THURSDAY, JUNE 19 - 8:00 PM - $5 - German / polka
FRIDAY, JUNE 20 - 9:00 PM - $5 - rock / punk
SATURDAY, JUNE 21 - 8:30 PM - $5 - folk / acoustic
Foster Family Concert
featuring JOE FOSTER
with Morgan Foster
South Haven, MI - Joe Foster is a folk singer/song stylist known for his pleasant voice, sense of humor, and wonderful renditions of the 40s to 70s folk tunes from a variety of our classic folk artists. Joe has performed for the past 30+ years at various venues throughout the Midwest, and always leaves his audiences with a few smiles, some good laughs, and humming some the memorable folk songs of the last 50 years. Joe's son, Morgan, is lead singer and songwriter in the up and coming folk-rock group Common Shiner, originally from Grand Rapids, but now performing throughout the Midwest and in Chicago venues regularly. Their first CD, So Long..., received accolades from local press and earned radio airplay in West Michigan. From their sophomore CD, Viennas, the song No Melody placed in the top 150 songs on the national adult contemporary charts. Since their move to Chicago in late 2007, Common Shiner have showcased at Chicago's Elbo Room, numerous other clubs, and now are regulars at Goose Island Brewery in Wrigleyville. As a solo performer, Morgan was invited to open for Tim Reynolds during Tim's national tour stop in Grand Rapids. Morgan is known for his poignant and poetic lyrics, his skill on both the electric and acoustic guitars, and his moving vocal renditions. His songs stimulate, entertain and touch the hearts of audiences of all ages.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 - 7:30 PM - $5 - acoustic / new-folk
Boston, MA - Meg Hutchinson was raised in the small town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts by English teachers, so it is no surprise that she is a writer with an uncanny perceptiveness about the natural world and the human condition. Growing up in the Berkshire Mountains, the woods and ponds were her childhood muses, as were the songwriters she listened to, like Greg Brown and Joni Mitchell. When she inherited her grandmother's 1957 Martin guitar at age eleven, her love of words found an inspiring instrument, and there was no turning back. "Songwriting is not something I chose, I've just somehow always known that this is what I love to do. This is what I can't help but do," she says. Although only 29 years old, Hutchinson has garnered much critical attention for her unique alto vocals and resonating, razor-sharp lyrics, and her sophisticated folk/pop songwriting has endeared her to such acclaimed songwriters as Susan Werner, John Gorka and Catie Curtis, folk greats with whom she will be touring in support of her new album on Red House Records, Come Up Full.
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 - 8:30 PM - $8/$6 adv - indie / alternative
Kalamazoo, MI - bLuE daHLia is described by the Detroit Free Press as "more adventurous than anyone else dares to be." The exotic ripples through each composition, blending textural guitars, melodic bass, soaring multi-lingual vocals with ethnic, orchestral percussion. An independent alternative band formed in 1995 by former members of the underground band, The New York Room, bLuE daHLia has completed five arresting studio releases and continues to create a hybrid mix of world fusion and adult alternative. Recent comparisons include The Decemberists, The Talking Heads, Supreme Beings of Leisure, The Cocteau Twins, and Dead Can Dance. Blue Dahlia has also provided or contributed to composed music and scores for independent films including An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge --which won a CINE Golden Eagle award and was an official selection at The Palm Beach International film Festival. Further music tracks were provided for Londinium Productions film-- Kalamazoo? and the indie short, Abductees, among others. Royal Caribbean, Cunard Cruise Lines, and The Lincoln Center's Education for the Arts program are among many who have commissioned Blue Dahlia's works for commercial and artistic licensing.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28 - 8:30 PM - $5 - hillbilly / jug-band
Coloma, MI - The Deep Fried Pickles pride themselves on making juggabilly music that would make Hee-Haw's Grandpa Jones shake, rattle and roll over in his grave. Founded in 2000 as a jug band, 'DFPP' now embraces other American roots music forms as well. Hokum, Bluegrass, Folk, Rockabilly, Blues and Honky-Tonk tunes pepper their set lists. The recent musical phenomenon's performances include hillbilly-style punk-rock covers and rollicking original tunes. Fans are known as "gherkins". Their style has been compared to "The Sex Pistols meet the Beverly Hillbillies". "The music is "a snapshot of America's Heartland", says the South Bend Tribune. According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, DFPP's family performances "leave parents and kids pickled pink."
