Alex Bevan and Friends
Alex Bevan will return to the Kent Stage to wander through a list of songsspanning the years from 1971 to 2023! The first set will be primarilyacoustic visiting the Springboard, Grand River and Watersongs catalog tobe followed by a long ensemble set. Joining Alex will be a time tested trioof friends to flesh out the music from the new release “Sparrow” as well asof favorites with a “band” flavor. Dave Young will handle the keyboards,Leonard DiCosimo will be on bass and Tommy Dobeck will be tapping onthe drums…. Perhaps there will be a guest or two dropping in… we shallsee…..If the name Alex Bevan means anything to you.. it probably begins with thesong “Skinny”… the 1976 Summer Anthem that filled the airwaves of radiostation WMMS and brought the Cleveland folksinger’s career into sharpfocus “back in the day”.Perhaps too, it might conjure the melody of “The Grand River Lullaby”,Hearkening back to lost years of innocence and first love in a simpler andmore romantic time… a time when the Woodstock Generation found it’srhythm in the album oriented rock infused soundtracks that still echo in therivulets and streams of Spotify and iTunes music delivery systems.Alex Bevan has been picking up his guitar and going to perform foraudiences for over fifty, yes…fifty years… singing primarily songs of hisown crafting and supported mostly by his deft guitar picking and agileimprovisational wit…. In short… he is a troubadour of the journeyman classwho brings a fresh perspective and unabashed enthusiasm for storytellingto each and every member of the the audience he interacts with. A trulyanalog entertainer for a digital time!
Darkside Of The Moon – 50th Anniversary of Darkside of the Moon
Join Darkside of the Moon’ celebration of the 50th Anniversary of one of rock’s most influential albums – Darkside Of The Moon!Beyond a tribute, Dark Side of the Moon is a testimonial to the unique music of Pink Floyd and the emotions they stir. Dark Side of the Moon recreates, to a higher degree, the mystic and terrestrial sounds of the phenomenon that is Pink Floyd. We offer a pleasant distraction from the mundane. Enjoy a pleasant encounter with those sights and sounds, while Dark Side of the Moon emulates the magical and emotional experiences that Pink Floyd created for so many years. Close your eyes; it’s like being there again. Let Dark Side of the Moon reawaken your authentic concert experience or create a new one.
Magpie – 50th Anniversary Concert
Well known to folk music audiences all over the country, Terry Leonino & Greg Artzner met and began singing together in Kent, Ohio in 1973, 50 years ago this year. For five decades Terry & Greg have entertained, uplifted and inspired audiences around the world with their music, with their amazing versatility, powerful voices in harmony, and their provocative, captivating and moving songs, many of their own composition, all brilliantly accompanied on guitars, harmonica, mandolin, and dulcimer. They have performed on stages from major folk festivals, to intimate folk club and small concert settings, to school auditoriums and classrooms, to demonstrations, rallies, picket lines, and other venues too numerous to mention. Magpie has toured the length and breadth of North America and toured internationally, including numerous tours of England & Scotland. They have many recordings to their credit, including collections and song cycles on special themes, and tracks on notable anthologies including songs of Civil Rights, and tributes to Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, Jean Ritchie, and Phil Ochs. Terry and Greg are also famous for their commitment to progressive, humanist and environmental causes, and for putting their music and their voices to full use in support of them. Come out to hear and celebrate with them as they mark this milestone.
MACY GRAY & The California Jet Club – The Reset Tour
MACY GRAYForever full of ear-tugging/eye-popping surprises, ever-eclectic singer/songwriter and actress Macy Gray returns in top form with an inspired new 11-song Moonslice Records album – The Reset – and within a fresh new presentation – fronting her own band, The California Jet Club. Produced by Tommy Parker, The Reset reveals 360 degrees of Macy Gray at her lyrically introspective and vocally exuberant best. The songs move from Macy’s signature vulnerable intimacy on the lead single, “Thinking of You,” the epic orchestral ballad “You Got Away” and the festive, sexy circus of “Bottom to the Top” to the resoundingly rebounding singalong uplift of “Every Night” featuring special guest, rapper Maino. Making this album a separate piece from the previous 10 studio projects in the 5x-Grammy-nominated (with one win) artist’s exquisite catalog is the full involvement of road band members drummer Tamir Barzilay, keyboardist Billy Wes and bassist Alex Kyhn. While all three specialize in specific instruments, they are all multi-instrumentalists, co-writers and sing background. On the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” broadcast from June 2021, Tamir is seen playing guitar and drums simultaneously. The trio wraps its sound around Macy like a glove. And she, in turn, provides them full license to shine as bright as front of stage spotlights.
