J.P. Corimer, Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience and Wu Fei
The Top 3 Lehigh Valleyarea concerts this week bring an eclectic lineup of artists to wow you, with unmatchable talent and style. First is a legendary Canadian bluegrass legend who won his first guitar competition when he was just nine years old and can handle almost any string instrument you hand him. Then we have a cover band that nails the sound, look, and overall aura of an artist best known as the “Man in Black.” Last, we have a guzheng virtuoso performing an original composition with the Lehigh University Philharmonic and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on the oud.
J.P. Corimer
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem
How much: $18.50-$23.50
Tickets: godfreydaniels. org/ 610-867-2390
Musical style: Bluegrass, Folk, Celtic
Known for hits like:
“Kelly’s Mountain,” “Another Morning,” “The Island,” Molly May,” and, “Hometown Battlefield.”
Honors: He won his first guitar competition at the age of nine, and by the time he was a teenager he had taught himself to play numerous instruments including the fiddle, mandolin, and banjo.
He’s won 13 East Coast
Music Awards, one Canadian Folk Music Award, five Music Nova Scotia Awards, and released his first album when he was only 16. In the early ’90s he worked as a sideman with Stompin’ Tom Connors, and in 1997 he released “Another Morning,” an album showcasing his chops as a singer-songwriter.
He’s a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, teacher, and legend in Canada.
Check him out if you like:
Chet Atkins, Gordon Lightfoot, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Waylon Jennings, Nathan Rogers
Cash Unchained: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Musikfest Cafe, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem
How much:
$25-$30
Tickets: https://www. steelstacks.org/ 610-2977100
Musical style: Country, Rockabilly, Gospel
Known for hits like: Covers of Johnny Cash songs like, “Ring of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “Man in Black,” and, “A Boy Named Sue.”
Meet the Band: Cash Unchained digs deep into the Johnny Cash catalog playing hits from his early
days with the legendary Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, to later projects with the likes of Rick Rubin. The band combines note-for-note performances with storytelling and a striking resemblance to Johnny Cash and his band, stitch-for-stitch.
Check them out if you like: Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Marty Robbins, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson
Wu Fei
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem
How much: $25
Tickets: zoellner.cas. lehigh.edu/ 610-758-2787
Musical style: Classical, Jazz, Avante Garde
Known for hits like: “Banjo Guzheng Pickin’ Girls” (w/ Abigail Washburn), “Cloud of Birds,” “Wu Yin” (w/ Fred Frith), “Qu Qur,” and, “Hunan.”
Honors: A classically trained composer and singer, Wu Fei is also a master of the 21-string Chinese zither known as the guzheng. She mixes Western classical and Chinese traditional sounds with a unique contemporary spin composing for choirs, string quartets, chamber ensembles, Balinese gamelan, and orchestras. She’s worked with an array of artists from varied genres including Emmy-winning directors Pierce Freelon and Jon Halperin, Grammy-winning musicians BA©la Fleck, Abigail Washburn and Billy Martin (Medeski-Martin-Wood), and composers John Zorn and Fred Frith. She also studied at the China Conservatory of Music and Mills College.
Check her out if you like: Gao Weijie, John Zorn, Abigail Wasgburn, Haiqiong Deng, Fred Frith, Wang Changyuan, Orchid Ensemble
Jay Honstetter is a freelance writer for The Morning Call. Follow him on Twitter @jayhonstetter