FRIDAY, JULY 04 - 8:30 PM - $5
The Brothers Kalamazov
FRIDAY, JULY 11 - closed for private event
SUNDAY, JULY 13 - 7:00 PM - $6 - pop / soul
Minneapolis, MN - Keri Noble came to Minneapolis seven years ago after falling in love with the musical community in the Twin Cities. But that's not where the story begins. Living back and forth between Texas and Illinois, her family finally settled in Michigan, where her father pastored a bilingual church in southwest Detroit. Surrounded by gospel and urban music, it took a while for Noble to find her own voice. But the day she heard Joni Mitchell's Blue, a whole new world opened up for her. She began writing and putting her words to music. The result is a beautiful mix of R&B, pop, and singer-songwriter. In 2003, Keri signed with EMI/Manhattan, and released her debut album, Fearless, which Billboard Magazine called a "sparkling, beautifully recorded debut." It was picked up in 22 worldwide markets. She had great success in Asia, with two top-ten hits, a song in the highest rated TV show, a song in a hit movie and a sold-out tour of the historic Blue Note clubs. She toured Germany, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Holland - opening for such major artists as Cyndi Lauper, Jonny Lang, and BB King. Noble left EMI in 2005 and signed with JVC (Japan) and Telarc Records (U.S.). She released her second album, Let Go, in Japan in November 2007 and is working on the finishing touches of her sophomore U.S. album. She is spending the summer touring the country with an EP of new material in preparation for her full-length release in early '09.
THURSDAY, JULY 24 - 7:30 PM - $TBA - folk / eclectic
Chicago, IL - Small Potatoes is Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso. This Chicago-based duo has been touring on the folk circuit since 1993 and in that time they've become sought-after regulars at many clubs, theatres, and coffeehouses across the U.S.. They have made repeat appearances at major folk festivals, including the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Walnut Valley Folk Festival, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. They were one of the "most requested" acts at the 1999 Falcon Ridge New Artist Showcase. Jacquie is also a past winner of the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Contest. They call themselves eclecto-maniacs. They describe their music as "Celtic to Cowboy" and say it has taken them "years of careful indecision" to come up with a mix of music that ranges from country, blues, and swing to Irish, with songwriting that touches on all of those styles and more. Their four recordings, Alive!, Waltz of the Wallflowers, Time Flies, and Raw cover all these styles. They both sing, they both play guitars and an array of other instruments. They even yodel. Dirty Linen Magazine called them "one of the most polished, inventive, and entertaining shows on the circuit." Sing Out Magazine called them "wonderfully eclectic" and said "Small Potatoes might well be leading mainstays on the folk scene for years to come."
UNDERWRITTEN BY:
Rock 'N Road Cycle
315 Broadway
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 - 7:30 PM - $15/$12 adv - world / reggae
Jamaica - Culture has long been reggae's preeminent harmony group. Born in the 70's golden age of reggae, the ever viable Culture has garnered continual US and international acclaim for its long series (over 28 albums) of classic "roots" recordings. Culture's legendary Two Sevens Clash (Shanachie) was Reggae Album of the Year in 1977 and is acknowledged by Rolling Stone Magazine (April 11, 2002) as #25 of the 50 all-time coolest records (the only reggae album to make the list). Culture's music is solidly roots, perfectly executed and delivered with genuine emotional fervor. Joseph Hill's devotion to the traditional Rastafarian values of purity, simplicity and justice is exemplified by Culture's lyrical themes. Milo Miles, writing for The New York Times, named Culture as "the leading exponent of 'conscious reggae'." Hill's message is clear and uplifting. His songwriting abilities are outstanding and music reviewers have lauded his achievements for two decades. On August 19, 2006, while on tour in Europe, Joseph Hill passed suddenly and decisions for the future of the tour and the group had to be made quickly. The European promoters of the upcoming dates requested that the group continue the tour as a Tribute to Joseph Hill. It was then that his son Kenyatta stepped away from the soundboard and picked up his father's microphone. Kenyatta was familiar with all of the music and was perfect for the role of new lead singer for Culture. The tour went on without pause and show after show, audiences, promoters and critics alike were amazed at the way in which Kenyatta was so much like his father onstage while introducing an element of his own. One critic's comment stands out. He summed it up by saying, "It was more magic than tragic." It happened again in Bahia Brazil at a festival on Sept 2. The final proof that Kenyatta was the logical choice took place in Jamaica at the memorial concert for Joseph Hill on the weekend of the funeral. There was no doubt when Kenyatta stepped up and performed that he was the highlight of the star studded night.