{"id":42599,"date":"2025-10-23T09:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=42599"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:15:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:15:22","slug":"on-stage-vegas-sends-a-couple-of-legendary-acts-to-del-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=42599","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Vegas sends a couple of legendary acts to Del. Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Cindy\u00a0Blackman\u00a0Santana<\/p><\/div>\n

There will be two shows in the area this weekend featuring music acts which have been based in cities around the world and now call Las Vegas home \u2013 Cindy Blackman Santana Band at City Winery and ASIA featuring John Payne at the Sellersville Theater.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Cindy\u00a0Blackman\u00a0Santana, a world-renowned drummer and bandleader, is bringing\u00a0her wildly popular and vibrant ensemble, the Cindy\u00a0Blackman\u00a0Santana Band, to City Winery\u00a0(990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, www.citywinery.com<\/a>)<\/div>\n
on October 23.<\/div>\n
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Like Payne, Santana is a Las Vegas resident. Also like Payne, she has a new album set to be released in spring 2026.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe new album is called \u2018Coherence,\u2019\u201d said Santana, during a phone interview Tuesday from a tour stop in New York.<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe recorded it in October 2024 at The Hideout, a studio in Las Vegas. It\u2019s a really good studio \u2013 amazing sound quality. Some of the special guests on the album are Carlos Santana\u00a0and John McLaughlin.\u201d<\/div>\n
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NFL fans have likely heard Santana play whether they know it or not. She anchors ESPN\u2019s Monday Night Football anthem — the fiery \u201cIn the Air Tonight\u201d with Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton.<\/div>\n
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Santana is a virtuoso drummer whose artistry spans the realms of jazz and rock. As a bandleader and musician, she is a sound innovator with a passion for pushing creative boundaries and exploring movement and change.<\/div>\n
She is as known for the nuances and colors she brings to her beats and fills as she is for the sheer power of her soulful playing.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was drawn to music \u2013 and to drumming \u2013 ever since I was a small child,\u201d said Santana. \u201cI asked for a drum kit and got my first one when I was seven.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThere was always a lot of instruments in our family. I had an uncle who played vibes and accordion.<\/div>\n
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\u201cBoth my grandmothers sang, and my mom\u2019s mother was a classical singer. My mom played violin and my sister sang. That was all in Ohio.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Santana and her family lived in Yellow Springs, Ohio.<\/div>\n
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When Blackman was 11, she moved to\u00a0Bristol, Connecticut, where she attended the\u00a0Hartt School of Music\u00a0in\u00a0Hartford.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFrom Hartford, I went to college at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and studied harmony and composition. After that, I moved to New York City.\u201d<\/div>\n
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From the beginning of her career as a busking street performer in New York City in the \u201980s through the present day, Santana has been touring the globe and making albums with artists including Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Buckethead, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela, and Angela Bofill.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne my earliest gigs in New York was to play in the Drifters\u2019 band,\u201d said Santana. \u201cIt was very interesting. It was not my cup of tea musically, but I appreciated the gig. I needed the money.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI did a two-month stint with them at a Caribbean resort in St. Thomas. Then, we came back and toured up the East Coast to Philly.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI had the first band of my own \u2013 Spontaneous Combustion — in my first year at Berklee. My first New York band was in 1987.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Santana writes, records and performs with her own bands — Another Lifetime and Cindy Blackman Santana Group. Another Lifetime released its critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2010.<\/div>\n
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In 2011, she joined forces with Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce and John Medeski to form the critically acclaimed Spectrum Road, which released an album and tour dedicated to the music of Tony Williams.<\/div>\n
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From 1992-2007 and again in 2014 and 2015, Santana was the drummer in Lenny Kravitz\u2019s band, performing through multiple world tours and hit albums.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen I was on the road with Lenny, we were doing a show at a festival in Germany,\u201d said Santana. \u201cThat\u2019s when I got introduced to Carlos (Santana).<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn 2010, Carlos needed a drummer to sub for Dennis Chambers. That\u2019s when Carlos and I really met. Seven months after we met, we got married. In 2016, I became a band member of Santana.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Carlos proposed to Cindy during a July 2010 concert, and they married in December 2010.<\/div>\n
