The Dejas, a musical duo that has toured the Northeast performing in house concerts and festivals, is recording their live album this Saturday, August 21, at the Gulu Gulu café in Salem. The band consists of Callie Lipton and Aaron Katz, who have been working together since they met at the ... more »
The oil gush from the Gulf did nothing to smudge a weekend-long celebration of Southwest Louisiana in New Orleans' French Quarter this weekend. The annual Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival was held in conjunction with the Creole Tomato Festival and the Louisiana Seafood Festival, further ... more »
This strange dissociative thing comes over me when I listen to "Walk," Byfield cellist Kristen Miller's new album. It's like she's whispering in my ear, reminding me of things we have always known, hard-learned lessons that have been all but lost in the maddening rush to the present, the ... more »
This story originally ran on Art Throb in January. The band will perform in Salem this Sunday. Trying to get a fix on Fox? What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?, that is. The band that has more punctuation in its name than any group in any genre, driving copyeditors everywhere crazy, and a ... more »
Watching from the windows of Bleachers Club in downtown Salem because he was too young to get in, Courtney Linehan would gaze upon the Vic Morrows Band and let the sheer joy of a good live set wash over him. Later, with greater ambitions for their son than music, Linehan's parents ... more »
This week, Salem State students are vying for spots on the college's new a capella group. Combining great voices with contemporary tunes and beat boxing, these groups are popular on college campuses nationwide and are celebrated every weekend on Emerson College's popular radio ... more »
World travelers on a dizzying level, Greg Kowalski and his wife, Andréa, are optimistic about the future of local music. "Artists are leaving Boston," Greg says, leaned backed in a rocking chair, legs crossed under its armrests, "and they're coming to Salem." Having seen a world larger ... more »
It's not often that smaller pieces grab all the attention - especially when the centerpiece of the performance is Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, traditionally an audience favorite. But that's exactly what's happening this month with Cape Ann Symphony. The program includes an historical ... more »
I adore music and I'm obsessed with poetry. Blending these two artistic genres, while keeping intact the integrity of each, is a feat accomplished wonderfully by the duo Confluence. On Wednesday, Feb. 24th they'll debut their album "Ogunquit" at the Salem Athenaeum at 7:30 p.m. I ... more »
On a street once famous for a seemingly never ending pub crawl known as "The Derby Shuffle," another Salem establishment is now serving drinks and hosting bands. The Derby Deli, an eatery located beneath a parking garage for years, now has a full time liquor license, which means they're now ... more »
When the Edgewater Cafe closed its doors for good this past Halloween, Salem lost not only a delicious Mexican restaurant but an intimate live music venue, as well. For the final three years of the Washington Street eatery's existence, every Friday night was filled with the eclectic ... more »
Sunday's concert in Beverly, put on by the North Shore Jazz Project, helped raise funds for Haiti. These photos, by John Carden, a photojournalist from New Hampshire, caught the spirit of the day. The organization has another concert in a Danvers private home on Feb. 12th. You can check their ... more »
With all the Haitian poetry and music that has been celebrated following the recent devastating earthquake, here's an opportunity to give and listen to some smooth jazz. This Sunday at Chianti in Beverly, the North Shore Jazz Project welcomes the sacred sound and music of the Greta Bro ... more »
This story first appeared on Art Throb on October 7, 2009. See Preacher Jack and powerhouse Barrence Whitfield perform January 10 at Chianti in Beverly at a brunch concert to support the North Shore Jazz Project. Chianti is at 285 Cabot Street. The event runs 1 to 4. If you missed the ... more »
Music evolves organically. This is especially true at The Plummer Home for Boys in Salem. A piano was first donated by a generous business and some of the adolescent boys, who had no formal music education, began to tap its keys. Staff members then noticed the boys' interest and ... more »
What do you envision when you think of electronic music? Glow sticks?...the word "techno" probably comes to mind...raves maybe? The truth is, most of us really don't know what it is or what it's all about. Scott Buchanan is going to change that. And you can catch a glimpse Friday ... more »
By Dinah Cardin Last Sunday, some friends and I traveled to New Orleans -- only for the afternoon. We sipped cocktails in the daylight, talked to friendly strangers, marveled at the mild weather and heard fantastic live jazz. Actually, we were in Beverly at the North Shore Jazz Project ... more »
This Sunday, November 15th, Chianti Tuscan Restaurant at 285d Cabot Street in Beverly will host the The North Shore Jazz Project Fundraiser. The goal of the project is to bring the enduring jazz and blues tradition back to the North Shore. Sandy’s and Lenny’s provided musical, ... more »
It's been well over a year since Rose Polenzani joined Boston-based roots music all-stars Session Americana in the studio to record her album "When the River Meets the Sea". Since then, the local folk artist has performed across the globe, continued her studies to become a nurse and ... more »
