RED BARAAT
September 6 at 7pm – click here for tickets
Formed in 2008, Red Baraat is a pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn, New York. Conceived by Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound — a merging of hard driving North Indian bhangra rhythms with elements of jazz, go-go, brass funk, and hip-hop. Created with no less a purposeful agenda than manifesting joy and unity in all people, Red Baraat’s spirit is worn brightly on its sweaty and hard-worked sleeve. And is being returned to them in cities all over the world, as word spreads of the band’s incredibly powerful live performances.
CAFÉ ACCORDION ORCHESTRA – CD RELEASE
September 29 at 7pm – click here for tickets
“Berets and Bongos” describes the Café Accordion experience. A loungy, eclectic mix, full of French flare, Latin heat and Bohemian attitude. The heart of the Café Accordion repertoire is the romantic, gypsy-influenced valse-musette. The group complements the musettes with swing, ballads, tangos, cha chas, rumbas, and cumbias to create a wonderfully varied show. They inject their music with good humor and expressive abandon. Their high level of musicianship and passion for performance makes them an entertaining concert act as well as a great dance band.
CATHERINE RUSSELL
November 14 at 7pm – click here for tickets
With her sixth album, Harlem On My Mind, vocalist Catherine Russell journeys to the blue heart of the great African American songbook. Swinging forth with soulful interpretations, Russell taps the golden age of Harlem, as befits this vibrant daughter of jazz. Vocalists Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Dinah Washington provide inspiration where tunesmiths like Benny Carter, Irving Berlin, Andy Razaf and Fats Waller once ruled the roost of a renaissance which continues to reverberate. Of the title track, Russell says, “It’s about not forgetting your roots,” which also serves as her modus operandi for the entire collection. “The album is comprised of songs from artists who played at The Apollo in Harlem, where all African American artists of note appeared.
MIPSO
November 29 at 7pm – click here for tickets
Mipso’s color palette, like its soundscape, is radically inclusive. “We come from a place where traditional music is a living, changing thing,” fiddle player Libby Rodenbough says. “So we feel like having an ear for all kinds of stuff is not only true to ourselves, it’s a nod to the tradition.” Call it what you will – to listen is to understand: it’s either unlike anything you’ve heard before or effortlessly familiar. By digging deeper and expanding further, Mipso have created their own dark daydream of Southern Americana: Their Old Time Reverie
TOWER OF POWER
Nov 30, Dec 2-3 at 7 and 9pm – click here for tickets
Since 1968, Tower of Power has delivered their unique brand of “Urban Soul Music” to audiences around the world. The band’s horn driven sound is unclassifiably cool, and they feature one of the funkiest rhythm sections alive. Amazingly, 5 of the ten current members of the band are founding members, something unheard of from most 40 year old bands. Tower of Power began performing in August 1968, and they quickly established a reputation as one of the most exciting elements of the burgeoning “San Francisco Sound.” After releasing one record on Bill Graham’s San Francisco records, they made the jump to Warner Brothers and by 1972 were on the national scene. The 1970s saw the band release a string of memorable records and hits that still resonate with audiences today. Tower has released a total of 19 albums, and its members have appeared on hundreds of recordings with artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Elton John, Little Feat, Phish, Santana, Heart, and many others.