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Her drumming can be heard on multiple Santana albums, including \u201cPower of Peace\u201d with the Isley Brothers (2017), the EP \u201cIn Search of Mona Lisa\u201d (2019), \u201cAfrica Speaks\u201d (2019), and \u201cBlessings and Miracles\u201d (2021).<\/div>\n
Her solo album \u201cGive the Drummer Some\u201d (2020) and subsequent touring with the Cindy Blackman Santana Band highlights songs that span the realm of jazz, rock, and funk.<\/div>\n
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According to Santana, \u201cTo me, music is completely spiritual, it\u2019s the way you connect with your higher self — with the universe.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s also a way to share light with millions of people. They don\u2019t need to speak your language, have your beliefs, or be in the same place you are.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe music speaks. It channels good energy and makes a difference in people\u2019s lives. Carlos and I are both conscious of doing that.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Santana has another project happening \u2013 The Project of Three.<\/div>\n
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This band has Orianthi on guitar, Rhonda Smith on bass and Santana on drums.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur album is close to being finished,\u201d said Santana. \u201cWe recorded it in Vegas \u2013 at Studio A, at the Hideout and at The Tune Factory and at a couple studios on L.A.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen people ask me what kind of music I play, I tell them \u2013 creative music. If they get it and ask more, I tell them that it\u2019s jazz with influence from rock and funk.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for the Cindy Blackman Santana Band \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/GCrWkfDzTEA<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at City Winery will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25, $30, $35, $40 and $50.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at the City Winery are Tim Cappello on October 25, Robert Gee on October 25, Resurrection of Screamin\u2019 Jay Hawkins\u2019 Band on October 26, Carminho on October 27 and Cold on October 29.<\/div>\n
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ASIA<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com<\/a>) will present ASIA featuring John Payne\u00a0on October 25.<\/div>\n

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Asia is an English\u00a0rock\u00a0supergroup\u00a0formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful lineup was its original. It consisted of lead vocalist and bassist\u00a0John Wetton\u00a0(King Crimson,\u00a0Uriah Heep\u00a0and\u00a0U.K.), guitarist\u00a0Steve Howe\u00a0(Yes), keyboardist\u00a0Geoff Downes\u00a0(Yes and\u00a0the Buggles) and drummer\u00a0Carl Palmer\u00a0(Emerson, Lake & Palmer).<\/div>\n
There were numerous personnel changes over the years.<\/div>\n
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Another highly successful and long-running version of Asia ran from 1992-2007 and featured a nucleus of Downes and vocalist\/bassist\u00a0John Payne.<\/div>\n
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In early 2006, Downes left for a reunion of the original band lineup under the Asia name, a breakup that Payne described as \u201cpainful.\u201d\u00a0The existing lineup (minus Downes) continued for a short while before morphing into GPS.<\/div>\n
Following Downes\u2019 departure in May 2006, Payne, Downes, Wetton, Palmer and Howe contractually agreed that Payne could continue his 15-year period with Asia as ASIA featuring John Payne.<\/div>\n
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When Payne was fronting Asia, the band released eight stunning studio albums including \u201cAqua\u201d\u00a0(1992), \u201cAria\u201d\u00a0(1994), \u201cArena,\u201d\u00a0(1996), \u201cRare\u201d\u00a0(1999), \u201cAura\u201d\u00a0(2001) and \u201cSilent Nation\u201d\u00a0(2004). Asia also put out several live recordings.<\/div>\n
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ASIA featuring John Payne debuted in 2007 with Payne on vocals\/bass, Guthrie Govan on guitar, Erik Norlander on keyboards and Jay Schellen on drums.<\/div>\n
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Downes, Wetton, Palmer and Howe continued to perform and record Asia from that point on.<\/div>\n
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Since then, ASIA featuring John Payne has released one studio album, \u201cRecollections: A Tribute to British Prog\u201d (2014), one live album, \u201cExtended Versions\/Scandinavia\u201d (2007), one EP, \u201cMilitary Man\u201d (2009) and one single, \u201cSeasons Will Change\u201d (2012).<\/div>\n
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Payne and his band perform a fan-friendly show with a set list covering all of Asia\u2019s incarnations and hits.<\/div>\n
Like Santana, Payne is a Las Vegas resident. Also like Santana, he and his band have a new album set to be released in spring 2026.<\/div>\n
