Sweet Honey in the Rock

Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 8pm at SOPAC

Sweet Honey In The Rock remains among the most vibrant, versatile and ever relevant musical collectives in music today; both as a performance ensemble and as an ambassadorial African American organization founded on the triumvirate missions of empowerment, education and entertainment. Currently consisting of members Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, and featured musician Romeir Mendez on upright acoustic bass and electric bass. Sweet Honey In The Rock is a powerful and unique concert entity that fuses the possibilities of the human voice with a theatrical flair that keeps avid audiences returning for more year after year. Kinetic, cultured and connected, this internationally renowned Grammy Award nominated female a cappella vocal quartet has a history of over four decades of distinguished service. They have created positive, loving and socially conscious message music that matters as it pertains to spiritual fortification, and consistently taken an activist stance toward making this planet a better place for all in which to live.

Since its 1973 inception in Washington, DC (founded by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon as part of the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company with Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson and Mie), Sweet Honey In The Rock has continuously evolved into international ambassadors of a cappella vocal and lyrical excellence and musical missionaries of equality, empowerment and education, peace, love, solidarity and nondenominational spirituality. Revered most for their live performances, the ladies have recorded 24 albums, several specifically for children. Their 2012 CD Sweet Honey In The Rock: A Tribute…Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center paid homage to their kindred sisters: vocalists and activists Abbey Lincoln, Odetta, Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone.

Cherish the Ladies

Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 3pm at SOPAC

Celebrating nearly 35 years of music making, Cherish the Ladies continues to delight audiences with its beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing. You’ll delight in the special Christmas music that embodies the beauty of the season- Celtic style!

“It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do,” says the Boston Globe speaking of Cherish the Ladies, the long-running, Grammy Award-nominated, Irish-American super group formed in New York City in 1985 to celebrate the rise of extraordinary women in a male-dominated Irish music scene.

The past three decades have included world tours, concerts at the White House and the Olympics and 17 critically acclaimed albums including their Emmy Award-winning special, “An Irish Homecoming,” which was broadcast on PBS.

Under the leadership of All-Ireland flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden, named by The Irish Voice Newspaper as one of the Top 25 most influential Irish Americans of the past quarter century, Cherish the Ladies create an evening that includes a spectacular blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing. Their continued success as one of the top Celtic groups in the world is due to the ensemble’s ability to take the best of Irish traditional music and dance and put it forth in an immensely entertaining show.

The New York Times calls their music “passionate, tender and rambunctious,” and the Washington Post praises their “astonishing array of virtuosity.” They’ve won recognition as the BBC’s Best Musical Group of the Year and named Top North American Celtic Group at the Irish Music Awards and not to mention having a street named after them in the Bronx! In 2018, bandleader Joanie Madden was honored with the Irish American Writers & Artists Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cherish the Ladies have collaborated with such musicians as The Boston Pops, The Clancy Brothers, the Chieftains, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie and Maura O’Connell as well as being the featured soloist with over 280 nights of symphony orchestras. The level of artistic, historic and purely enticing entertainment is unlike any in its genre. As their reputation and admiration from both fans and critics alike continues to grow.

Cherish the Ladies

Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 3pm at SOPAC

Celebrating nearly 35 years of music making, Cherish the Ladies continues to delight audiences with its beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing. You’ll delight in the special Christmas music that embodies the beauty of the season- Celtic style!

“It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do,” says the Boston Globe speaking of Cherish the Ladies, the long-running, Grammy Award-nominated, Irish-American super group formed in New York City in 1985 to celebrate the rise of extraordinary women in a male-dominated Irish music scene.

The past three decades have included world tours, concerts at the White House and the Olympics and 17 critically acclaimed albums including their Emmy Award-winning special, “An Irish Homecoming,” which was broadcast on PBS.

Under the leadership of All-Ireland flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden, named by The Irish Voice Newspaper as one of the Top 25 most influential Irish Americans of the past quarter century, Cherish the Ladies create an evening that includes a spectacular blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing. Their continued success as one of the top Celtic groups in the world is due to the ensemble’s ability to take the best of Irish traditional music and dance and put it forth in an immensely entertaining show.

The New York Times calls their music “passionate, tender and rambunctious,” and the Washington Post praises their “astonishing array of virtuosity.” They’ve won recognition as the BBC’s Best Musical Group of the Year and named Top North American Celtic Group at the Irish Music Awards and not to mention having a street named after them in the Bronx! In 2018, bandleader Joanie Madden was honored with the Irish American Writers & Artists Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cherish the Ladies have collaborated with such musicians as The Boston Pops, The Clancy Brothers, the Chieftains, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie and Maura O’Connell as well as being the featured soloist with over 280 nights of symphony orchestras. The level of artistic, historic and purely enticing entertainment is unlike any in its genre. As their reputation and admiration from both fans and critics alike continues to grow.

Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway

Broadway the Calla- way!

Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 8pm at SOPAC

Ann Hampton Callaway is one of the leading champions of the Great American Songbook, having made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Voted recently by Broadwayworld.com as “Performer of the Year,” and “Best Jazz Vocalist” Callaway is a born entertainer. Her unique singing style blends Jazz and traditional Pop, making her a mainstay in concert halls, theaters and jazz clubs as well as in the recording studio, on television and in film. She is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series “The Nanny.” Callaway is a Platinum Award-winning writer whose songs are featured on seven of Barbra Streisand’s recent CDs. She has also performed her award winning show “The Streisand Songbook” with over 100 symphonies. Her latest CD Jazz Goes To The Movies debuted at #12 on the Billboard Jazz chart.

Liz Callaway

Liz Callaway is a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Baby, and for five years, won acclaim as Grizabella in Cats. She has also starred in the original casts of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers, and The Look of Love. Liz sang the Academy Award nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia and is also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin and the King of Thieves and The Return of Jafar. Other film work includes the singing voice of the title character in The Swan Princess, The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, Beauty and the Beast, Lyle, Lyle the Crocodile and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.

Rockapella

Friday, December 9, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Sprinkle your holiday season with the all-vocal magic of Rockapella! With buckets of catchy original Pop songs, and complete contemporary revisions of sparkling Motown, Pop, and Soul classics, this a capella group has been the one to watch since it formed in 1986. Rockapella may best be remembered as the vocal house band and resident comedy troupe on the PBS children’s geography game show “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Sons of Serendip

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

Sons of Serendip is a unique Billboard-charting Classical crossover quartet consisting of a harpist, cellist, pianist and lead vocalist. The quartet was a finalist on Season 9 of America’s Got Talent, gaining popularity by offering fresh interpretations of Popular music. Since the talent competition, Sons of Serendip has toured nationally, sharing their creative and emotionally stirring arrangements and original compositions with audiences all around the country. Some notable performances include the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, as well as collaborations with Cynthia Erivo, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.

“Sons of Serendip are the most musically talented contestants on the show.” —Howie Mandel, America’s Got Talent

Sons of Serendip is a quartet of four friends, who through a series of serendipitous events, came together in graduate school at Boston University. Each of the musicians has been playing their instruments since childhood, but in 2014, they came together to begin what they know will be a long beautiful journey of creating music that touches people’s hearts. They hope that their music will resonate deeply with listeners and that, in some way, it will make their lives a little better – even if just for a moment.

Martin Sexton

Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Martin Sexton, a self-taught guitarist and singer, was raised in a family of 14 and formed his first Rock & Roll band in eighth grade. In high school he was in many garage bands, playing the music of the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. He left his home in Syracuse, New York in 1988 and headed for Boston, encouraged by what he’d heard about the coffeehouse scene in that city. Despite the ultra-competitive nature of the Boston scene, with too many Folksingers and too few coffeehouses, Martin Sexton quickly rose through the ranks. He began playing his brand of soul-filled Folk music around Boston’s open-mic nights and street corners in 1989.

Martin Sexton was one of the most talked-about arrivals on the “New Folk” acoustic music scene. The guitarist, singer and songwriter, has an amazing vocal range and makes effective use of it on his recordings and in his live shows. His vocal style can be described as truly soulful, combining the best qualities of singers like Van Morrison, Al Green, Aaron Neville and Otis Redding.

Fiercely independent and headlining venues from The Fillmore to Carnegie Hall, he has influenced a generation of contemporary artists. His songs have appeared in television series such as Scrubs, Parenthood, Masters of Sex and in numerous films, though it’s his incendiary live show, honest lyrics, and vocal prowess that keep fans coming back for more. His performances are dynamic and bursting with depth and have earned him a devoted following among fans, peers and critics alike. People claim that Martin Sexton’s songs inspire them to make a change, go cross-country, and follow their hearts; to see a crowd at a Martin Sexton concert is to witness a cross-section of America.

In 2019 American singer-songwriter Martin Sexton extends touring in support of his ninth studio release Mixtape of the Open Road. The Wall Street Journal and CMT premiered tracks from the album that since garnered much critical acclaim.