Peter Yarrow (Peter Paul & Mary) with Bethany Yarrow and special guest: John Gorka
Peter Yarrow(Peter, Paul & Mary)Legendary musician Peter Yarrow weaves a narrative of his life in music and politics, punctuation the major events with renditions of the iconic songs we all know and love. From his life in Greenwich Village in the 1960’s, his connections to Bob Dylan & Pete Seeger and his career as part of the trio Peter, Paul & Mary. Yarrow shares a part of American history influenced heavily by music. Yarrow creates community within his audiences through his reflections in both words and music. Joining Peter will be his daughter, the extremally talented, Bethany Yarrow. Bethany Yarrow Bethany Yarrow sings music of power and praise. She is a song keeper, earth activist, and student of the spiritual traditions of the Americas. A mesmerizing, dancing spirit with a powerful voice, she carries a living prayer for unity at the heart of her music. Bethany has recorded two albums with her father and continues to perform with him, as she has since she was 8 years old. For over 20 years she also performed as a duo with cellist Rufus Cappadocia. They released four albums together and were honored to collaborate with musical icons and lineage holders Yacouba Moumouni (Niger), Bonga Jean Baptiste (Haiti), Chuck Campbell (USA) and Brahim Fribgane (Morocco). John GorkaFrom New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Though small, Godfrey Daniels was and is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions and has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians. In the late 1970’s, John was was one of these aspiring musicians. Although his academic coursework at Moravian College lay in Philosophy and History, music began to offer paramount enticements. Soon he found himself living in the club’s basement and acting as resident MC and sound man, encountering legendary folk troubadours like Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton and Claudia Schmidt. Their brand of folk-inspired acoustic music inspired him, and before long he was performing his own songs – mostly as an opener for visiting acts. Soon he started traveling to New York City, where Jack Hardy’s legendary Fast Folk circle (a breeding ground for many a major singer-songwriter) became a powerful source of education and encouragement. Folk meccas like Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival (where he won the New Folk Award in 1984) and Boston followed, and his stunningly soulful baritone voice and original songwriting began turning heads. Those who had at one time inspired him – Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, Nanci Griffith, Christine Lavin, Shawn Colvin – had become his peers.
DERVISH
Dervish, one of the world’s most creative interpreters of Irish folk music and recently recognized with a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, have confirmed they are planning to release a brand new album later this year. Having devoted the last three decades to gently reinventing the traditional songs of their homeland, Dervish were widely celebrated in 2019 for their album The Great Irish Songbook which featured such luminaries as Vince Gill, David Gray, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Earle, and many other stellar guests.Dervish’s founding members were childhood friends in County Sligo, the same creatively fertile region that spawned a group of legendary fiddle players who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s, then recorded the first known Irish-music albums of any genre. As young musicians in 1989, the band members were commissioned to record an album of music from the renowned Sligo tradition. Despite a feverish response from all around the world, Dervish turned down record-deal offers and launched their own label and career, releasing their sophomore effort Harmony Hill in 1993, immediately seeing the album climb the Irish mainstream charts. The band have since released 14 albums on their own label and in recent years they have been working with Rounder Records and the Concord Music Group in Nashville.Through the years, Dervish has appeared at some of the world’s biggest festivals, from Glastonbury in the UK to Paleo in Switzerland to Rock in Rio, with the “great and good” of the entertainment industry while steadily making their name as of the foremost purveyors of Irish folk music of their generation.Along with Guinness, Jameson and Kerrygold butter, one of Ireland’s greatest exports may be Dervish, a dazzling Irish traditional band described by one reviewer as “the most compelling, most soulful Irish traditional folk band playing today.” Denise Foley Irish Philadelphia.
