Pablo Cruise
Pablo CruiseIn 1975 Pablo Cruise released its first A&M album simply entitled Pablo Cruise. The album cover was shot in the tropical gardens of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and it featured a huge gorilla standing front and center. The band, David Jenkins (guitars, vocals), Cory Lerios (keyboards, vocals), Bud Cockerel (bass, vocals) and Steve Price (drums, percussion) were no where in sight. At that point there was a bit of a mystique surrounding Pablo Cruise and when asked what Pablo Cruise meant, the well-rehearsed answer went something like this: “Pablo”, represents an honest, real, down to earth individual, and “Cruise” depicts his fun loving, easy going attitude towards life: In essence that’s what Pablo Cruise music is all about. Honest, real down to earth vocals, accompanied by fun yet elegant, infectious grooves. To hear Pablo Cruise on record is one thing, but to experience the band live is an exhilarating event! From 1975 to 1985 the band toured the United States, Canada and Japan extensively, welcoming fans to “Climb Aboard The Good Ship Pablo Cruise.” Reaching the top 10 with mega hits like “Whatcha Gonna Do When She Says Goodbye?” and “Love Will Find A Way,” and several other top 20’s, the band went on to sell several million albums and singles collectively and established themselves as well respected writers and performers within the industry. They appeared on numerous TV shows, including Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, The Merv Griffin Show, The Dinah Shore Hour and in 1979 they broke Elvis Presley’s attendance record at the Sahara Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, becoming the first rock band to play a casino showroom. They also became the first rock band to grace the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, but by 1985 after completing several national tours and releasing 7 studio albums in all, the band decided to take a hiatus… one that lasted nearly 20 years. Fast forward 20 years…. In 2005 a reunited Pablo Cruise picked up where they left off and today the band performs all over the U.S. and Canada and they’re enjoying it more than ever… Since getting back together, they have released two live CD’s and a DVD all through Sony Music documenting their exceptional live shows. During the Pandemic the boys wrote and produced a new single (through Sony) entitled “Breathe” which received considerable critical reviews! One of the great things about playing shows after all these years, is that primary songwriters David Jenkins and Cory Lerios are still on board! “Cory says, going out and playing shows these days, gives us the opportunity to not only pay tribute to our timeless repertoire, it also gives us a chance to see old friends and fans from back in the day, as well as gaining a whole new audience!” Today Pablo Cruise is bringing more energy and excitement to the stage than ever before and with the addition of Larry Antonino (bass, vocals), Robbie Wyckoff (vocals, percussion) and Sergio Gonzalez (drums, percussion) the band has never sounded better! If you get an opportunity to see Pablo Cruise live, don’t pass it up…IT’S GOOD TO BE LIVE!
The Chapin Family – Harry Chapin @ 80 – A Retrospective
The Chapin Family presentsHarry Chapin at 80 – A retrospective Harry Chapin (1942 – 1981) was one of our most passionate, political,prolific and inspiring songwriters. This Long Island icon has reached a milestone birthday – his 80th – and his family feels a celebration is in order! In the long rich history of Family Groups in American Roots Music, The CHAPIN FAMILY has a special place. When these singers, songwriters and extraordinary live performers come together, magic happens. Tom Chapin, Steve Chapin, Jen Chapin, and The Chapin Sisters (Abigail Chapin and Lily Chapin) are all award-winning musical artists with active careers and multiple recordings, who just happen to be related, and who love making music together. Two generations of the musical CHAPIN FAMILY will gather to bring the songs of Harry Chapin to life. Backed by The Harry Chapin Band (including Big John Wallace and Howard Fields), the Family will perform Harry’s classic songs, including Cat’s In The Cradle, Taxi, Mr. Tanner, Mail Order, Annie, W•O•L•D, and Circle.
