Musicians Who Care

I know of two benefit concerts going on today. I am going to one that is a half hour away from me instead of the one that is 5-6 hours away. However, I will blog about both of them today.

Tonight at All Saints Episcopal; Church in downtown Frederick, the California Guitar Trio are performing. Doors open at 7:30 concert starts at 8. Tickets are $20 and can be ordered here. The best part, all proceeds go to benefit Advocates for Homeless Families. I have done a lot of volunteering for various shelters and helping the homeless is a cause dear to my heart. I also love great guitar playing. So this is a must see show for me.

Here they are with a special guest:

Okay when you think of big time Country Concerts or big concerts of any kind Bluefield, West Virginia does not come to mind. However, maybe it should. The Second Chance Rocks The Two Virginias is putting on another epic show.

Folk Soul Revival is the lucky special guest:

Then it is Lee Brice:

Jake Owen:

and Eric Church:

For tickets and moire information on this wonderful cause check out the website here. But hurry gates open at 4PM tonight!

Norah Jones

Well I reviewed the Norah Jones concert from last night you can read mt review here. Sasha Dobson opened and she showed she had some talent but might have been better suited for a smaller venue.

Here is a little taste of Sasha Dobson, I really enjoyed her voice..

Norah Jones new music sounds a bit more pop due to being produced by Danger Mouse, here she is performing a new song off her Little Broken Hearts album on Letterman

Here is her encore from last night..

See, I am sharing some of the show and a couple of video clips that were not on my review as I try to add a little more on my blog. I hope you enjoy!

Reaching for the Hoodie

It was a rare day, the cooler of a brief stretch of milder weather before another heat wave. Puffy white clouds, plenty of blue sky, but a cool breeze flowing out of the west. It was my usual standing date with my daughter at the Chick. The inside is normally kept very cool year round. I think the folks in the cow suits like it like that.

Anyway they had the enormous inflatable slide outside. So, I sat outside at a table. My daughter sat with her friends and split time with that table and the slide. There was shade and the wind blew constant. Bringing cold air out of Canada, over the Blue Ridge and right to me.

Me, dressed for summer in shorts, a polo, and my trusty flip flops were no match for this unseasonably cold air. I retreated inside the establishment and grabbed my keys. I went out the other door and walked out to the Buick. I popped the trunk, where I knew I could find the hoodie. I pulled it out, and dusted it off. The wind would be no match for the warmth it would provide. I had found what I needed to equalize the elements.

However, as I put on the hoodie, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had grown old. My feelings finally catching up to my graying hair. Had I become the elderly, person who gets chills throughout the year. Perhaps, I was in touch with my reality unlike the other guys. They faked it was not chilly and suffered in silence. Whatever the case, I had one the battle of the elements. I had found the warmth and security I needed wrapped in the fabrics of the hoodie.

Brunswick Music Fest

I've covered the first two Brunswick Music Fests in Brunswick, Maryland. Some of you may be asking why I haven't mentioned anything about this year's festival. I wish I was mentioning. It is a great little festival, showcasing an eclectic mix of music, which is located near me with plenty of free parking. I have good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news, the reason I haven't mentioned it.

According to their official Facebook page:

Brunswick Music Fest is postponed till 2013. More info will be coming from Brunswick Main Street.


The bad news is there is no Fest this year. They plan to bring it back next year that is good news. You may want to go to their facebook page, if you have it and like their page and tell them you want the Music Fest!


Here is a little something from the first Fest:

Here is my review of the first one. One of the acts was this blues artist Chocolate Thunder...

You can read an interview I did with her here. Here is a preview I did for the second Fest.

The above band Beaucoup Blue band played last year's fest here is my review of their set. 


Local favorites The Kelly Bell Band played both festivals. Here is my review of their set last year. Simply put they are fun to listen to and watch! Here they are with Chocolate Thunder from the first fest:

Well here is hoping for a Fest in 2013!

A Return to Jazz: Diana Krall

No Diana Krall didn't return to jazz she was already there. I returned to jazz. It isn't a genre I get to review very often. Mostly because someone else grabs them up, but I get my share of shows. Sometimes it is simply I can't cover multiple shows at the same time.Any way Diana Krall was great as one would expect. You can read my review of her show here.

Here is a taste...

I really enjoyed her opening act Denzal Sinclaire. I like his voice here is a video of him to check out.

I love that about opening acts or going to festivals, you get introduced to a lot of great music.

The first jazz review I wrote was in April of 2010. I am sure I blogged about it too. It was about Jazz Night at the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida. You can read that review here. However, at the time I probably wasn't using technology like I am now. Here is one of the acts I saw that night Isaac Bryd Jr. and this is from that performance..

Here is a promo for another band called The Fusion Band which performed that evening as well..

I love being able to add videos and give more information.

The last jazz concert I reviewed was a songwriting show that had a jazz night. It was last year and held at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. You can read the review here. One of the bands was Zaccai Curtis and the Curtis Brothers Quartet.

Sonia Szajnberg also performed.  Here she is from that evening.

Well there is a little jazz for you. I hope you enjoyed and I hope it made your summer a little bit cooler. I will back soon with a new post.

Lebron James 2

Congrats to Lebron James and the Miami Heat for winning the NBA Championship. Many felt Lebron needed a ring to be considered one of the greatest ever. In today's sports do you need titles to be considered among the greats? I consider Dan Marino one of the greatest quarterbacks ever but he never one a championship.

Lebron thinks so. Modern greats do have rings like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. I blogged about Lebron  nearly 2 years ago on July 10, 2010.  I'm still not a fan of the way he left Cleveland. I'm sure there are people in Cleveland who aren't either. But I don't hate him. I am just one of those folks who think he is a great player but I am not on his bandwagon.

