Cold Chocolate

 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Americana

 

Cold Chocolate is a groovy Americana band that fuses bluegrass, folk, and rock to create a sound all their own. With tight three-part harmony and skillful musicianship, this trio from Boston is impressing audiences throughout New England and beyond.  Since their formation in 2011, Cold Chocolate has quickly gained recognition for their original songs and high-energy shows. The band has shared bills with Leftover Salmon and David Grisman, and regularly performs at venues and music festivals up and down the East Coast.

 

Band Members:

 

Ethan Robbins, guitar

Kirsten Lamb, upright bass

Ariel Bernstein, percussion

 

www.coldchocolatemusic.com/

 

Grupo Fantasia

 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Latin

 

Angel Wagner, musical director of Grupo Fantasia, formed the group in 1993, with musicians from all around the world. Over the years, Fantasia has performed at the Calle Ocho festival in Miami, as well as touring extensively throughout the Northeast. His performances include a multitude of schools, universities, colleges, fundraisers, private functions and musical galas, allowing him to team up with the most exclusive event coordinators and party planners in New England.

 

Angel Wagner provides traditional island entertainment for all people and much of the music is performed on original, handmade indigenous  instruments. The Angel in 2006 extensive repertoire includes original and cover songs from the Caribbean and Latin America. Also represented are various Cuban, Dominican Merengue, Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena, Colombian Cumbia, Mexican Mariachi, Calypso, Reggae and Salsa music.

 

www.grupofantasia.com

 

Roy Sludge

 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Country & Rockabilly

 

Roy Sludge plays vintage country, hopped-up honky tonk and raucous rockabilly with an emphasis on truck driving and drinking songs.

 

Roy and his band have been playing the New England area for over 7 years. Their live shows, described as “lightning in a bottle,” earned the band a “Best Residency” nomination at The Boston Music Awards in 2012 and 2013. He was nominated as “Best Male Vocalist” in 2013 and 2014. His debut CD “Too Drunk To Truck” was nominated for “Album of the Year” in 2011. Twangville’s CD review: “Old school in all the best ways, it might as well be a collection of lost classics from the Sun Studios archive.”

 

With a deep, rumbling voice reminiscent of Jr. Brown or Ernest Tubb and his biting sense of humor, Roy’s been entertaining roots music fans for over 3 decades. He was a sideman with Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, Tarbox Ramblers and fronted the western swing “supergroup” The Spurs to name a few.

 

The Boston Globe wrote: “...he long ago became a central bloodline that runs through the tangled, twisting veins of the Boston rock and roots scenes.”

 

The RPS Band

 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Jazz, Funk, and Fusion

 

RPS (Rhythm Plus Soul) plays upbeat, funky music which engages the body, mind and soul. The 8-piece, multi-cultural ensemble features lead and to-die-for harmony singing from three dynamic vocalists and a repertoire which spans the spectrum from well-loved classics to contemporary grooves and original compositions, drawing from jazz, fusion, funk, soul and R&B sources.  At an RPS show, you might find yourself dancing with wild abandon while being caught by poetic lyrics which inspire and make you think.  If you love to move with the groove, RPS will take you higher with a message that affirms the beauty of a world rich with diversity.

 

RPS has played at private events and venues throughout the Greater Boston Area, including:

The Midway Café, Jamaica Plain

The Middle East, Cambridge

O’Connoll’s Pub, Framingham

Firefly’s, Marlborough

Palmer’s, Andover

Bull Mansion, Worcester

Amazing Things, Framingham

Concerts on the Green, Framingham

Bocca Bella, Auburndale

Jamaica Plain Porchfest

Newton Porchfest

 

RPS is:

Doug Rich- bass and leader

Willie Sordillo – alto sax, vocals

Patrick Mottaz- guitars

Alvin Terry – drums

Tony Jacobsan – percussion

Lynne Miller – lead and harmony vocals

Zoë Krohne – lead and harmony vocals

Cyndy Dailey-Smith – lead and harmony vocals

Karen K & The Jitterbugs

 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Family-friendly Kids Music

 

Bug Out! with Karen K and her imaginary friends, the Jitterbugs: Bumble (the bee who doesn’t like to sting); Stinky (loves playing outside, refuses baths), Hop (working on his self control); and Slug Bug (needs a LOT of naps).

 

Named one of the “Must-See Acts of 2015” and called “Power pop sheen that makes them fun for the whole family” by the Boston Globe, the Jitterbugs have quickly become a favorite among kids and kid-ults in Boston and beyond. Known for their totally engaging, high-energy show packed with humor and amazingly catchy, well-crafted tunes, Karen K & the Jitterbugs has quickly become one of the most buzzed about kindie bands on the East Coast.

 

Karen K & the Jitterbugs were recently voted the Best Kindie Band in the Greater-Boston area by Mommy Poppins (41,000 votes). National recognition includes Parents Choice Awards; Best Kids Video of 2014 for their You Tube hit video “(I Woke Up in a) Fire Truck”; appearances on PBS-WGBH and CBS-New York; and radio play on stations across the country.  Jitterbugs Music Classes for kids 5 and under, created by Karen K, were recently named the Best Music Class in Massachusetts by Boston Parents Paper.