Calendar

Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world.

Clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks, the 'Jackets' have delivered their trademark guitar licks to 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows. Viva Los Straitjackets!

Juliana Hatfield’s inimitable 35-year career has seen her an underground darling, a cultural emblem and a time-tested veteran whose tender singing and exemplary guitar playing is an iconic and enduring pinnacle of indie and alternative rock. In 1986, she co-founded beloved Boston indie-rock trio the Blake Babies with Freda Love and John Strohm, injecting a glassy pop sensibility and keen knack for melody into the East Coast’s vibrant underground rock scene, which included peers like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies and The Lemonheads. After releasing three LPs and an EP with the band, in 1992 her debut solo album, Hey Babe, proved Hatfield a force in her own right. Its 11 tracks of melodic alt-rock portend the explosion of her singular blend of hard and soft (and also the cultural impact of grunge figureheads Nirvana, detailed in the album’s song of the same name). That’s not to mention Hatfield’s crucial contribution as bassist and backing vocalist on The Lemonheads’ celebrated albums It’s a Shame About Ray (1992) and Come on Feel The Lemonheads (1993).

But it was Hatfield’s 1993 album Become What You Are — released under the moniker The Juliana Hatfield Three — that marked her a star. Its runaway single, “My Sister,” gave voice to women and girls worldwide, detailing the complex emotional stew of sisterhood and female friendship, and becoming a rare hit without a chorus. It topped the Billboard alternative chart in 1993, and the album was designated a rising phenomenon on the publication’s heatseekers index, peaking at the pole position. “Spin the Bottle,” a quirky, rollicking tune written in 5/4, was featured in Reality Bites, one of the era’s most celebrated films. Its accompanying video, directed by Ben Stiller, features Hatfield and the band playing the pubescent-favorite game alongside the actor Ethan Hawke and Belly’s Tanya Donelly. Its follow-up, Hatfield’s Only Everything, released in 1995, further highlighted her dexterous guitar shredding against a backdrop of melodic pop structures. It catapulted her fierce-yet-tender outlook to new heights, and produced two more celebrated singles, “Universal Heart-Beat” and “What a Life.” The same year, she contributed the original song “So-Called Angels” to cult-favorite television show My So-Called Life, and made her acting debut on the show’s Christmas episode.

Since her commercial peak, Hatfield has released 16 solo albums of stirring originals and imaginative covers, delving further into her love of melodic pop and rock frameworks, and fine-tuning her unmatched vision. In 2001 she reconvened the Blake Babies for a new album, God Bless the Blake Babies, and in 2016 she collaborated with The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg under the band name The I Don’t Cares. She’s adorned magazine covers and played the country’s most celebrated rock clubs but at her core Hatfield is an artist and a technician — a skilled singer, songwriter and player whose influence and endurance is all but unmatched.

Jimmy Webb: American Songwriter

“A night with Jimmy at the keys is not unlike getting to hear George Gershwin or Cole Porter live. It’s hard to believe one guy could have written all these amazing songs. If you get achance to see him live, grab it. “ Paul Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting

“I need you more than want you and I want you for all time. “

“Someone left the cake out in the rain.”

“By the time I get to Phoenix. . .”

“Galveston, oh Galveston, I can see your sea waves crashing.”

“Up, up, and away in my beautiful balloon.”

Jimmy Webb’s songs are deeply embedded in our culture. His catalog of music and lyrics spans multiple genres and appeals to all living generations. He is always on the lists of the most important songwriters. With songs including “Wichita Lineman”, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “The Worst that Could Happen”, “MacArthur Park”, “Galveston”, “Didn’t We”, “All I Know”, “The Highwayman”, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, he is clearly beloved by the best voices and admired by songwriters everywhere. Webb has been dubbed a modern-day Gershwin/Porter/Berlin and is a bona fide progenitor of the Great American Songbook. Yet at the same time, he appeals directly and widely to the country/pop/rock/rap culture of today.