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\u201cYou have to do a fair balance between new and old,\u201d said Payne, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon during a break from a band rehearsal in Las Vegas.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThere are definitely a lot of songs that we have to continue playing. The music has to go on.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Payne grew up in the U.K. but has lived in the states for several decades.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI grew up in Hertfordshire (20 miles north of London) but Las Vegas has been my home since 2013,\u201d said Payne.<\/div>\n
\u201cBefore that, it was L.A. A lot of musicians have moved to Las Vegas from L.A. Actually, a lot of musicians from all around the world have come here.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI dedicated my life to music. I\u2019ve never taken any time off since I joined Asia in 1992. I started playing guitar when I was eight years old and started banjo when I was 14.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started playing gigs when I was 16. A few years later, I moved to London. Payne\u2019s first band was called Moonstone.<\/div>\n
\u201cIn London, he\u00a0provided backing vocals on several solo albums by\u00a0Roger Daltrey, including\u00a0\u201cUnder a Raging Moon\u201d\u00a0(1985) and\u00a0\u201cCan\u2019t Wait to See the Movie\u201d\u00a0(1987).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWorking with Roger on \u2018Under the Raging Moon\u2019 was my first big break. I just saw The Who play here in Las Vegas a few days ago and they\u2019re still great.\u201d<\/div>\n
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ASIA featuring John Payne has a new album in the works.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe new album will be finished by the end of the year,\u201d said Payne, who has also played or recorded with Dukes of the Orient, Intelligent Music Project, GPS, The Passion, Geoff Downes NDO, CCCP, Lunatica and Lisa LaRue.<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m recording it at my own studio \u2013 Loco Studio here in Las Vegas. It\u2019s a great studio with a huge amount of analog gear. The recordings end up in Pro-Tools but everything along the way is all analog.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe album will be released in the spring and I\u2019m really looking forward to it. It\u2019s going to be very cathartic for us.<\/div>\n
\u201cAlbums are a self-indulgent thing. It\u2019s an enjoyable process. I really enjoy recording music. I\u2019m so lucky to be doing what I love to do.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe set list for this weekend\u2019s show has old and new \u2013 songs from my era and back to 1982. There won\u2019t be any new songs.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe will play a lot of songs from the past that fans want to hear like \u201cHeat of the Moment,\u201d \u201cWho Will Stop the Rain,\u201d \u201cThe Heat Goes On,\u201d \u201cWildest Dreams,\u201d \u201cSole Survivor,\u201d \u201cGo\u201d and \u201cTime Again.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for ASIA featuring John Payne — https:\/\/youtu.be\/pq0QFu1H18A<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show on October 25, which has Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $59.50.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at the venue are \u201cHollywood Nights \u2013 America\u2019s Bob Seger Experience\u201d on October 24, \u201cSPLISH SPLASH – The Music of \u00a0Bobby Darin\u201d on October 26, Priscilla Presley on October 26, Ashes & Arrows on October 28 and Ronnie Baker Brooks on October 29.<\/div>\n
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The Autumn Defense — Pat\u00a0Sansone\u00a0and John Stirrat\u00a0—\u00a0will play\u00a0Ardmore Music Hall\u00a0(23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) on October 25\u00a0in support of their long-anticipated just-released sixth studio album,\u00a0\u201cHere and Nowhere.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Like John Payne and Cindy Blackman Santana, Sansone was invited years ago to join an internationally acclaimed veteran band and jumped at the opportunity.<\/div>\n
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The Autumn Defense began as a side project for\u00a0Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for\u00a0alt-country\u00a0bands\u00a0Wilco\u00a0and\u00a0Uncle Tupelo.\u00a0In 1999, Stirratt began collaborating with friend\u00a0Pat Sansone, known for his work with\u00a0Joseph Arthur\u00a0and\u00a0Josh Rouse, to produce 1960s-style rock\/pop.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJohn and I have been friends since the mid-90s,\u201d said Sansone, who grew up in Meridian, Mississippi.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe were both involved in the Mississippi music scene. John was living in Oxford with his sister. I was in Hattiesburg studying at the University of Southern Mississippi.<\/div>\n
