Blog Archives

A Rollicking Great Time With Barenaked Ladies

I expected to enjoy this show by the Barenaked Ladies at the Lowell Summer Music Series on another Saturday night with great weather, but I was not prepared to be blown away!

Barenaked Ladies

Barenaked Ladies

I knew their biggest hits so I knew they were funny, but I honestly did not realize how good their musicianship is.

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Alternative Roots Music at Extended Play Session on Thursday, July 24

There is another Extended Play session at Alternate Root TV on Thursday, July 24th. Spuyten Duyvil, an alternative roots band from New York, will be gracing the stage in Norwood.

Spuyten Duyvil

Spuyten Duyvil

The band has this to say:  “Hailing from the Hudson Valley, Spuyten Duyvil’s (pronounced “SPITE-en DIE-vil”) soaring vocals, traditional jug-band energy, slide guitar and Chicago-style blues harp propel the listener on a barn-burning romp through the last 100 years of American Roots music. “They are the hottest new band in folk music … and one of the best”, says legendary WXPN Folk DJ, Gene Shay. According to WFMT-Chicago’s Rich Warren, listening to this joyous band for the first time is like “throwing a cherry bomb into a lake”. It wakes you up.”

The Alternate Root is pleased to host a special night of filming featuring Spuyten Duyvil on Thursday, July 24, 2014. Doors are at 6PM and you can be included (for a $25 donation) by contacting us via e-mail through studioconcertseries@gmail.com.

Located just 25 minutes from downtown Boston and free parking! How can you go wrong with that???

A Bird Of Many Talents

It was another incredible evening under the stars at the Lowell Summer Music Series as Andrew Bird took the stage.

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird

Everyone was eager for the show to start, in part because the staging was so unusual (at least to those of us who had not seen Andrew perform) that we wanted to see how the props were going to be used.

One of the unique props

One of the unique props

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Jazz Multiplied By Classical Equals A Great Show

Paquito D’Rivera, the wonderful Latin Jazz saxophonist, has been making music for many years, but I had never seen him perform until the show last weekend at Regattabar.

Paquito D'Rivera

Paquito D’Rivera

Paquito entertained the sold-out house for more than 90 minutes, and I got the feeling he would have kept playing had they not needed to clear the room for the second set (they played two more songs after they were told they could play one).

Paquito

Paquito

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A Little Bit Of New Orleans Rocked Lowell

My friends know that Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue is one of my favorite musicians; I traveled to New York three times just to see him perform! Finally, the Lowell Summer Music Series booked him! I was going to be able to see him at one of my favorite venues – life is good!

Trombone Shorty

Trombone Shorty

The stars were completely aligned for this show. The weather was perfect, the crowd was large (but not insane), our seats were close to the stage, and the music was amazing!

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

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Hazmat Modine – Wonderful And Eclectic

Some people use the word ‘eclectic’ when they want to describe something they find odd, but not I. I think it is the ideal word for Hazmat Modine, a band from New York whose music derives from blues, jazz, world, and folk.

Hazmat Modine

Hazmat Modine

Hazmat Modine appeared at the Museum of Fine Arts‘ Concerts in the Courtyard series last week; the concert was moved indoors but that did not dampen the spirit of the band in the least.

Wade Schuman

Wade Schuman

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Rosanne Cash’s Apple Did Not Fall Far From The Family Tree

Rosanne Cash is yet another artist with whom I was familiar in name only, but when I saw that she was going to perform at the Prescott Park Arts Festival I knew I had to see her.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash

What a glorious evening it was! The weather was perfect – sunny and not hot or humid – as was the music for my first time at this series.

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An American Songster Enchants

The weather was not perfect (rain was threatening), but the setting was. A large crowd gathered in the Museum of Fine Arts‘ courtyard to see Dom Flemons perform for the first concert of the 2014 Concerts in the Courtyard series.

Dom Flemons

Dom Flemons

Dom defines songster as someone who plays and sings, and that certainly describes him. He does not describe himself as a musicologist, yet he is extremely knowledgeable about the history of American and African-American roots music; he obviously enjoys educating his audiences because he does it quite well.

Dom

Dom

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Neko Case Performance In Lowell Was Another Winner For The Series

This is another review that is difficult for me to write since I was not familiar with Neko Case‘s music prior to attending the concert at the Lowell Summer Music Series last weekend.

Neko Case's Stage Backdrop

Neko Case’s Stage Backdrop

This review will not contain photographs (other than the photo above which was shot in the afternoon well before the show started) due to Neko’s extraordinarily restrictive photo policy.

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Lucinda Felt Our Love

Many of us in attendance at last weekend’s Lucinda Williams show at the Lowell Summer Music Series remember her last performance there. Thankfully, Lucinda made a triumphant return to Boarding House Park!

Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams

Lucinda is in a much better place in her life now and that showed in her fine performance.

Lucinda

Lucinda

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