves like “Happier Blue” & “No Love Today”.
“With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate.” - NY Times
“Bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs, Smither’s roots are as blue as they come. There is plenty of misty Louisiana and Lightnin’ Hopkins in Smither’s weathered singing and unhurried picking.” - Rolling Stone
Carsie Blanton writes and sings intelligent, playful, lyrical folk-pop that moves the heart and pleases the ear. Reminiscent of Edie Brickel, Patty Griffin, Fiona Apple and Cab Calloway.
Rolling Stone called what they do "inspired, lunatic brilliance." Jazz Review describes them as "an audacious, genre-defying national treasure!" The Asylum Street Spankers are masters of dozens of instruments, adept arrangers and songwriters. They're also brilliant interpreters of Golden Age Americana, spiced with right-on influences from their own era, performed with a ripping sense of humor, often with pointed social and cultural commentary, that creates unbridled fun and merriment. Defiantly acoustic, fiercely independent and absurdly good, the Spankers are an internationally renouned underground institution. Recommended Age 18+
Finding themselves atop a cultural mountain where they overlook the past, present and future of bluegrass music, Anchorage Alaska's Bearfoot have experienced meteoric success in recent years as an established national touring band. Bearfoot earned one of roots music's most prestigious awards - Telluride Bluegrass Band Champions - an honor they share with artists Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek. As of August, their latest album, Doors and Windows, hit #13 on Billboard Bluegrass Chart!!!
"From old-time fiddle tunes to gospel harmonies, Western swing to contemporary folk, these kids move from breakdown to Beatles and back again without missing a beat." - fiddlefreak.com
The Rigbees are a band of refreshing and decidedly welcome contradictions. Songwriter/singer Steve Brown pens songs with the lyrical sensibility and introspective depth of 70's folk, but The Rigbees deliver them with the guitar-driven energy and melodic punch of the first wave of American indie/alternative bands.
Taking their name from FDR’s New Deal initiative, WPA is an expandable collective fronted by Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips, Luke Bulla of Lyle Lovett’s Large Band & Nickel Creek’s Sean Watkins with Soul Coughing’s Sebastian Steinberg & L.A. drummer Extraordinaire Jerry Roe. The quality of songwriting with exquisite musicianship makes each show a unique and inspiring event!
Tiffani and Brit, sisters a year apart, sing like a pair of Texas angels and captivate audiences handily. Tiff writes songs, sings melody and plays guitar. Brit sings harmony and lead and plays the flute and the melodica. They create musical magic!
Fred Eaglesmith is a singer/songwriter/storyteller/comedian that has audiences laughing until their sides ache at the hilarious personal tales he weaves into his show; his songs - and stories - are carved from keen observations of the modern world and how it affects Everyman as his rabid coterie of fans - known as "Fredheads" - often travel hundreds of miles to catch his vibrant live performances. A Juno award-winner, many recording artists have cut Fred's songs, including Toby Keith, Cowboy Junkies, Dar Williams, Kasey Chambers & Todd Snider and Martin Scorsese used his songs in his movies.
"Eaglesmith delivers passion like few singers since Woody Guthrie" - New York Press
Start 2010 by getting Barleyjuiced with the New Decade Celtic-rock Kick-off Party! “Toe tapping, hand clapping, whiskey drinking, crowd pleasing, high stepping music that makes the blood flow a little faster.“ - Shay Clarke, Irish American News.