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\u201cLater, I moved to New Orleans. John was already in New Orleans at the time. Once I got there, we started hanging around together.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were on the same wavelength musically. We really like the music of the late 60s and early 70s.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJohn had written a handful of songs that he was looking to do so we got together on that.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Their debut album, \u201cThe Green Hour,\u201d was released on Stirratt’s own Broadmoor label, with Stirratt doing the bulk of the writing while Sansone focused on the technical recording aspects.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThat album came out in 2000,\u201d said Sansone. \u201cWe started working on it in 1999. He was the main songwriter. All the songs on the album were written by him. On \u2018Circles,\u2019 our second album, that\u2019s when I started to write.<\/div>\n
\u201cUsually, we write separately and bring it to each other. I\u2019ve been producing our records. We have a great band, and we all collaborate.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Autumn Defense has maintained the same core lineup for almost 20 years. Along with Stirratt and Sansone, there is the veteran rhythm section\u00a0of James Haggerty\u00a0on bass and\u00a0Greg Wieczorek\u00a0on drums.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s other previous albums were \u201cThe Autumn Defense\u201d\u00a0(2007), \u201cOnce Around\u201d\u00a0(2010) and \u201cFifth\u201d\u00a0(2014).<\/div>\n
The previously mentioned act by Sansone of joining a well-established popular band did not refer to his part in The Autumn Defense.<\/div>\n
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In 1994, Stirratt joined\u00a0Jeff Tweedy,\u00a0Ken Coomer, and\u00a0Max Johnston\u00a0to found\u00a0Wilco. Three decades later, Wilco is still going strong.<\/div>\n
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In 2005, Wilco decided to substantially change the lineup after Leroy Bach\u2019s departure by adding Sansone and\u00a0avant-garde\u00a0guitarist\u00a0Nels Cline\u00a0to the lineup.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJeff Tweedy played guitar on our \u2018Circles\u2019 album,\u201d said Sansone, who has his own radio show, \u201cThe Baroque Down Palace,\u201d on WYXR in Memphis (www.baroqudownpalace.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen John and I were touring the album, I was asked to join Wilco. I was already a part of the extended Wilco family.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Wilco will resume shows on October 29 but, for right now, Stirratt and Sansone are focusing their attention on The Autumn Defense.<\/div>\n
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Video link for The Autumn Defense — https:\/\/youtu.be\/XJQv6ibTpbQ<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Ardmore Music Hall, which will have Jim Boggia as the opener, will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $25.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming acts at AMH are Melvin Seals and JGB on October 23 and 24, Town Mountain and Cris Jacobs on October 26 and Cam with Anna Vaus on October 29.<\/div>\n
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A band with a mission will be on the menu for this weekend when Bees Deluxe headlines a show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne,\u00a0www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve qualified to compete in the 2026 International Blues Challenge in Memphis,\u201d said guitarist Conrad Warre, during a phone interview Tuesday evening from his home in Boston.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe just won our division at the Granite State Blues Society Blues Challenge 2025. That qualified us to perform at the huge festival in Memphis.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The band also has a new album to celebrate \u2013 \u201cSmash Hits.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe recorded it here in Boston at Tight Squeeze Studio in Hyde Park,\u201d said Warre. \u201cJoe Egan was the producer.<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a mixture of recent songs and some that are still around from four years ago. Half of them are new and there are also a few covers.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cSmash Hits\u201d includes reimagined classics by Fenton Robinson, Otis Rush, Robert Cray and Bobby \u201cBlue\u201d Bland, Bees Deluxe originals that push the envelope of contemporary blue, a poignant tribute to JR Rost with Carol Band\u2019s \u201cHow to Play 96 Tears\u201d and resurrected studio gems like \u201cKidnap\u201d and \u201cKing of Bad Luck.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe album has 40 minutes and 10 songs,\u201d said Warre. \u201cWe\u2019re an album band. We\u2019re not interested in putting out singles. This album has a life of its own.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Bees Deluxe was formed by Warre, a highly respected British guitar ace.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI grew up in London,\u201d said Warre. \u201cI went to a Quaker boarding school that had a lot of U.S. students.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne of them gave me a blues compilation album with songs by Johnny Winter, Little Walter and B.B. King.<\/div>\n
\u201cIn high school, I was in a band with Paul Kossoff. Paul later went on to be a guitarist with the band Free.<\/div>\n
\u201cI got a degree in graphic design. When I got out of college, I realized I didn\u2019t want to do graphic design.\u201d<\/div>\n
