On the evening of May 29, 2009, there was a 95 percent chance Roger Salloom‘s heart would not continue beating through the day.
The man commonly referred to as “America’s Best Unknown Songwriter” beat the odds, though—not only making a full recovery, but returning to stand in the spotlights that have been illuminating his performances for some three decades now.
“My heart doctor, who is also a musician, says that I hit a cardiac home run and that my health is remarkably perfect,” Salloom said in a recent interview.
With a clean bill of health, the seasoned troubadour has, appropriately, set his sights on Valentine’s Day for a show near and dear to his heart.
The event, slated for Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Garden House at Look Park, features a tasty assortment of supporting talent (including Grammy Award winner Charles Neville and local notables Joe Boyle and Pete Grimaldi) and holiday chocolates, against the backdrop of the blazing fireplace. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an organization that has been instrumental in aiding Salloom’s granddaughter, Ella, with her struggle with that condition.
“Ella is three years old and so full of life,” the proud grandpa declares. “She runs into the house, screams some incomprehensible utterance at the top of her lungs, then laughs hysterically. But she has to be monitored all the time so she can follow certain drug protocols. There have been many positive strides in research and development for cystic fibrosis, but it completely tears us up any time we dwell on it.”
Tickets for the Roger Salloom Valentine’s Day Show are $15 in advance, $18 at the door and available at rogersalloom.com.
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Also on Feb. 11, Foxwoods (foxwoods.com) Casino’s Fox Theater plays host to a who’s who of Motown notables, including The Contours with Joe Billingslea and Dave Somerville, original lead singer of The Diamonds. The event is dubbed Doo-Wop Hall of Fame of America, and tickets are $47 and $57, depending on your proximity to the “shoobeedoobeewops.” Other performers include the original Vandellas (“Dancing In The Streets,” “Heat Wave”) and Shep’s Limelites (“Daddy’s Home”).
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While we’re cruising down Memory Lane, hang a right at Aldario’s Restaurant in Milford, Conn. on Friday, Feb. 10. That’s the date and site of the Twist & Shout Dinner Dance Party in honor of the Beatles’ historic arrival on U.S. soil on Feb. 7, 1964. The annual bash is presented by the Connecticut-based Beatles fan club Liverpool Productions and features the music of the veritable Fab Four facsimile that is MerseyBeat.
Admission is $40 and includes an all-you-can-eat buffet and open bar. For reservations, kindly call (203) 874-6096.
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And on Valentine’s Day proper, founding Wailin’ Jennys member Ruth Moody celebrates her first solo full-length at the Iron Horse.
“They have always been magical places for me—where the tiniest seeds are planted and grow into beautiful expressions of life,” the Australian-born singer/songwriter says of the album title The Garden. “Gardens, like the seasons, are symbols of life and its cycles.”
Tix are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door and available at iheg.com. Show starts at 7 p.m.
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Last but not least, some bittersweet news from Northampton’s Yellow Sofa.
“After five long years, my family and I have come to a decision to let go the Yellow Sofa and let a younger couple with new energy take over the business,” explain owners Gabriel and Hannah Moushabeck in a prepared statement to the community Feb. 1. The Moushabecks went on to add that while they did not know for certain the future performance plans of said new owners, “it’s safe to say that they will be making their own arrangements with artists and musicians when they are done with renovations” and that all currently scheduled shows would be cancelled.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