An Evening w/ JERRY DOUGLAS & DANIEL KIMBRO
Dobro master and 15-time GRAMMY winner Jerry Douglas is to the resonator guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar, elevating, transforming, and reinventing the instrument in countless ways. Additionally, Douglas is a freewheeling, forward-thinking recording and touring artist whose output incorporates elements of country, bluegrass, rock, jazz, blues, and Celtic into his distinctive musical vision. Called “Dobro’s matchless contemporary master” by The New York Times, three-time CMA Musician of the Year award recipient Jerry Douglas is one of the most innovative recording artists in music as a solo artist, band leader for The Jerry Douglas Band and his GRAMMY winning bluegrass band The Earls of Leicester, as well as a member of groundbreaking ensembles including Alison Krauss & Union Station, J.D. Crowe & the New South, The Country Gentlemen, Boone Creek, and Strength In Numbers. His distinctive sound graces more than 1500 albums with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Jones, Paul Simon, Little Big Town, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Earl Scruggs, Ray Charles, Dierks Bentley, Sierra Ferrell, Tommy Emmanuel, and many others.In addition to touring, Douglas has co-produced and performed on a series of platinum albums. He has produced albums for Alison Krauss, The Del McCoury Band, Maura O’Connell, The Whites, Steep Canyon Rangers, John Hiatt, and recently Molly Tuttle. He is co-music director of the acclaimed BBC Scotland TV series Transatlantic Sessions. In 2004, Douglas was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts with an American Heritage Fellowship, and he served as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Artist In Residence” in 2008. As Jerry Douglas continues his incalculable influence on country, Americana, bluegrass and their many related genres, he forges ahead as a true pioneer in American music.
əkoostik hookah!
əkoostik hookah əkoostik hookah’s annual fall visit to The Kent Stage – hookah incorporates many genres of music into their own style, from folk to psychedelic rock, bluegrass to blues, extended jams to concise rock-n-roll, əkoostik hookah’s style includes many musical genres for a sound that in the end is distinctly “hookah”. With well over 100 original songs, and a large catalogue of cover songs to choose from, you will never hear the same show twice. The band is known for its live shows and its ability to feed off of the crowd’s energy, using it to fuel the improvised set lists that create unforgettable musical experiences.
An Evening with Ottmar Liebert
Ottmar Liebert Ottmar Liebert’s global success can be attributed to a myriad of things – his creative vision, his determination, and a strong sense of melody. Born in Cologne, Germany, he began playing guitar at 11. Before the age of 19, Liebert had intended to stay in Germany and pursue a career as a designer and photographer. However, while journeying extensively through Asia and playing with other travelers and local musicians, he realised that he could not escape a life of music. After pursuing his dreams of playing rock music in Boston, he settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe was a fresh start for Liebert in many ways and in addition to returning to the acoustic guitar, he remained open to letting the place define the music he made. It was this openness to the local landscape that defined what was to become his musical style, a mix of Spanish, Mexican and World elements, strong melodies tinged with a shade of melancholy, balanced with upbeat rhythms.Liebert founded the first incarnation of his band, Luna Negra, in 1989. His debut album began as a self-produced release called Marita: Shadows and Storms, copies of which local Native American artist, Frank Howell, distributed in his art galleries. After the record made its way to radio stations, it began generating a buzz among programmers and received unprecedented response among listeners. Higher Octave Music picked it up and released a fully remastered version, Nouveau Flamenco. Recorded for less than $3,000 on an old analog machine in a shack beside a gravel pit, this CD became an international sensation, establishing Liebert’s unique border-style flamenco, and becoming the best-selling instrumental acoustic guitar album of all time:2 x Platinum – USA14 x Platinum – USA/LatinPlatinum – AustraliaPlatinum – New ZealandGold – CanadaGold – MexicoVisual art has always been essential to Ottmar Liebert’s world-view and even today he is an avid photographer. “My music is visual,” Liebert says. “Santa Fe has great light, that special thing you get in the high desert. Some days you can see for 100 miles, and think you can reach into the sky or walk off a ridge and keep flying. That’s how I felt when I recorded Nouveau Flamenco.”Liebert has since become one of the most successful instrumental artists of the past decades, entertaining audiences around the world and releasing a catalog of 33 classic albums including live recordings, an orchestral album for Sony Classical, a binaural surround sound recording, remix albums, a lullaby and a flamenco-reggae album. During his career, he has played more than two thousand concerts worldwide. Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra have played two concerts with the New Mexico Philharmonic featuring Liebert’s music arranged by bassist, Jon Gagan. These two concerts, to date, have broken attendance records for the New Mexico Philharmonic. Ottmar Liebert has been nominated for five Grammy awards.
An Evening with Jonah Koslen & Strike It Up 23!
Jonah Koslen & Strike It Up 23!Tickets Go On-Sale this Friday!!!! One of the founding members of MSB, Jonah Koslen makes his return to The Kent Stage, this time with his own band for STRIKE IT UP ’23! Enjoy songs from MSB, Breathless, and many of his solo faves! VIP M&G Includes Premium Seat Pre-Concert Meet & Greet/Photo-Op with Jonah Koslen