Music was a prime alternative.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m from London \u2013 from Notting Hill Gate, where the riots were,\u201d said Warre. \u201cI wrote Two-Tone music and toured with The English Beat and Joe Jackson. I moved to New York and played a lot at CBGB\u2019s.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI found Carol playing jazz at Ryles Jazz Club in Boston. I got Paul in the band because he knew who Bernard Purdie was. Jim was a friend of his and they played country blues together.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Bees Deluxe has played with Ronnie Earl, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Matt Schofield, Roomful of Blues, Walter Trout and David Maxwell.<\/div>\n
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The four-piece band celebrates the music of B.B. King, Robert Cray, Albert King, Tinsley Ellis, Freddie King and others.<\/div>\n
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So, the band\u2019s background includes blues, rock, English ska, punk rock, jazz and country rock. Its current sound is all of that \u2013 and none of that.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur sound is more modern \u2013 more progressive \u2013 more edge,\u201d said Band.<\/div>\n
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Band is a classically trained pianist who was recruited while playing jazz in Boston\u2019s club scene. She also writes tunes and wows audiences with her blazing harmonica solos.<\/div>\n
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Warre, who is a British football fan and supporter of the Arsenal Gunners, said, \u201cThe communality is acid rock and blues. So many bands play the same songs the same way every night.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen we play, we stretch it out and change it always. Arrangements are made up on the fly.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Bees Deluxe push the limits of the blues, color outside the lines of convention, and do it with impeccable musicality, originality, and a touch of insanity.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis kind of music appeals to fans of all ages \u2013 if they get to hear it,\u201d said Warre. \u201cWe\u2019re at our best when people are dancing.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOr if they\u2019re hooting and hollering. We adjust our music to the audience. If it\u2019s not a dance crowd, we can stretch it out.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u201cWe don\u2019t play a standard blues band repertoire. A lot of blues bands play the same few songs such as \u2018Born Under a Bad Sign,\u2019 \u2018Spoonful,\u2019 and \u2018The Thrill Is Gone.\u2019 It\u2019s really repetitive.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI pick songs that other blues bands don\u2019t \u2013 for example songs by J. B. Lenoir. We like to discover songs that are off the beaten path.<\/div>\n
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In 2018, Bees Deluxe released their\u00a0all-original acid-blues album,\u00a0\u201cVoice of Dog,\u201d\u00a0which was produced by Joe Egan on Slapping Cat Records.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s CD,\u00a0\u201cMouthful of Bees,\u201d\u00a0which features an original sound that they call \u201cacid blues,\u201d\u00a0was produced by Egan and Warre. It includes three originals and seven classic blues songs re-interpreted by the band.<\/div>\n
\u201cOur repertoire has about 60 covers \u2013 most of which are deep cuts \u2014 and 40 originals,\u201d said Warre. \u201cYou\u2019re in danger if you play too many originals.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve played Jamey\u2019s before. It\u2019s like dying and going to heaven.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Band added, \u201cThe people are there for the music.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u200bVideo link for Bees Deluxe \u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/9Ae6It4EEL0<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music on October 25, which has the Corty Byron Band as opener will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming acts at Jamey\u2019s are AC Steel and the Perpetrators on October 23 and The Jad Tariq Band and The Philly Blues Kings featuring Clarence Spady on October 26.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Unexpected 3rd:\u00a0A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive\u201d is now running through October 26 at People\u2019s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, www.peopleslight.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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The Obie-winning artist\u2019s solo show explores getting old, dealing with identity and reinvention with fierce humor and radical honesty.<\/div>\n
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This raw, poetic and darkly funny show invites audiences into Grody\u2019s intimate reflections on aging, identity and staying true to one\u2019s self — no matter what the world expects of you.<\/div>\n
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Following sold-out readings at the 2024 Kiln New Works Festival at People\u2019s Light,\u00a0\u201cThe Unexpected 3rd\u201d\u00a0returns to the theatre that helped spark its development, now taking center stage as the season opener.<\/div>\n