“Martin Sexton is the best live performer I’ve ever seen… I may just quit my job and go follow Martin and make a fuss everywhere I go, just to make sure that people don’t go their lives without hearing this man sing to them.” ~John Mayer, musician

Judy Collins

Friday, December 2, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins will be performing a Holiday & Hits concert program for the winter 2022 season. The Christmas concert series will feature a program of holiday classics, songs from Judy’s latest album, Spellbound—her 55th album and her first ever complete album of originals—and beloved songs culled from her six-decade career.

Holiday & Hits will be an intimately elegant Christmas experience curated by Judy. Her singular baroque folk sensibility is uniquely suited to entries from the Great Christmas Songbook. Under a Christmas tree of classic songs, Judy thoughtfully places gifts from her era-defining oeuvre—including  evergreens by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Judy original favorites—future classics from her latest album, Spellbound. On Holiday & Hits, a cultural icon welcomes you to a winter wonderland.

Since her debut album, 1961’s Maid Of Constant Sorrow, Judy has remained a restlessly creative force with a vibrantly varied artistic palette. Today, she is recognized as a noted author, an Academy Award-nominated documentary director, a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, and a boldly vulnerable storyteller. As prolific and inspired as ever, Judy released her 29th studio album, Spellbound, on February 4th, 2022. The 13-song album is her most autobiographical and personal, and it is a special entry in her oeuvre, as it marks the first time ever she wrote all the songs on one of her albums.

Nefresh Mountain’s Hanukkah Show

Friday, December 2, 2022 at 7:30pm at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel

Montclair-based Nefesh Mountain has been hailed as a boundary pushing Bluegrass Americana band. They’re among the first to give voice and openly represent Jewish-American culture, traditions, values and spirituality in the world of American Roots music.

Fronted by married couple Doni Zasloff (formerly of Mama Doni) and Eric Lindberg, Nefesh Mountain will perform a Hanukkah holiday concert on December 2 at 7:30PM at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (432 Scotland Road, South Orange). This concert is presented by the South Orange Performing Arts Center, the original venue for this show. This performance has been relocated to the temple because SOPAC’s mainstage theatre is under renovation due to damages from Hurricane Ida. Tickets range from $23-$33, not including fees.

The Hot Sardines

Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Fueled by the belief that classic Jazz feeds the heart and soul, The Hot Sardines are on a mission to innovate and to share the sheer joy they bring to music, both new and old. These mischief-makers of hot Jazz have been described as “potent and assured” (The New York Times) and “simply phenomenal” (The Times, London).

In the talented hands of this ensemble, music first made famous decades ago comes alive through their brassy horn arrangements, rollicking piano melodies and vocals from a chanteuse who transports listeners to a different era with the mere lilt of her voice. The Jazz collective has a broad and impressive palette, combining covers and originals as they effortlessly channel New York speakeasies, Parisian cabarets and New Orleans Jazz halls.

Bandleader Evan Palazzo and lead singer Elizabeth Bougerol met in 2007 after they both answered a Craigslist ad about a Jazz jam session above a Manhattan noodle shop. The unlikely pair — she was a London School of Economics-educated travel writer who grew up in France, Canada and the Ivory Coast, he was a New York City born-and-raised actor who studied theatre at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia—bonded over their love for Fats Waller. Influenced also by such greats as Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, they began playing open mic nights and small gigs and by 2011, they headlined Midsummer Night Swing at New York’s Lincoln Center.

The Hot Sardines’ first major label album was self-titled and named by iTunes as one of the best Jazz albums of 2014. It spent more than a year on the Billboard Jazz Chart, debuting in the top 10 alongside Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. The accolades began pouring in for the band: Downbeat called The Hot Sardines “one of the most delightfully energetic bands on New York’s ‘hot’ music scene,” while The London Times praised their “crisp musicianship” and “immaculate and witty showmanship.”

“Not many bands have seized the post-millennial early-Jazz spotlight with as much gusto as The Hot Sardines. An eight-piece outfit co-led by singer Elizabeth Bougerol and pianist Evan Palazzo, it has devoted more than the last decade to a razzle-dazzle reclamation of prewar swing.” –Nate Chinen, WBGO

Bubblemania

Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 1pm at South Orange Performing Arts Center

Featuring Casey Carle, comic bubble artist who has “burst” onto stages across the world with a flair for showmanship and an irresistible energy for bubbling…from the intricate to the massive. Come see beauty, wonder and fun as Casey brings his amazing one-man show BubbleMania combining spontaneous comedy, jazzy music and brilliant bubbling. Among the many featured skills are fantastic fog-filled bubble sculptures, a cube bubble, funky foam, a big band bubble concerto, trapping an audience member (or two?) inside a gigantic soap bubble and much more!