Spyro Gyra
In 2024, Jay Beckenstein and band started its observation of the 50th anniversary of the band. What started as a diversion, something that was just for fun (and twenty-five cents at the door) continues its evolution into 2025. It began inauspiciously when Beckenstein and a few musician friends in Buffalo NY organized a get together on their shared night off from working in bands that actually made money. It was a simple, humble idea with a name that was likewise simple and humble, “Tuesday Night – Jazz Jam”. Fast forward 50 years and this jazz super group has released over 30 albums, garnering gold and platinum along the way. They’ve played over 10,000 concerts on six continents. Spyro Gyra has maintained its standards of excellence and that has sustained them on the “A list” of live attractions in jazz for 50 years.
COCO MONTOYA
COCO MONTOYA “Montoya is a show-stopper…heartfelt singing and merciless guitar with a wicked icy burn. He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation.” –Living Blues “’Just play what you feel, be real about it, and enjoy yourself.’ That’s what Albert Collins taught me,” says the award-winning guitar virtuoso and soul-deep singer Coco Montoya. The self-taught, left-handed Montoya mastered his craft under Collins’ tutelage. Incorporating lessons learned from his mentors, the iconic Collins (for whom he originally drummed), and UK legend John Mayall, Montoya puts his own stamp onto every song he performs. Since his first solo album in 1995 (which won him the Blues Music Award for Best New Artist), Montoya’s endlessly inventive guitar work and passionate, hard-hitting vocals have kept him at the top of the blues world. With his new Alligator Records album, Writing On The Wall (his sixth for the label), Montoya delivers what he is already calling one of the best records he’s ever made.Henry “Coco” Montoya was born in Santa Monica, California, on October 2, 1951, and raised in a working-class family. Growing up, Coco immersed himself in his parents’ record collection. He listened to big band jazz, salsa, doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll. His first love was drums; he acquired a kit at age 11. He got a guitar two years later. Montoya turned his love of drumming into his profession, playing in a number of area rock bands while still in his teens. In 1969, Montoya saw Albert King opening a Creedence Clearwater Revival/Iron Butterfly concert. He was transformed. “After King got done playing,” says Montoya, “my life was changed. When he played, the music went right into my soul. It grabbed me so emotionally that I had tears welling up in my eyes. Nothing had ever affected me to this level. He showed me what music and playing the blues were all about. I knew that was what I wanted to do.” The next chapter of Montoya’s story was kick-started by a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary bluesman Albert Collins. Montoya says, “Albert was coming through Los Angeles and needed to borrow my drum set. I went down to see his show that night and it just tore my head off. The thing that I had seen and felt with Albert King came pouring back on me when I saw Albert Collins.” A short time later, Collins hired Montoya as his band’s drummer. With Albert mentoring Coco on the guitar during the band’s downtime, Coco soon became Collins’ second guitarist. “We’d sit in hotel rooms for hours and play guitar,” remembers Montoya. “He’d play that beautiful rhythm of his and just have me play along. He was always saying, ‘Don’t think about it, just feel it.’ He was like a father to me,” says Coco. When Collins declared Montoya his “son,” it was the highest praise and affection he could offer. In return, Montoya learned everything he could from the legendary Master of the Telecaster. Needing a regular paycheck, Montoya left Collins’ band after two years and took a job tending bar, jamming on weekends at Los Angeles clubs. One day, legendary British musician John Mayall heard Coco playing onstage. Soon after, Mayall called on Montoya to join his famous Bluesbreakers. For the next ten years he toured the world and recorded with Mayall on seven albums. In 2000, Montoya’s Alligator debut, Suspicion, quickly became the best-selling album of his career, earning regular radio airplay on over 120 stations nationwide. “Montoya unleashes one career-topping performance after another,” declared the UK’s Blues Matters. Still an indefatigable road warrior, Montoya continues to tour virtually nonstop,
Hard Days Night
Hard Day’s Night is a top rated touring Beatles tribute band. Hailing from the rock & roll city of Cleveland, Ohio, they have been entertaining the masses in America and abroad since 1996. The band has been wowing audiences for years, with their full catalogue performances, wearing stitch-for-stitch costume replications; playing authentic Vox, Hofner, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, and Ludwig instruments, all while playing the songs we know and love with staggering precision.
