Bill Copeland
The Slutcracker wrings pure joy out of reimagined holiday classic; bawdy humor rules the night
It’s hard to describe The Slutcracker to anybody who has not seen the show. To say it’s a deliciously perverted take on The Nutcracker hardly tells the whole story. Yet, its popularity speaks for itself. Running until December 31 at The Somerville Theater at Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts, it has become a must see […]
Suzanne McNeil takes it several notches higher with Shimmer
Suzanne McNeil’s third CD Shimmer finds her a bit feistier and funkier. She’s found her stride and she expresses it with a little edge this time around. Utilizing singer-songwriter sentiment, country, folk, and pop idioms, and her own astonishingly pure vocal, McNeil’s album tugs at the listener’s ear and heart in pleasingly equal amounts. It would be a crime if nobody important in the music industry notices this surefire work by this good girl from Boston.
Jay Psaros takes it to a higher level with self-titled CD
Jay Psaros’s latest, self-titled CD follows along similar roots as his previous works. This time around he brings a fresh, wide-ranging feeling to his singer-songwriter flare. With a voice that many singer-songwriters would kill or die for, Psaros never fails to deliver the emotive, musical goods with understated artfulness and vivid details.
Kelley Bolduc proves an exceptional artist with More Trumpet
Kelley Bolduc has made quite a name for herself in the last 20 years as the lead singer and trumpet player for her reggae band Hot Like Fire. On her new solo album, simply titled More Trumpet, Bolduc indulges her creativity and showcases a high skill level on her instrument, offering her listeners something that stands alone as a bold statement of her musical abilities. These 12 instrumental tracks speak volumes about what this young lady can do with her horn.
Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson packed Wantu Blues Jam, wowed the crowd
Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson was the highlight feature at yesterday’s Wantu Blues Jam. Taking the stage after the house band performed their opening set, Johnson and a few of his regular band mates played some of the best blues songs in the blues catalogue. Johnson’s scheduled appearance at this weekly blues jam likely accounted for the huge turnout at Goffstown, New Hampshire’s Village Trestle yesterday afternoon.
Predicting this year’s NEMA nominees
The New England Music Awards show scheduled for April 2015 at Blue Ocean Music Hall is already in the planning stages, the ballots having already gone out to members of the NEMA nominating committee. Thankfully, the ballot is much easier to use this year. While there is no easy way to predict who will get nominated for an award when there’s six different states and several different genres on the ballot, there have been some artists getting and or increasing attention to themselves this past year. BillCopelandMusicNews.com is going to take several shots in the dark based on who’s been making noise this past year.
Jeff Przech provides warm, gritty, memorable tunes on Sounds Like Fresh CD
Jeff Przech’s latest CD Sounds Like Fresh is fine singer-songwriter faire with a country roots edge. Przech has one of those smooth, warm country vocals that makes the listener feel he’s having a personal conversation with him. Thoughtful reflective lyrics with considered selections of acoustic instruments, pedal steel, and percussion are all part of the charm on this CD. Each track, whether bright or dark, makes the listener feel Przech is taking him down a long country road where his stories unfold like the bucolic scenery.
North Shore music scene update
BillCopelandMusicNews.com has just received a tip on who is hot in the North Shore music scene at this time
AfterFab to bring The Beatles solo songs to life at Regent Theatre in Arlington this Friday, November 20
Presented by Last Dance Productions, at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts: AfterFab is America’s only tribute to the SOLO careers of all four Beatles. Something truly new and different for fans, praised by Beatles authors and experts for high fidelity to the original recordings, performed with high energy.
Shor’ty Billups grows big on Young Woman “Ana” Old Man CD
Shor’ty Billups and his Foxxx Band have come up with a fantastic CD. Young Woman “Ana” Old Man is loaded with fine blues offerings and soul flavored numbers. Billups’ voice makes him sound like a thirty year old crooner even though this Bostonian is 80 plus. His songwriting is solid and he has selected some of the best standards in blues to croon over with his deep down feeling of cool. Billups is also a drummer, keeping the backbeat alluring and irresistible throughout this disc. Like many drummers from the old days, Billups is also a band leader, keeping a bus load of players on track, making sure he milks the talent out of each to get what he needs for each track.