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According to Grody, \u201cThe transition into elderhood is not just bewildering but equal parts empowering, mysterious and absurd. \u201cThis show is about living truthfully, unapologetically and with unyielding curiosity at 78 and beyond. It feels especially right to debut it at People\u2019s Light, a place that embraces honesty, complexity and the full spectrum of being human.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Directed by acclaimed regional theatre director and Grody\u2019s longtime friend and collaborator Timothy Near, the production playfully blurs the line between personal monologue and theatrical memoir, inviting audiences of all generations to reflect on what it means to grow older in a culture obsessed with staying young.<\/div>\n
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At its core,\u00a0\u201cThe Unexpected 3rd\u201d\u00a0is a dynamic and real-time contemplation of a universal question:\u00a0What happens when you\u2019re no longer who you were but not yet someone else?<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Unexpected 3rd\u201d through October 26 on the Steinbright Stage at People\u2019s Light.<\/div>\n
Ticket prices start at $35.<\/div>\n
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The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) is presenting \u201cRagtime: The Musical\u201d now through October 26.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRagtime\u201d blends fictional narratives with authentic historical figures and events.<\/div>\n
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The story focuses on Coalhouse Walker, Jr., — and his beloved Sarah. Walker is a Black pianist who buys a Model T Ford and sets off a series of events that span all levels of New York City society<\/div>\n
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It also features magician Harry Houdini, industrialist Henry Ford, celebrity party girl Evelyn Nesbit, civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, architect Stanford White, anarchist Emma Goldman, a wealthy white family living in suburban New Rochelle led by matriarch Mother and Tateh (a Jewish Latvian immigrant who becomes a movie director) and his little girl.<\/div>\n
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The show explores themes of racism, injustice, hope, and dreams amid the changes in society, music, and culture rising in New York City \u2014 and across America.<\/div>\n
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Three social castes in turn-of-the-century New York introduce themselves to the audience.<\/div>\n
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The first is an upper-class white family from\u00a0New Rochelle \u2014 the Little Boy (Edgar), his Father (who runs a fireworks factory), Mother, Mother\u2019s Younger Brother, and Grandfather. They live a genteel life and enjoy a lack of racial and ethnic diversity.<\/div>\n
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The second is the Black residents of\u00a0Harlem, including a beautiful young woman named Sarah, who adores the pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr.<\/div>\n
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The third are immigrants from Europe on the\u00a0Lower East Side, among them \u201cTateh,\u201d a Jewish artist from\u00a0the Baltic states and his young daughter.<\/div>\n
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These three worlds are connected by narration from the luminaries\u00a0\u2014 J. P. Morgan,\u00a0Henry Ford,\u00a0Booker T. Washington,\u00a0Emma Goldman,\u00a0Harry Houdini, and\u00a0Evelyn Nesbit.<\/div>\n
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Even though \u201cRagtime\u201d is set in the early 20th century, it shares troubling topics with today\u2019s world \u2013 stifling prejudice, xenophobia and unrelenting racism.<\/div>\n
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The show will run now through October 26.<\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include pre-show dinner and free parking, are $75.50 for adults, $35 for children (ages 4-12) and $35 for \u201cShow Only.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Dinner and Show times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances, 6 p.m. for meal and 8 p.m. for show; Sunday Matinees, 1 p.m. for meal and 3 p.m. for show.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting Kim Richey on October 24, \u201cRocky Horror Picture Show\u201d film screening and live show featuring\u00a0music by Formal Dress Optional on October 25 and Lucy Kaplansky on October 26.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present The Laugh Lounge on October 23, \u201cCarole King Meets the Beatles\u201d on October 24 and Grateful Dub on October 25.<\/div>\n
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Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a>) will have Countdown to Ecstasy on October 24, \u201cHollywood Nights: The Bob Seger Experience\u201d on October 25, and \u201cWind & Bone: Special FREE Movie Premiere!\u201d on October 28.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times There will be two shows in the area this weekend featuring music acts which have been based in cities around the world and now call Las Vegas home \u2013 Cindy Blackman Santana Band at City Winery and ASIA featuring John Payne at the Sellersville Theater. Cindy\u00a0Blackman\u00a0Santana, a world-renowned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7441],"tags":[15549,15548,6269],"class_list":["post-42599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-asia","tag-cindy-blackman-santana","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42600,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42599\/revisions\/42600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}