Pure Prairie League
From their beginnings in mid-60’s Southern Ohio as a group of friends playing cover tunes to the present-day unit featuring founding member/innovative pedal steel guitarist John David Call, propulsive drummer/vocalist Scott Thompson, keyboard master/vocalist Randy Harper and featuring new members Jared Camic on bass and vocals, plus ace guitarist/vocalist Jeff Zona, Pure Prairie League continues to embellish the rich history of one of Country- Rock’s pioneering forces for over 50 years. As one reviewer recently wrote: “PPL’s trademark sound combines sweet memories with edgy contemporary muscle. Their vocals are as strong as Kentucky moonshine and the musicianship and performance skills are as sharp as a straight-razor.” Their eponymous first album – featuring the Norman Rockwell/Saturday Evening Post cover that introduced fans to PPL’s trademark cowpoke “Sad Luke” – has been hailed as a “major early influence in the emerging popularity of Country Rock music.” PPL’s second effort, the multi-platinum “Bustin’ Out” brought us the Craig Fuller-penned “Amie”, along with a full LP of classic songs of the genre. With 1975’s “Two Lane Highway” PPL began a streak of continuous classic albums, constant touring and growing prowess as a major concert draw, PPL has forged a legacy that has continued to flourish for over five decades. During the 70’s and 80’s PPL featured the contributions of several noteworthy members, including co-founder George Ed Powell, Cincinnati’s legendary Goshorn Brothers, Country Hall-of-Famers Gary Burr and Vince Gill, award-winning songwriter Jeff Wilson (3 Top-Ten singles), as well as a host of guest appearances from Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Gimble, David Sanborn, Eagle Don Felder, Nicolette Larson and many others. Now in their sixth decade, Pure Prairie League continues to lead the way for the new generation of country rockers like Keith Urban, Wilco, Nickel Creek, Counting Crows and many more that cite PPL as one of their main influences. As crisp and clean as mountain spring water and as comfortable as a well-worn cowboy shirt, Pure Prairie League continues to bring us all back home.
John Sebastian & Jimmy Vivino
John Sebastian: Over four decades the contributions of John Sebastian have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric. His group The Lovin’ Spoonful played a major role in the mid-’60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution. “We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us our rock & roll roots,” John explains, “but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an ‘American’ band.” This the Lovin’ Spoonful did like nobody before or since, putting their first seven singles into the Top 10. This was unprecedented, and utterly unthinkable at the height of Beatlemania. At first they’d taken older material from blues, country, folk and jug band sources – what we now term “roots music” – and made it sound modern. Then, in a series of original songs composed and sung by John Sebastian, they did the reverse, creating thoroughly modern music that sounded like it contained the entire history of American music. Which it did. Jimmy Vivino: Jimmy Vivino serves as the Music Director on the TBS late night show “CONAN.” Vivino has been a consistent element in O’Brien’s late night career, starting with the first episode of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” in September 1993. In June of 2008 Vivino moved from New York to Los Angeles and worked as Music Director/guitarist/arranger on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” “The Legally Prohibited from Being on Television Tour” and currently leads “Jimmy Vivino and The Basic Cable Band” on “CONAN.”When not appearing weeknights on TBS, Vivino divides his time between recording sessions and live gigs throughout the country. In addition to his solo work, Vivino plays with The Prisoners of 2nd Avenue, Rumble & Twang with Lee Rocker, The Barn Burners, The Rekooperators, and the successful Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux. Vivino has also recorded and played live with such legends as Johnnie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm and Al Kooper. Earlier in his career Jimmy got his start producing playing and arranging for such artists as Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, John Sebastian and Donald Fagen. Summer 2014, Jimmy headlined the King Biscuit Festival with his other band, Jimmy Vivino & the Black Italians.
An Evening with Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson’s musical influence cannot be overstated. Having co-founded the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 60s, he and his bandmates invented the distinctive strain of British Folk Rock. He left the group by the age of 21 which was followed by a decade long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a highly successful solo artist. In 2011, Thompson received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The Los Angeles Times called him the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix and Rolling Stone has named him one of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. He has received lifetime achievement awards for songwriting from Britain’s BBC Awards, the Americana Music Association, and was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello Award. His song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” was named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Greatest Songs Since 1923.” A wide range of musicians have recorded Thompson’s songs including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, Del McCoury, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, David Byrne, Don Henley, Los Lobos, and many more. His massive body of work includes many Grammy nominated albums as well as numerous soundtracks, including Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man. Thompson’s genre defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar along with engaging energy and onstage wit continue to earn him new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive virtuosos and writers in Folk Rock history.
Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite
Elvin Bishop Founding Member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band 1998 – Inducted into Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame 2006 – Nomination for Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year 2009 – Nominated in 4 Blues Music Award categories – Album of the Year – Contemporary Blues Album of the Year – Contemporary Blues Male of the Year – Song of the Year 2009 – GRAMMY Nomination Blues Album of the Year 2009 – Blues Blast Magazine winner of Best Male Blues Artist 2011 – Nomination for Blues Music Award Historical Album of the Year 2012 – Nomination for Blues Music Award Best DVD 2012/2013 – Rock Hall Nominee as member of Paul Butterfield Blues Band 2015 – Inducted in the Rock Hall as member of Paul Butterfield Blues Band 2016 – Blues Hall of Fame Inductee (Solo) Charlie Musselwhite 2019 GRAMMY Nominee w/Ben Harper 2014 GRAMMY Winner w/Ben Harper 13-time GRAMMY Nominee 33-time Blues Music Award Winner Many-time Living Blues Award Winner Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite 100 Years of Blues 2022 GRAMMY Nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album Blues Music Award Winner – 2022 Album of The Year Blues Music Award Winner – 2022 Traditional Blues Album of the Year Charlie Musselwhite’s journey through the blues was from his birth in Mississippi to Memphis, Chicago and California. Arriving in Chicago in the early sixties, he was just in time for the epochal blues revival. In 1966 at the age of 22 he recorded the landmark Stand Back! to rave reviews. A precipitous relocation to San Francisco in 1967, where his album was being played on underground radio, found him welcomed into the counterculture scene around the Fillmore West as an authentic purveyor of the real deal blues. On the title track of his new album, Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, legendary blues guitarist, songwriter and singer ELVIN BISHOP spins a tale of a not-too-smart criminal getting caught by his own foolish missteps. The shaggy dog story, fueled by Bishop’s down-home delivery and deep blues slide guitar, is an affirmation of the Chicago Sun-Times’ ebullient praise: “It’s impossible not to like Bishop. He’s always singing something lowbrow and uplifting.” With his buoyant and deceptively loose-sounding ensemble behind him, he’s also playing some of the most spirited and distinctive blues slide guitar today.
Julian Lage w/ SG: Elijah Wolf
JULIAN LAGE COMING TO THE KENT STAGE SEP 11TH Julian Lage is bringing his “Speak To Me Tour” to The Kent Stage on Wed. Sep 11th @ 7:30p. Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation and “highest category of improvising musicians” (New Yorker), Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique, free association and a spirit of infinite possibility. The California-born New York-based musician boasts a prolific resume on his own accord in addition to collaborating with Gary Burton and John Zorn, as well as duo projects with Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge and Fred Hersch, among others. VIP & MASTER CLASSJulian Lage is thrilled to offer an exclusive Master Class at select cities on his Speak to Me Tour. The Master Class upgrade will include early admission to the show. A ticket to the concert is required. Start time for the class is generally an hour before advertised doors but exact start time will be communicated with ticket buyers around one week before the show. Julian Lage VIP Master Class: $65.00 + Fees (ticket not included) 30-minute lesson followed by 10-15 minute Q&A session Exclusive Julian Lage poster Limited availability to ensure hands-on experience *Takes place about one hour before doors *Participants are not required to bring instruments – topics are not necessarily tied to instruction and technique Elijah Wolf Following the emotional high of his 2021 full length album, Brighter Lighting (which featured Wilco’s Nels Cline on guitar), and a run of prestigious tour dates and performances at Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, and The End of the Road in England, Wolf returned to New York directionless and filled with self-doubt, unable to write or record. After many months, he finally called producer Sam Cohen who encouraged him to come to his studio and throw out anything he had written and demoed and start from scratch. “At Sam’s direction, we made a decision to take a leap and not recreate anything I had done already. We wanted to get away from the folk-rock band sound of traditional instruments in a room together,” Wolf explains. “In the end, I wrote a record about vulnerability, about the ways that mechanisms of self-protection can make you miss the good around you. It’s about allowing the walls to come down and accepting your own failures and imperfections.” The result is Forgiving Season, a vulnerable 10-song collection that is a testament to collaboration and experimentation. Elijah also runs an independent record label, Mtn Laurel Recording Co., based out of New York City.
Donnie Iris & The Cruisers – Back at The Stage!!!
