Category: Upcoming Shows

Jam/Jazz/Funk/Smooth/Soul/Blues/Spooky/Spacey/Super Amazing trio from Northern Jersey

Pete Hill’s “The Bullet Tree” is now available on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp.

Reviews for “The Bullet Tree”

“It’s literally the only album I listen to.” 
– David Hasselhoff

“So good I bought it twice.”
-Rush Limbaugh

“What’s a Pete Hill?”
-Harrison Ford

Watching them perform, you might think Dyado: cousins Louisa Stancioff and Matt Lohan, were raised from zygotes in some Red House Records incubator, and forced to play music together at cruelly young ages, like some folk Jackson Five. Then, you look at them onstage and realize they’re having fun, sneaking dumb looks and setting each other off, like real cousins. Turns out neither knew the other existed until they were both around 20, and met at a family gathering one summer in Maine, where Louisa grew up and Matt worked on schooners.

They began Dyado as a trio with their friend Emily Ramsey, and released an EP in 2016. Emily no longer tours with the cousins but plays with the band when she can and lends her gorgeous third-part harmony to their forthcoming record Dreamcountry.

They’ve recently welcomed Matt’s childhood friend Dylan French on drums. Dylan’s enthusiasm for playing music makes Louisa and Matt look like shrugging punks. He’ll drive six hours out of his way for a show, and get out of the car twitching and ecstatic just to be six hours closer to getting to play. He’s a great drummer besides – his huge respect for the songs informs a subtle latticework of rhythm that works into and between the cousins’ sweet melodies and dynamic shifts, always supporting the changes.

Louisa and Matt are of that ilk who sing and handle instruments with an infuriating effortlessness. As a generosity to those of us who struggle to play instruments and sing recognizable melodies, they both occasionally contort their faces in faux fits of agony mid-syllable to make it look harder than it really is. Matt’s guitar playing is at once offhand, precise, and inspired, and Louisa’s voice is unswervingly true-toned, warm, lilting. Both write great songs. Both play fiddle, and both would rather stay up playing fiddle tunes and singing than sleep.

I met them in the backyard of a commune in Portland, Oregon. They’re nothing if not flexible, if music is the reason. We performed to a modest audience perched on hay bales and were paid with salad and homemade cookies. We were all pretty happy about it. They’ll perform in a stranger’s living room, or unannounced to a bar of locals. They’ll play at farm parties, beaches, on giant theatre stages, or at weird venues on the edge of the woods, and always they play with the same verve and dedication, and always they catch people’s ears.

They catch people’s eye, too, trucking around in a neon-blue Ford Focus with a cow skull wired to the front grill, the car packed with weeks-worth of gear for camping and playing music. Onstage, it’s a pleasure to see Matt relax into himself when a song starts, or watch Louisa switch seamlessly from breathless, red-faced laughter into a heartbreaker of a song. Self-described shitheads, they’re not precious about music – they’re scrubby, passionate, realistic. They put in the time, they make the long drives and sleep on the ground, and when you hear or see them play it’s obvious that the only people pushing them to be this good are themselves. – Izaak Opatz.

For the past decade The Judy Chops have been wowing audiences with their deft musicianship and high-energy live shows.  This seven piece band comprised of family and friends has evolved from a Shenandoah Valley favorite into one of the hottest acts in the Virginia music scene.  Their unique take on Americana is a fusion of modern and vintage musical styles, blending elements of swing, blues, rock, and soul for a sonic experience Huffington Post calls ‘genre-defying!’

No-nonsense rock, they describe themselves as lo-fi for your hi-fi

From Nashville, TN

Ryan Zimmerman is a singer/songwriter from Long Beach Island NJ. He is a roots musician dedicated to his craft of songwriting and performing live. Ryan started his music career on the Jersey Shore,where he currently calls home. An avid music fan and performer Ryan draws his influence from early roots performers up to todays consummate guitar players and singers. His windmill rhythmic guitar style is reminiscent of Ritchie Havens and his deep room filling voice summons Mark Sandman.

Currently gigging and writing ,Ryan will be preforming this winter in and around the North East and New England area supporting his new EP “Ephemeral as a Kiss”,recorded this last fall in Asbury Park with the help of Pete Steinkopf of The Bouncing Souls. A run of shows is in the works for Southern California at the end of March as well as a full spring tour of the South East in Late spring.

Jason Ager is a dedicated father, a passionate college professor, and a hyper-literate original songwriter. Balancing a PhD in German Literature with a few days a week as a stay-at-home dad, Jason still plays more than 100 shows a year in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. On his third album, Porchlight, Ager’s talent as a storyteller shines as he weaves together the academic and the arcane into clever lyrics that reward the careful listener. Nestled comfortably atop classic soul, R&B, and rock influences, songs like “Overload” and “Everybody Needs Love” epitomize Jason’s ability to rouse hearts and minds in the same breath.