On Saturday, October 24th at 8:00p.m., see the La Donna Musicale featuring the Venetian Women Composers of the 17th and 18th centuries at the Salem Athenaeum. Presented by the Cambridge Society for Early Music, "this award winning ensemble...brings to life music by female composers nearly ... more »
If you haven't yet been, check out the 'blues jam' every Friday afternoon (starting at 4:00) that Eric Reardon runs at In A Pig's Eye in Salem; it's standing room only these days, but let's start at the beginning... A young Eric Reardon started playing guitar at the age of 9, equipped ... more »
Who? Everyone looking for a fun night in Salem and the chance to see one of the best Latin groups in Boston, Los Sugar Kings! Bring your costume! What? Havana Night Costume Ball Where? Knights of Columbus Hall at 96 Washington St, Salem, MA When? Saturday, October 17 from 8p.m. til ... more »
Good music has a lot in common with a good meal when it comes local, colorful and homegrown. Ever amused (and unwilling to dispute my fruit), I pick tomatoes like I pick my friends -- based on their unique character qualities. While this notion does not extend to every item in my grocery cart, ... more »
Henley Douglas Jr. and Garret Savluk have been playing together for the better part of two decades, from the early days with The Blues Meanies, which had them backing the Del Fuegos, among others, to the years as the conceptually outrageous Heavy Metal Horns, which put them on the road with ... more »
Check out The Dejas this Thursday, October 8th at Gulu-Gulu Café in Salem at 8p.m. ...and again on Halloween! For the last three years, the Salem-based duo The Dejas have been playing all over the Northeast, from festivals to house concerts. They even played The Gap this summer in a ... more »
[caption id="attachment_4073" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Olga Kouznetsova"] [/caption] Classical and pop violinist Olga Kouznetsova has joined the ranks of Salem's electronica band. The Russian violinist has been on the frontier of Boston's music scene for over 15 years and can ... more »
Sunday morning. Peter Tentindo is on the phone, croaking out an apology about something, it's hard to tell exactly what... oh, wait, it's about his croaking. The former Robbie Roadsteamer guitarist blew out his voice after four weekend shows with Britannica, the classic rock outfit fronted ... more »
When an idea formulates you sometimes need to convince yourself that it is worth pursuing. You need to ask yourself if the energy will be there and if the connections will come together. Last fall I got this burst of inspiration while in a planning meeting for the 375th birthday ... more »
FRI: Los Sugar Kings at Edgewater Cafe in Salem. I might be off on the exact date, but pretty sure this Friday marks THREE YEARS in Residency for LSK. So, come hang, celebrate and dance! If I'm wrong, you owe me a drink. P.S. It's also Dawn's (Edgewater's most wonderful bartender ... more »
Writer's block. Deadlines. Bankruptcy. This is what a recording artist deals with in today's music industry. I have been rapping for five years. Mostly, I've recorded songs for only my friends to listen to. The warm reception and encouraging feedback has helped me realize that my talents ... more »
Art Throb: Salem Jazz and Soul Fest from Charlotte Cheshire on Vimeo. more »
Their residency started 12 years ago at Dodge Street Bar and Grill on Fat Tuesday when former owner and bar manager Bob Berzofsky put an ad in the paper to promote the first gig, saying "with two B-3's back to back, the fat sound would be even fatter." Thus, Fats Hammond was born. And he ... more »
Most people don't associate pad thai with guitarists and spoken word artists. Most open mic nights take place in dimly lit bars where the music is amped up and the crowd somewhat noisy. Not at Sticky Rice, a Thai restaurant in Marblehead, where I witnessed what is perhaps, the most ... more »
There will be a wild mix of music in the air when the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival kicks off this weekend, everything from the funky street beats of Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, which brings the sound and spectacle of Mardi Gras to life, to the funk-rock fusion of the Brotherhood of ... more »
In the three years they've been playing the local circuit, The Willows have scooped up a loyal group of fans and Nicole Goguen, a 40-something marketing guru from Nahant, admits she's probably one of the band's most smitten, going to about one show a month. In a sea of local cover bands, she ... more »
Okay, so here's the way they look at it: The band has been blowing out eardrums and offending people in fun and interesting ways for about eight years now and has scored some pretty big successes along the way -- especially as a live act. But time's come to face facts: Things just aren't ... more »
Henley Douglas Jr. has been one of the driving forces of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival since the weekend music series began, but this year he's taking it easy. Well, okay, that's not exactly accurate. The Salem saxophonist will be blowing with the Boston Horns Big Band and Soul Force V, ... more »
When they arrive at the Gulu-Gulu Café, after recording the final notes on a new album, The Dejas are glowing like new parents. And Callie Lipton, the band's pretty lead singer, adds to the mood when, breathing a heavy sigh, she says, "[Creating an album] is like having a child. You ... more »
Erinn Brown ...the extra N isn't all that separates her from others with the same name, her voice is the feature that most identifies her signature difference: a unique, distinctively pleasurable fullness of sound that captures the ear ... a smoothness and familiarity of inflection ... more »