Donnie Iris & The CruisersAre BACK!!!Saturday June 29th @ 7:30 PM King Cool is Back! After a year-long fight with bladder cancer, Donnie Iris is certainly excited to be back on stage with his boys, The Cruisers! One thing is for sure the fight certainly hasn’t affected the vocals, and now that Donnie is back, he is ready to return to The Kent Stage!! Donnie Iris found his early successes in the industry while performing with The Jaggerz and Wild Cherry. While with Wild Cherry in the late 70’s Donnie Iris found his identity as such, after performing under his birth name Dominic Lerace for the earlier part of his career. Struggling to build off the success of “Play that Funky Music”, Wild Cherry would break up in 1979. Nevertheless Iris had already sunk his teeth into another project with fellow bandmate Mark Avsec. Their first release saw the disco-influenced single “Bring on the Eighties” backed by a cover of “Because of You” in 1979; however it failed to garner attention. Iris and Avsec decided to go in a harder direction for their next release and returned to the studio with guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes, bassist Albritton McClain and drummer Kevin Valentine, who at the time was in the band Breathless with Avsec, to record his first full-length album. This line-up would form what would become known as Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. Iris released his first album in July of 1980, titled Back on The Streets, through Midwest Records based out of Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks to the track “Ah! Leah!” receiving attention through airplay in Boston, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, MCA Records took notice and signed Iris to a five album deal before rereleasing the album nationally in October that year. They went on the record hits and fan favorites including “Love Is Like A Rock,” “My Girl,” “Do You Compute,” “Tough World,” “Sweet Merilee,” “Injured in the Game of Love,” “Agnes,” “I Can’t Hear You,” and many more! Since the release of “Ah Leah,” Donnie Iris & The Cruisers have gone through changes in lineups, but have continued on, releasing eleven studio albums, one EP, two live albums, and two compilation albums including “King Cool,” “Fortune 410,” “No Muss, No Fuss,” “Poletown” and “Elwood City,” as well as “Ah! Live!,” a compilation of live recordings of some of their biggest hits and “Ah! Leluiah!,” a Christmas album Donnie has been a rock and roll icon for over six decades.
Samantha Fish – Bullet Proof Tour w/ JD Simo
Samantha Fish After launching her recording career in 2009, Samantha Fish quickly established herself as a rising star in the contemporary blues world. Since then, the charismatic young singer-guitarist-songwriter has earned a reputation as a rising guitar hero and powerful live performer, while releasing a series of acclaimed albums that have shown her restless creative spirit consistently taking her in new and exciting musical directions. The New York Times called Fish “an impressive blues guitarist who sings with sweet power” and “one of the genre’s most promising young talents.” Her hometown paper The Kansas City Star noted, “Samantha Fish has kicked down the door of the patriarchal blues club” and observed that the young artist “displays more imagination and creativity than some blues veterans exhibit over the course of their careers.” JD Simo JD Simo’s talent has no boundaries. His love of music is just that – a love of ALL music – and he has mastered every genre he’s explored. His remarkable talent and versatility has led to recording sessions with artists including Beyoncé, Dolly Parton, Tommy Emmanuel, Jack White, Joe Bonamassa, The War and Treaty, Chris Isaak and Stevie Nicks. He’s also been blessed to share the stage with folks like the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and collaborate with BlackBerry Smoke, Luther Dickinson and Anson Funderburgh. As a further testament to the depth of his talent, the world of film came calling when JD was chosen to flesh out and perform every single guitar note on the soundtrack to Baz Lurhman’s film “Elvis”. Like many artists and creators during the COVID shutdown, JD found a liberating outlet through social media, releasing a relentless treasure of exploratory jams from “The House of Grease” . With each installment he reached a growing audience of roots music fans as well as guitar gearheads wanting the latest on that JD Simo rig rundown. While this tour will feature songs from his recently released album, Songs From the House of Grease, fans will also be rewarded as Simo digs deep into the inspiration he has found in everything from Afrobeat to Maxwell Street era Chicago Blues, from soulful funk jams to psyched out jazz-rock
TALISK
One of the most talked-about folk bands of the 21st century, Talisk have been tearing apart stereotypes and redefining the genre for almost a decade. With over 15 million streams, 10,000 albums sold worldwide, and sold out shows across five continents – from Paris to New York, London to Tokyo, Glasgow to Vancouver – alongside headline appearances at festivals the world over, the Scottish trio have amassed a global, die-hard following. Wielding instruments that have rarely seen the likes of their music, Mohsen Amini (concertina), Benedict Morris (violin) and Charlie Galloway (guitar) have stacked up major awards for their explosively energetic sound – including five between BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland, and two highly coveted BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. At New Year 2022 they played BBC One’s Hogmanay show to a television audience in excess of one million, and – as the only folk act alongside pop headliners – quickly amassed a vast, mainstream audience that continues to propel the group to some of their largest live shows to date. Headlining Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom in 2024 – during Europe’s largest winter festival, the legendary Celtic Connections – Talisk’s star remains firmly on a rapid ascent, and then some. Never afraid to push musical boundaries, or test the live production capabilities of just three people (yes, it’s all live), there’s captivating a crowd, and then there’s Talisk.