JD Souther – All the Hits – Some of the Stories
JD SOUTHERSouther has penned countless hits for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks and Dunn and others; while establishing a cult following as a performer with the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band and as a solo artist. As an actor, he has appeared in the TV Shows Thirtysomething and Nashville, among others. A passionate animal lover and advocate, JD is also involved with Best Friends Animal Society.
Progject with Special Guests: Cuda-Schieferstein-Cuda
CUDA – SCHIEFERSTEIN – CUDACSC was formed in the summer of 2006 to perform original prog/jazz/fusion instrumental music. We wanted to integrate all of the great musical influences and blend them with our own original styles. The emphasis had to be on composition because that is the most important aspect of music. We recently added the very talented Matthew Schieferstein on drums. The CuDa brothers have opened for Stick Men, Brand X, Project Object, Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, Ambrosia…
Phillip Phillips – The Drift Back Sessions –
Phillip Phillips Phillip’s newest album “Drift Back” comes over 10 years after releasing his five-times-platinum debut single “Home” in spring 2012. This album details Phillip’s life as a musician, father and husband over the last decade and highlights the journey he has taken from American Idol winner, to family man and full-time musician. The Drift Back Sessions Tour is a celebration of Phillip’s most recent collection of songs that came out June 9th and the stories that inspired the album. At each show you can expect to hear some of Phillip’s favorites from “Drift Back” plus some of the fan-favorites from the last decade of music.
Donna The Buffalo
Donna The Buffalo is not just a band, rather one might say that Donna The Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. Since 1989, the roots rockers have played thousands of shows and countless festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride, Austin City Limits Festival, Merle Fest, and Philadelphia Folk Festival.They’ve opened for The Dead and have toured with the likes of Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. They also toured with Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen to help raise awareness about increased corporate spending in politics.In 1991, the band started the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. The four day festival has become an annual destination for over 15,000 music lovers every year and was started as an AIDS benefit. It continues as a benefit for arts and education. To date, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now one of three Grassroots Festivals; the Bi-annual Shakori Hills Fest in North Carolina and Virginia Key Festival in Florida. In 2016 GrassRoots Culture Camp was introduced in Trumansburg, New York as four days of music, art, dance and movement workshops, including nightly dinners and dances.
Mighty Poplar
Mighty Poplar At its heart, bluegrass music is about what happens when you commit to the moment. The joy of improvisation keeps the music fresh, and the fun of crafting ideas on the fly keeps the musicians on their toes. This true spirit of bluegrass infuses the self-titled record from Mighty Poplar, a new all-star roots project featuring Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse, Noam Pikelny and Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers, bassist Greg Garrison of Leftover Salmon and fiddler Alex Hargreaves of Billy Strings, coming March 31, 2023 on Free Dirt Records. Regarded as some of the finest players of their generation, the playing is never showy and always in service of the song. Though Pikelny, Eldridge, Garrison all knew each other from their early work with Punch Brothers, impromptu backstage jams with Marlin at festivals across the country were the key that unlocked the project. A lifelong song collector, Marlin selected and sang lead on most of the songs here, bringing classics as well as deep cuts from greats like Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, John Hartford, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Norman Blake. Throughout, the songs and tunes are as immediate and emotionally impactful as the playing is tasteful. Gathered knee-to-knee in a rural studio outside Nashville, the collaborative 10-track album emerged organically over a few days. “It felt so special and effortless; it didn’t take work,” says Eldridge, “other than the work and effort we’ve put in the rest of our lives.” With their debut album, Mighty Poplar has captured the fierce and playful energy of an all-night jam between old friends who just happen to be grandmasters of the music.