Running Time: approximately 60 minutes
Recommended for ages 5-85.

The THE BAND band playing The Last Waltz

Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange Performing Arts Center

The Last Waltz was the legendary 1976 farewell concert by The Band, featured more than a dozen guest artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Dr. John, and showcased The Band’s classic hits like “The Weight,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Ophelia” and “It Makes No Difference,” to name a few.

The THE BAND Band’s spectacular Last Waltz Celebration revisits that 1976 Thanksgiving evening that has become embedded in the heart of the Rock and Roll lexicon. Re-creating the stage of The Last Waltz, The THE BAND Band acts as backing band for the myriad of talented guest artists representing some of the special guest performances from that night: Eric Clapton’s “Further On Up the Road,” Ronnie Hawkins’ “Who Do You Love,” Van Morrison’s “Caravan” and many more.

Touring since 2007, The THE BAND Band brings the music to life with authentic, true-to-form renditions, delivered with the passion and commitment for which The Band was renowned.

Valerie Simpson & Friends

Friday, November 11, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Valerie Simpson is half of the songwriting-performing-producing entity known as Ashford & Simpson. Their award-winning collaborations began in the late 60s and she, along with her late husband Nick Ashford, have penned classic hits such as, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Solid,” “Your Precious Love,” “The Boss, “It’s My House,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” and many others.

She serves on the board of the ASCAP Foundation where a monetary award has been established to aid struggling songwriters called the Reach Out And Touch Award which honors Nick Ashford. Valerie owns and runs a popular New York Westside Music Club and Restaurant called The Sugar Bar where young writers-singers-musicians have a platform to perform. In recent years, Valerie has toured with Dave Koz as a special guest and also with Paul Shaffer & the Worlds Most Dangerous Band. Her music is in constant demand and four Ashford & Simpson songs are featured in the Broadway hit Motown: The Musical and “I’m Every Woman” is featured in the musical The Bodyguard.

In 2018 Valerie performed as Mama Morton in a limited engagement in Chicago,The Musical on Broadway. The songs of Ashford and Simpson are in constant play through commercials, documentaries, feature films and TV shows. In 2002, they rightfully earned their place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2019, The Grammy’s presented the Trustees Award to Ashford & Simpson in a televised program adding yet a new exciting dimension to a diversified career. Valerie Simpson recently toured with Damien Sneed as a special guest in “A Tribute to Aretha Franklin” for 18 dates. She was also a special guest for Paul Shaffer for five symphony dates featuring her music.

Paula Cole and Sophie B. Hawkins

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange Performing Arts Center

Singer-songwriter Paula Cole has never been afraid of speaking complex truths. With a musical catalog defined by honest and deeply personal lyrics carried by her powerful, radiant voice, Cole has always had a gift for discerning the underlying humanity in stories from her own life as well as those around her, and channeling those emotional elements into captivating music. On her latest record, Cole has applied this natural insight to American history and musical roots traditions by interpreting a selection of classic songs – each of which provide an entry point for rediscovering the overlooked stories and figures that populate America’s interwoven cultural lineage.

“I wanted this album to reflect a patchwork of music from the cities and the mountains, the fields and the rivers – from movies, to melodies that traversed oceans, centuries, cultures, and continents – sewn together with our collective heartstrings,” says Cole of the luminous American Quilt. Not just a geographical tapestry, the breathtaking collection is a cavalcade of Blues, Jazz, Folk, Pop and Gospel – with Cole’s remarkable voice the roadmap to Americana, Jazz, and standards.

Cole garnered seven Grammy nominations for her second album and major-label debut, This Fire, with its timeless hits, “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait” (later the theme song for hit TV series Dawson’s Creek). Along with winning Best New Artist in 1997, Cole was the first sole woman (without collaborators) nominated as Producer of the Year.

Cole consistently has used her voice “for women,” she reflects. “Being a feminist has always informed my music. I do this for my great-grandmother, I do this for my mother, I do this for me, and I do this for my daughter, who I want to be a strong woman in the world.” Cole grew up in an artistic family, with her mother a visual artist and her father a multi-instrumentalist. Both held down jobs as teachers. When Cole’s daughter was born, she took nearly eight years off from touring to focus on parenting. “I love that I was able to have it all,” says Cole, “to be a mother and come back to my career. I love music and I don’t stray from that. I’m dedicated to my path.”

