The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Treat Dad to a night or afternoon of blues
Get prepared for a busy Fathers’ Day week. A visit to a blues show makes a great gift. Events and specials are on tap at many venues. If there is a guitar lover in the family, Chris Tofield will be at the Tipping Chair.
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center has a couple of shows that quickly grabs one’s attention. Friday, it is Back to the Garden 1969. Fifty years ago, The Woodstock Music Festival was the ultimate rock concert, a celebration of peace, love and music. Now, join in the Golden Anniversary Celebration with your own Woodstock Event.
“Back To The Garden 1969 - The Woodstock Experience” was formed by Gary Adamson in 2009, this is a group of versatile musicians and singers who have come together to celebrate the music, and spirit, of the Woodstock Era.
The show recreates the classic sounds associated with Woodstock. The musical performances are a tribute to the artists who made Woodstock great, including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix, Sly &The Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Richie Havens and more. Storytelling also enhances the mood, with tales of the festival, the legendary artists who performed, and the backdrop of the tumultuous decade of the 60s.
On Thursday, the legendary John Hammond takes the Kate stage. The multi award winning blues players stands as one of the world’s premier acoustic blues artists. A Blues Hall Of Fame inductee, he is one of a handful of artists who can say they have been steadily working and recording for 50 plus years. A Grammy award winner, Hammond is also an 8-time Grammy nominee. With 22 Blues Music Award nominations and 10 wins, most recently for Acoustic Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year for 2014, he is one of the most awarded artists in the genre.
He has performed or recorded with Jimi Hendrix (discovered while playing in John’s band), Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Mike Bloomfield, Tom Waits, The Band, Dr. John and many more. He remains the only person who has ever had both Jimmy Hendrix and Eric Clapton in a band at the same time. A tireless performer, he continues to tour world-wide on an annual basis. Besides the blues playing, Hammond’s storytelling takes one back to the early days of the blues.
On Saturday at the Yankee Doodle Fair in Westport, Mark Naftalin & Friends will be playing in Bedford Hall at 6 p.m. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Naftalin is a former Paul Butterfield Blues Band keyboardist. Under the leadership of Naftalin, the “Friends” will feature sax master Crispin Cioe, singing blues guitarist JD Seem, guitarist-vocalist-harmonicist Daniel J (“The Modern Bluesman”), blues harpist-vocalist Mark Zaretsky, upright bassman David “Bobo” Lavorgna, and percussionists Matt Moadel, and Barry Urich.
Outside the Hall, the carnival rides and all the excitement of the Yankee Doodle Fair will be in full swing. The Yankee Doodle Fair is a yearly feature of the Westport Woman’s Club, with proceeds to be donated to the charitable causes that the club supports. For questions, call 203-227-4240.
FTC Stage One has The James Hunter Six on Sunday. Fronted by golden-throated blue-eyed soul singer/songwriter James Hunter, the group’s twin sax/Hammond B3 propelled, swinging, retrominded R&B continues to be their calling card. Fans of retro-soul or any greats of the genres past will take instantly to this band. In the words of Van Morrison, Hunter is “one of the best voices and best kept secrets in British R&B.”
Maple Tree Café in conjunction with the Connecticut Blues Society presents the Lovelace/Lesiw Blues Review. This concert is a week before the 2019 Blues Band Challenge Finals to be held as part of the Blackeyed Blues Festival on Saturday June 22. Lovelace/ Lesiw is one of the bands in the finals.
One way to celebrate Fathers’ Day is at The Mohegan Sun Wolf Den with David Foster & the Mohegan Sun All-Stars. Always a crowd pleaser, Foster brings a top rate show each time he steps on stage.
Willimantic Third Thursday Street Fest takes place this coming Thursday. The Mighty Soul Drivers will be on the stage at 6 p.m. and Orb Mellon Trio goes on at 7:30 p.m. Third Thursday runs from May through September. Five stages simultaneously host a wide variety of music and entertainment. Willimantic's diversity really shines through. Enjoy locally produced artwork, beer, music, and soda. Free children's activities abound.
Good to see Petey Hop & The Jackrabbits are on the circuit, They will be at Rizzuto's on Saturday. The Mojomatics are at the Stamford Diner on Friday Stamford.
The Rich Badowski Band plays Mark’s Classic Cruise Night in East Granby on Monday. Mark’s is the largest weekly Cruise Night in New England. This is the 24th season with the cruise is planned to run June through September.
The Danny Draher Trio will be at The Parrott Delaney Tavern on Friday. Draher, a past winner of a Josie Award, has been nominated for two this year: Musician of the year and Jazz ‘n Blues Artist of the year. The Josie Music Awards celebrate those in the independent music industry that work hard every day and deserve to have a night of their own.
Once again, the community’s good will is on display Saturday as Strykers Café hosts Jessica's Journey Benefit 2019 from 1-6 p.m. Jessica Murray had a life altering accident, and community is what she needs now. For a woman that has always put others first, it is time to show Jessica that she has a family, and a group of people who won’t let her suffer alone. For more information contact Rick Pattavina 860-5590865 or Christina Bibisi 860-797-4170
Get the complete Blues Beat schedule on Thursday at the blog http://bluesbeatnews.wordpress.com/. Any questions or comments should be sent to Domenic Forcella at TWBlus@aol.com.