However, I am glad his road to a championship wasn't easy. I am glad Lebron was the MVP of the playoffs and a dominate player during the championship series. Winning a championship wasn't all Lebron needed to do, but winning one and playing great helps his case.

He is young enough to add on to his NBA resume. It will be interesting to see ow he ranks up in time. However, he deserves credit for making great strides.

The trophy..

Yoni Gras

Last week was a good week for me, live music three nights can't be bad. One was the Martina McBride show. The other was Yoni Gras 2012. It was a neat concept. I live a local theatre, the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick, Maryland hosting two nights of live music to promote local, independent bands. I think it is a win, win. The bands get exposure, the MET has something going on for two nights during their off season.

It did turn me on to a couple of local bands that I want to see again. Some were not exactly my cup of tea. However, I like the idea of a place bands can show off their creativity. You can read my review here. If you were there please feel free to leave your opinion on the show. I must admit the show did make me feel kind of old. I think I was the oldest one there except for some of the band members parents.

Here are some samples of some of the music...

Here is Holy MTN a synth driven band, that had a 80's retro sound...

More from the show Silent Old Mountain...

More here is Old Indian..I really liked them, blues driven hard rock, and very loud!

The second night was quite different with Honeyhound, Violet Overnight and Adrienne and the Merrylanders.

Just trying to share some more, I couldn't find any clips of night two. However, the first night is well represented on youtube. I'll be back soon with another post..

Paul McCartney's Birthday

Not plugging anything, not sharing any death notices today. Simply celebrating Paul McCartney. The Beatle legend turns 70 today. Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

Birthday Beatles...

His greeting from Ringo...

My favorite Paul non-Beatle song..

There it is Cheers Paul!

Martina McBride

I go to a lot of concerts. I love it when a show is better than you expect and that is what happened last week when I caught Martina McBride in concert. I wrote a pretty in depth review(wordy) here. She sounded great and David Nail was a solid opening act.

Here is a taste, a bit of a recap of the evening...

I was surprised to see Carolyn Dawn Johnson  performing in Martina's band. That was a treat. The talented singer/songwriter added her backing vocals and guitar to the performance.

Who Carolyn Dawn Johnson is..

Here is a taste of David Nail as well. He is an artist to keep an ear open too in the future.

It was a cool show. I didn't write much in May but I am writing more this month and July is getting booked pretty full. So, I will be sharing some of my concert and theatre adventures here so stay tuned!

Nat Reese You Will Be Missed

I just found out Nat Reese has passed away. I blogged about him close to Christmas time and you can read that post here. He was a fine blues artist who lived in Southern West Virginia in Princeton. I had the honor to see him perform a few times while I was in college. The past 17 years or so I wanted to see him in concert again, but on my few trips down that way I never did get to hear him one more time.

He was an ambassador to the blues. I learned a lot from watching him perform. I was getting more into the blues and here was a local legend performing the music. The timing was perfect for me and I am sure for other students as well. I am glad he shared his music.

I hope he saves me a seat, and I hope to get a chance to hear him play once more. Here is a link to his obituary in the Bluefield Telegraph. Here he is performing at FloydFest:

May he Rest in Peace, Nat Reese will be missed.

The College World Series

The college World Series starts today. I am rooting for the Florida Gators who are loaded with talent. The SEC is well represented with Arkansas and South Carolina as well. Florida State, Arizona and UCLA are also in it. Surprise teams Kent State and Stony Brook!

It is neat to add even though the Gators have had some great baseball teams they have never won the College World Series. Anyway, I wrote an article on the top drafted players playing in this College World Series you can read it hear.

It will give you so names to check out during this year's series as those players will be trying to make big league clubs soon!

Father's Day and Baltimore Orioles

It has been a couple of months since I had published anything on Yahoo! Sports and it has been a while since I shamelessly self promoted anything on here. Well, I am going to do both. I am going to tell about my recent article and share some other articles which I have written in the past that may be of some interest. I hope you enjoy.

Well, I compiled an article called Father's Day 2012: Top Baltimore Orioles Gifts for Dad you can read it here. The list included tickets, watches, clocks, ties, money clips and even boxers.

Here is the Orioles pump up video 2012 to mix things up a bit:

I have written about the Baltimore Orioles in the past as well.

Here is one I wrote called O's Fan: Best stadium food for fans at Camden Yards. It is a little different since it deals with stadium food. Here is a related article a Stadium Guide.Here is yet another on scoring ticket deals to O's and Nationals games.

Hope you enjoy this post and I will be back soon with another post!

Stormy Friday

This late Spring/Early Summer I must be attracting the fowl weather. I blogged about my adventures in Beryl. Well my first Friday on being home I volunteered at the Western Maryland Blues Fest. Well the weather was rainy with severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings and sightings in the area. None the less they decided to carry on with the festival.

It wasn't to bad one down pour during my shift. IT was warm and the rain kinda felt refreshing. Though when it poured it was cold. However, later in the evening they made folks evacuate and delayed the show for an hour and a half due to the threat of strong winds. Kudos, for the City of Hagerstown for opening up some public buildings for blues fans. The city kept their word and all the bands played.

I had mixed feelings but being on the outside it is easy to second guess. One it would make sense to cancel for public safety. However, they would have still had to pay the bands and some fans would have been disappointed. So, I guess the way they handled it was best. Fans got to see the bands, no one was hurt. The city acted responsible and their was great music.

R.I.P George Marino

George Marino was an engineering giant in the music world. The mastering engineer is one of the important people behind the scenes who make an album (or whatever you listen to music nowadays) sound the way it does. George had worked with albums by Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, John Lennon, Guns and Roses, AC/DC, the Cure and many, many more. Some of the biggest names in music. This page lists his credits, it is quite impressive.

He died of lung cancer. Sad news he will be missed in the music world.