Nancy Sinatra’s boots may have been made for walkin’, but the way Ludlow Firefighter Dan McKenney sees it, his Rock The Boot Winter Jam — slated for Feb. 28 in the town’s Gremio Lusitano Club — will serve two decidedly different purposes.
For starters, music fans won’t have to wait for his other, larger (rock the) boot to drop this summer to get a sonic fix locally. And secondly, this annual winter installment will give the summer concert a swift kick in the coffers, raising funds so that larger names like 2014 performers Jonathan Edwards and Enter The Haggis can grace the 2015 stage this August and secure even more money for area families in need.
“It’s winter meltdown that serves as a warm-up for the Summer Fest. In fact, we have it almost exactly at the halfway point,” McKenney notes.
Among those slated to perform at this Saturday’s event are local jam rock royalty The Kings and Lobsterz from Marz. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tix are $15 and available by calling (413) 218-5369.
In other news, Signature Sounds’ Lynne Bertrand checked in to reveal that folks shouldn’t take the high caliber of talent she’s procured for The Parlor Room’s current “Parlor Sessions” Sunday concerts for granted. The entire series wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a first-time grant of $750 she was fortunate enough to receive from the Northampton Arts Council.
“This funding makes it possible to take chances,” she says. “In our case, to invite traditional musicians whose work we’ve been admiring for a long time. Archivists, Quebecois gents, insanely great fiddlers … local heroes who you might not realize you’re hearing in movie soundtracks. It also supports a house band of local young musicians. Nights like these have a lot of moving parts and can be expensive!”
The Sunday concerts began Feb. 8 with Pascal Gemme & Yan Falquet, and continue with Jeremiah McLane & Ariel Friedman (March 1), Mark Robert, Andrea Cooper & Friends (March 8), Jeff Davis, Tim Eriksen, Zoe Darrow and Peter Irvine (March 15), and The Press Gang (March 22) before concluding with the Perfect Square dance March 29.
A pastiche of Newfoundlanders’ kitchen parties, Irish pub seisiuns, and NYC cellar jams, each Parlor Session begins with a down home concert of the guest musician’s work — old, new, and in-progress. After a quick break for bread and soup, the show continues with a full-on jam led by the guest musicians. Patrons are encouraged to bring their stringed instruments and favorite libations.
Parlor Session shows begin at 7 p.m. Admission ranges from $10 to $15. To purchase yours, kindly point your browser to parlorroomusic.com.
Finally, Killswitch Engage six-stringer Joel Stroetzel is taking another stab at the duo thing. Brothers Born, his side project with Mike Wyzik of Storm The Ohio/Red Door Exchange notoriety, has recently re-released the 2012 full length Knife Wounds on Nine Mile Records. The first single, “Parachute,” dropped in January, followed by the title track, which premiered Feb. 4 on Billboard’s website. The two reportedly met hanging out at Easthamp’s Brass Cat and hit it off.
And speaking of albums, Matt Hebert (best known regionally for his work with Treefort and Ware River Club before relocating to Austin, TX in 2010) has also emerged with new studio product. And that’s a coinkydink both he and Brothers Born celebrate Friday, Feb. 27 with a dual record release show at the Iron Horse (iheg.com).
Hebert’s disc is titled Until You Glow In The Dark and is being released under his Haunt moniker. Tix are $10 in advance and $13 day of show. Doors open at 7 p.m.•
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
