HeatherFest 21 reigned over the rain; blues, charitable giving, positive vibes carried the day
HeatherFest 21 may have gotten rained on for about an hour last Sunday night. Yet, the weather didn’t stop the talent from raining out of the amplifiers for most of the event. A festival sized event hosted by blues fans Heather McKibben in her Norton, Massachusetts home for two decades, nothing has even been able to defeat this event. In fact, the storm only forced the side stage performer, Racky Thomas and his friends, to entertain from their mostly non electric, roofed stage.
Bands and singers rocked first South Shore Irish Festival, Johnny McEvoy, Na Fianna made strong impressions
Day one of the first South Shore Irish Festival indicated that the event will likely grown each year. There was a better than decent turnout for most of the day and several attendees were clearly enjoying the musical offerings of the day held at the Marshfield Fairgrounds in Marshfield, Massachusetts. And the line up of bands and singers accounted for much of the draw. Johnny Costello from WROL 95.5 AM radio was among the announcers introducing the bands, like Noel Henry’s Irish Show Band. Aside from Irish ballads, this group also played a hopping take on “Rock Me Mama Like A Wagon Wheel” before involving the youngsters in the audience with “The Unicorn” and “The Chicken Dance.”
20th North River Blues Festival at Marshfield Fair offered great time, great music
Day two of the 2oth anniversary of the North River Blues Festival at Marshfield Fair was a huge success. Attendance was fairly brisk in the beginning and it continued to pick up as the day went on. Several blues fans were present by the time the national acts performed. Hosted by Peter Black, blues DJ at WATD’s Wide World Of Blues, every act was smoothly introduced. Black’s booming voice could be appreciated for its clarity during many of his announcements, especially as he kept asking the bands to play one more song, which went over well the North River Blues audience.
Adam Ezra Group and their friends brought good vibe to Ramble 6
Paying it forward seems to be the theme of the millennial generation. The Sixth Annual Ramble came to Salisbury Beach last Saturday afternoon and evening and, hosted by the Adam Ezra, raised money to go towards building a handicap accessible home for a veteran. Aside from the good cause, great feeling vibe, it was also a day of an amazing variety of music coming from the bands that played the 12 hour long event.
Green Harbor Roots Festival at Marshfield Fair offered musical experience, fun
The 19th annual Green Harbor Roots Festival showcased some of the best and most rockin’ roots music around. Cloudy and overcast but never rainy, the event took place in cool, comfortable weather, and the turnout over the course of the eight hour event topped three hundred. And that’s not bad for a roots festival that some may have thought was going to get rained out.
Greedy Geezer outdoor Garage Nite fun, fun, fun
I stopped by the tail end of Greedy Geezer’s annual Geezer’s Garage Nite Cook out last Saturday night. This is the Geezer’s summer time outdoors version of the Greedy Geezer’s Garage Night jam session he holds every other Saturday night at the Granite Rail Tavern in Quincy, Massachusetts. Either version of Garage night is basically […]
Soundwaves 2015 was a real blues treat; worthy cause supported
Listening to blues bands in a Boston Harbor cruiser while docked at Spectacle Island isn’t that much different from listening to blues in a bar and restaurant. The only difference is you have to get there first to enjoy a cool breathe from the open air setting as the boat cruises across the harbor to its destination. A vibe of anticipation could be felt as the engines work beneath one’s feet and the boat moves with the currents beneath it. Blues guitar licks waft through the air as the first band tunes up. There is nothing quite like standing in the front of the New Boston as it maneuvers closer to its docking point.
Red Sky Mary rocked The Village Trestle last Saturday night; offered startlingly good originals
Red Sky Mary have been on a roll these past few years. After releasing three CDs, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire based-band has been touring the country. At one stop, they ran out of copies of their latest album, River Child, and had their record company send another batch to their next hotel. Last Saturday night’s show at The Village Trestle was a good display of their musical prowess. While it was a cover song gig, Red Sky Mary did a fine job making other people’s music come to three dimensional life while occasionally injecting some of their catchy original material.
Craig Farrington ran a smooth open mic jam at Muddy Waters in Methuen last night
Blues men Craig Farrington and Alex Trebat have struck a gold mine of talent in Methuen, Massachusetts. Their Wednesday night Open Mic Jam at Muddy Waters Pub & Restaurant ran smooth as a well oiled machine last night, offering a lot of fine players and some of the best song ever recorded.
Peter Parcek trio made quite a few sparks at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester NH last night
Peter Parcek and his trio played an impressive three set show of blues at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester, New Hampshire last night. Fortunately, Strange Brew is quieter on Tuesday nights and there are more seats available near the stage so people could actually hear the band. Parcek unleashed several good blues guitar phrases at last night’s show and his adept rhythm section, bass guitarist Joe Klumpa and drummer Marco Giovino, kept things shuffling, thumping, and driving beneath his eternal flame guitar work.