Webb’s music runs the spectrum of modern music genres: country, pop, rock, jazz, rap, heavy metal, new age, gospel, disco, EDM, classical—and more. And his songs have been recorded by the foremost interpreters of these genres.

In his live shows, Jimmy’s intimate style is juxtaposed against his stature and exquisite piano skills. His humor and storytelling create such a personal atmosphere that the audience cries, laughs and sings as if in the presence of a long lost relative here for a brief visit. Jimmy walked with giants and regales audiences with stories of Mr. Sinatra, Elvis, Louis Armstrong, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Nilsson, Richard Harris, Glen Campbell.

 

"

Today, Bob Mould announces a fall Solo Electric tour of the United States starting on October 6 at the Atlantis in Washington, DC, and ending at the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton, WI on October 27. Support on the tour will be the long-time bassist in Mould’s touring trio Jason Narducy.  Mould says of this run, “I'm excited to be back in the Northeast and Midwest, especially during peak fall colors. I'm happy to have Jason supporting the tour — it's been a while since we've done solo shows together. I'm nervous, too: I've got a handful of new songs to share with you!"
 
On August 13, Mould is set to support Patti Smith at the Stern Grove Festival, an admission-free festival in San Francisco.  "In the late 1970s, at a record store signing event in Minneapolis, Patti graciously signed my ‘Because The Night’ 45 RPM picture sleeve,” he recalls, “Decades later, I'm thrilled to be on the bill with Patti and her band in such a unique and picturesque setting."
 
In addition to the solo run, Mould has two previously announced band shows, featuring his trio of Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster. The first of these is at WMSE’s Backyard BBQ in Milwaukee on August 26, followed by an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2 — playing on a bill with The Hold Steady, as that band celebrates its 20th anniversary. Mould comments that, "Craig Finn and Tad Kubler were part of the Disney Hall ‘See A Little Light’ tribute show in 2011. There are very few Bob Mould Band shows this year, and we're honored to be part of the Hold Steady's 20th Anniversary celebration."
 
Mould continues to tour behind his box set Distortion: 1989-2019 chronicling his solo career and work in the band Sugar over 18 studio albums, 4 live albums, and 2 albums of rarities and collaborations. More info HERE.
 
Also, it was recently announced that his first band Hüsker Dü has an album is putting out TONITE LONGHORN, a previously-unreleased double-disc set of rare live recordings from the legendary band’s embryonic on-stage beginnings. Drawn from the historical Hüsker Dü recording archives compiled by late sound engineer Terry Katzman, the album collects 28 explosive tracks captured over four different nights between July 1979 and September 1980 at Minneapolis, MN’s notorious Longhorn Bar. TONITE LONGHORN arrives via the band’s own Reflex Records at all DSPs and streaming services on August 25, 2023. A limited edition 2xLP black vinyl release was released this past Saturday, April 22 as part of the Record Store Day celebration.
 
Mould says in closing, "I'm looking forward to hitting the road again this year, both Solo and with the Band, adding “2023 is shaping up to be a pleasant mix of past, present, and future."
 

You know “Christmas Time’s A Coming” when 15-time GRAMMY winner and Country Music Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs and his ace backing band Kentucky Thunder play in their refreshing acoustic style all your favorite Christmas songs in this delightful tour along with a few of their special friends. This heartwarming show features a reason to listen to the season of songs both old and new as Skaggs and his band perform their own perfect blend of tight harmony. Celebrate the beauty and majesty of this time of year with first class vocalists and musicians, singing and playing their finest for Christmastime.
 
The show includes the joyful bluegrass tune “Christmas Time’s A Coming” along with a beautiful rendition of “New Star Shining,” a hit song for Ricky Skaggs and James Taylor. Beloved classic songs “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” and “Let it Snow” are fully represented, along with many other special Christmas melodies. Included in this seasonal show are sing-a-longs, rounding out this exclusive assortment of holiday jewels. Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Christmas with Special Guests holiday show is sure to please during this most wonderful time of the year.