The Dictators – plus – The Bizarros
THE DICTATORS After the release of another live record Viva Dictators in 2005 and Every Day is Saturday, a compilation of outtakes and demos in 2008 the group took a break from 2009 until 2020 when unfinished Dictators business put Ross the Boss and Andy Shernoff back in touch. Ross suggested they put the band back together. Andy agreed but on one condition; that long time friend and collaborator Albert Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult) fill the drummer’s seat. Albert enthusiastically agreed and suggested Keith Roth (Sirius XM DJ/Frankenstein 3000) to fill the empty singer/guitar player slot. The revived band has released 3 songs, God Damn New York, Let’s Get The Band Back Together and Festivus which carry on the tongue in cheek humor, social commentary and high energy associated with The Dictators while they continue work on a full album due later in the year. Doors & Box Office will open at 6:30!7:30 show!Advance Tickets – $25 Date of Show – $30Tickets are available at kentstage.org
Hey Mavis – CD Release – PLUS – David Mayfield Parade
Hey Mavis For more than thirteen years, Americana band Hey Mavis has been weaving a musical tapestry and igniting a following of dedicated fans. With heartfelt vocals, honest songwriting, blazing instrumental solos, and an undeniable onstage musical chemistry, this quartet is the definition of great Americana music. Banjoist/songwriter Laurie Michelle Caner and violinist/fiddler Eddie Caner formed Hey Mavis while serving as artists-in-residence in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Producer Don Dixon (REM/Smithereens/Red Clay Ramblers) “discovered” the group on a local Christmas compilation CD and went on to produce their first two albums, both of which hit the top 10 on the national Folk DJ-L radio charts and amassed favorable reviews across the globe. Hey Mavis’s third release, produced by Yonder Mountain String Band’s Adam Aijala, features guitar playing by Aijala as well as a title track co-written by Chuck Auerbach, who has written lyrics to several Black Keys songs. Hey Mavis’s latest release, Silver Ribbon Dream—Songs & Stories of the Ohio & Erie Canal, is a book/CD of original songs by Hey Mavis songwriter Laurie Michelle Caner with illustrations by nationally-acclaimed artist Leandra Drumm. Funded by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, reviews have ranged from “unconventionally beautiful” to “startlingly original.” Hey Mavis has performed the work in cities throughout the East and Midwest, including appearances with several symphony orchestras. Hey Mavis has appeared on NPR’s Mountain Stage, NPR’s Whad’ya Know?, PBS’s Applause and PBS’s Songs from the Center. The group has performed standing-room-only shows at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival as well as countless sell-out concerts in Northeast Ohio and Michigan. In 2018, Melissa Etheridge hand-picked Hey Mavis to be one of the headliners for her music cruise. Hey Mavis: Laurie Michelle Caner – Vocals, Banjo, Songwriting Eddie Caner – Violin, Viola Profunda Bryan Thomas – Bass Anthony Taddeo – Percussionist David Mayfield Parade David Mayfield grew up playing bass and touring with his family’s bluegrass band. As a teenager he established himself as a hot picker collecting national awards for his dexterity on guitar and mandolin. His knack for colorful performances was evident as a backing player in his sister Jessica Lea Mayfield’s band including their appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” He oozed personality on stage – a trait that makes him a natural frontman. He took his skills and personality when he joined the bluegrass outfit Cadillac Sky, playing sold out shows with British folk revivalists Mumford and Sons. Around then Mayfield began writing songs after hearing artists like Randy Newman and Simon & Garfunkel. Encouraged by his sister Jessica, & friend Seth Avett, to record his original material, Mayfield did just that, to much acclaim. Since then he has toured non-stop. Conscious of not just being a musician, but an entertainer – something his father instilled in him in the family band—he certainly makes an impression live. But it’s the strength of his songwriting and musicianship, charm and personality that keep audiences consistently lining up to join the parade.