Its Jonah’s Birthday!
Jonah Lloyd is one of the region’s best musicians and band leaders. Drawing on his infinite musical catalog, and almost as extensive list of talented players, Jonah creates a unique night of music with something for everyone.

John and Peter’s intimate venue will once again be the setting for a musical spectacular!

If the audience at a Keith Kenny show were to close their eyes for the performance they would swear that there was a full band on stage. The audience, however, is too busy dancing to the one-man acts layered guitar riffs, foot stomping percussion, and emotionally charged lyrics to even think about looking away.
The New Jersey native is able to emulate the sound of a full rock band with his percussive fingerstyle approach to the acoustic guitar and an array of effects pedals. Kenny even customized a vintage red suitcase to use as a kick drum which has appeared with him on stage for nearly a decade of live performances.
His debut appearances at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park paved the way for Kenny’s developing one-man band show and led him into the national touring circuit and beyond. During his most recent “Big Red Suitcase Tour” Kenny performed in over 50 U.S. cities from coast to coast and was invited to headline a series of benefit concerts in SE Asia. In recent years he has shared the stage with the likes of Keller Williams, Leon Russell, John Hammond Jr., New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Zen Tricksters and John Kadlecik (Further & Dark Star Orchestra).
On his latest studio release “And the Light Came Blaring In…” Kenny captures the essence of his live solo show, with all the guitars, vocals, and foot stomping performed simultaneously. While he has used a band for several previous releases, on this record Kenny relies more on his lone power of compositional grit than his usual fret board grandeur. With an influential voice that lies somewhere between Neil Young and Ben Bridwell, Kenny delivers clear and concise visions of dynamic musical deliverance. Combining a deep dive into tone, originality and believability, he ushers the listener into his brand new living room of roots riddled rock and roll.
Never going for the standard attack, he flies far from the 12-bar blues, three-chord rock and Americana stereotype to land some place between a rock and a new place. The album illustrates a highly skilled writer who utilizes the same down-home approach in his music as he does with his day-to-day interactions with others. It’s a combination that will continue to see Kenny reach exciting new levels as he helps future fans “see the light” of his musical message.
To hear his full discography, watch recent videos, and check out upcoming tour dates visit www.KeithKenny.com

(Excerpt from John Pfieffer of The Aquarian Weekly & Jessica Smith of the Sentinel)

Whether Billy Hector is teasing you with his sultry slidework, picking through delta blues or flat-out cranking it up and crunching out the electric blues/rock on his beloved vintage Fender Stratocaster, his music reflects the true soul and origins ofthe blues; always passionate, engaging and dedicated to making the audience move and sweat.  Having honed his chops and style through three decades of performances, Hector is critically recognized as one of the hottest and most interesting guitarist/songwriters on the original circuit and has even been called “A New Jersey state treasure” by music writers.

 Early in his career, Billy Hector identified himself as a deeply-grounded and versatile player drawing his influences from important predecessors including T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Buchanan and a host of others across musical style and genre. But, as with all truly great musicians, recognizable influences are interesting only insofar as they provide a departure point for the musician’s spirit. It falls on the musician to shape his predecessor’s ideas into music that does not simply replicate but engagingly adds to the whole. Most can only aspire to this level of creation; Billy Hector generates it in spades and it happens every night.

 In the late 70s, Hector’s first stop was as the guitarist for The Shots, a horn-driven R&B group that took over the house band role from Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes at the renowned Stone Pony. He moved on as lead guitarist for Hot Romance, a band based at the infamous Mrs. Jay’s biker bar in Asbury Park that also began receiving New York City radio airplay for its original songs.

 In the mid-80’s, drawn back to earlier musical roots, Billy Hector formed the five-piece blues/rock band The Fairlanes and, co-wrote and released three independent albums on the Blue Jersey label.

 By early 1993, Hector regrouped as a power trio and renamed his band The Billy Hector Band. The band’s present lineup is guitars/lead vocals Billy Hector, drummer Sim Cain and bassist Tim Tindall. The Billy Hector Band also performs acoustic blues in multiple personnel configurations.

 A prolific songwriter/composer, Billy Hector has fourteen albums to his credit, most on the independent Ghetto Surf label. And with over thirty-five years of performing under his belt, Billy Hector is recognized as one of the hottest guitarists and songwriters playing the original circuit and serves up what more than one reviewer has called “one of the best shows you’ll ever see”.