Category Archives: concert photos
Grammy-Winner Shelby Lynne Enchants
Shelby Lynne may have made her name as a country musician, but her performance at Johnny D’s a few days ago showed that she is a versatile singer-songwriter who is firmly ensconced in the broader category of American roots music.
This was the first stop on Shelby’s tour to promote her new album, I Can’t Imagine, produced by Massachusetts’ own Rounder Records and released two days prior to this show.
Pink Martini? I’ll Take One!
My love for Pink Martini started almost twenty years ago when they released their first album, Sympathique. I did not see them perform until two years ago in a show that was in my top ten of 2013. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see them again this week at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence.
This band (or is it truly a small orchestra?) is one of the most entertaining acts to see live. The two shows I have seen were quite different but equally wonderful.
Tom Russell Performs His Ballad Of The West
See No Depression for my review of this terrific show by Tom Russell at Club Passim.
An Evening of Folky-Rootsy Love Songs
For my review of this fine performance at Club Passim by Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, click here.
Up-And-Coming Retro Majestic Indie Rock Act Delivers A Solid Performance
I may be a bit biased when it comes to Laney Jones and the Spirits because they are friends, but I watched the reaction of the audience at the Extended Play Sessions where they performed on Friday night and saw that everyone in the room was as enthralled with this band as I am. Phew!
You may wonder what ‘retro majestic indie rock’ (Laney’s self-description) is; my answer to that is that you should listen to the band’s new music which is not yet out on an album. Here’s a video of one of the songs performed at this Session.
This Riff Raff Is Everything But!
Everything but riffraff, that is… Hurray for the Riff Raff has been one of my favorite bands since the first time I saw them at the Newport Folk Festival two years ago. The band returned to Boston to perform at the Paradise Rock Club in what might have been their first headlining show at a major venue in the area.
This show might possibly be the best show of theirs I have seen to date; the energy in the room was tremendous and the band fed off that (although it was truly symbiotic – they fed off us and we fed off their energy and joy).
In Spite Of The Devil, Spuyten Duyvil Is Heavenly
For my review of this marvelous Spuyten Duyvil show at Club Passim, with Laney Jones and the Spirits opening, click here.
Hitch Your Ride To These Rising Stars
If you have been reading this website for a while, you might recall that a year ago I fell in love with the hip-hop bluegrass group Gangstagrass. Our love affair continued over the weekend at Johnny D’s where they appeared in support of their latest release, American Music.
Nobody was more surprised than the band when the album debuted at #5 on the Billboard bluegrass chart! They deserve to be known for more than the theme song for the television show Justified, and maybe now they will be!
Rhiannon Giddens’ Powerful Voice Must Be Experienced
Rhiannon Giddens embarked on her first solo tour several months ago. She achieved much success as a co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, but her reputation exploded through a couple of projects in which she participated over the last two years: the Another Day, Another Time concert, a celebration of the music that inspired the film Inside Llewyn Davis, and The New Basement Tapes, a collaboration that set newly found Bob Dylan lyrics to music.
Rhiannon mentioned that this show at the Somerville Theatre was originally billed as a Carolina Chocolate Drops show; I would have seen the show either way, but I am glad it was her show.



















































