Sophie B. Hawkins burst onto the international music scene with her 1992 platinum-selling debut album, Tongues and Tails, which included the indelible hit song “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,” and earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination.

The last three decades have brought multiple awards, sold out concerts, appearances on film and television, performances with some of the best known names in the business, a documentary feature, a critically-lauded tour-de-force performance as Janis Joplin in the nationally-touring play Room 105, songs appearing in hit films and TV shows, and five more albums, including Whaler, which featured the record-breaking longest-running single in Billboard Adult Contemporary chart history, the Number One hit, “As I Lay Me Down.”

Much more than just a singer, Sophie writes all of her own songs, is a multi-instrumentalist, and has been fully involved in every aspect of the production of her records herself, from background vocals and playing her own instruments, to engineering and production of her albums. She has proved an enduring artist with a fierce commitment to artistic integrity while both constantly evolving, and remaining steadfastly true to her own authentic history and experience which connects her to her fans at the very deepest levels.

Darlingside

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

If Darlingside’s first album, Birds Say (2015), focused on the past through nostalgia, and their second, Extralife (2018), contemplated uncertain futures, Fish Pond Fish stands firmly in the present, looking at what’s here, now. Dave Senft (bass), Don Mitchell (guitar, banjo), Auyon Mukharji (violin, mandolin), and Harris Paseltiner (cello, guitar) have created a natural history in song—taking us into gardens, almond groves, orchard rows, down to the ocean floor and under stars.

The band, which saw their ten-year anniversary in May of 2020, has long been praised for their harmonies and intelligent songwriting, described by NPR as “exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque Folk-Pop,” and which The New Yorker compared to David Crosby and the Byrds. Their dynamic presence (crowded tightly together onstage for the audience to witness four voices turn to a singular texture of sound), paired with their sharp wit and wordplay, have made them a live-performance favorite, and their songs treasures for literary and lyric-loving fans.

But this album showcases their broader storytelling abilities: nature is a looking glass, the songs suggest, with tracks like “Ocean Bed,” “Green + Evergreen,” “Mountain + Sea” and “Crystal Caving” making metaphors of their titles. An experience of nature is an experience of self; an experience of self is one of natural change cut and complemented by stasis.

The band started studio recording Fish Pond Fish in late 2019, when they moved into Tarquin Studios—the residential studio of Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National). Living and working together brought them to their very early years under one roof in Hadley, Massachusetts, which had seeded the origins of their intimate collaboration. At Katis’s suggestion, many components of the initial demos were preserved as layers in the produced tracks to retain the spirit of the initial recordings, resulting in a collection of songs that is simultaneously the most bedroom-tracked and production-heavy full-length album that the band has yet released.

Jim Messina

Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange Performing Arts Center

An undisputed expert in the fine art of making hit music, Jim Messina’s legacy of musical genius spans five decades, three super groups, a vibrant solo career and scores of producing and engineering credits.

While acting as producer/audio engineer for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Buffalo Springfield, Messina ultimately joined the band as its bass player. When “the Springfield” disbanded in 1968, Jim and fellow bandmate Richie Furay formed Poco. With Jim on lead guitar, Poco defined a new musical genre, Country Rock. After three successful albums, Jim was ready for a change and left to return to his passion for producing music. He signed as an independent producer with Columbia Records.

In November 1970, Columbia asked Jim to work with an unknown, Kenny Loggins. While helping Kenny get ready for a record and touring, the two discovered that they worked well together and Jim agreed to sit in on Kenny’s first album. Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In was released in November of 1971 and an accidental duo was formed.

Over the next seven years, Loggins & Messina released eight hit albums, had scores of hit songs and sold over 16 million albums. They had become one of Rock’s most successful recording duos ever, but it was time for the duo to go their separate ways.

After a series of celebrated solo acoustic tours, Jim formed a band made of acclaimed musicians who have played with him at various points in his career. His latest release, In the Groove, includes selected hits from all three of Jim’s previous bands, as well as several of his solo works.

Touring the country and playing sold-out shows, Jim says that he’s enjoying discovering who he is, where he’s been and, most significantly, where he’s going.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 730pm at South Orange Performing Arts Center

Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, “the king and queen of the banjo” (Paste magazine), have a musical partnership like no other. Béla Fleck is a fifteen-time Grammy Award winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres. Abigail Washburn is a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who re-radicalized the style by combining it with Far East culture and sounds. The two met at a square dance, began collaborating musically and eventually fell in love. Over the years, they played together most visibly in the Sparrow Quartet alongside Ben Sollee and Casey Driessen and informally at a pickin’ party here, a benefit there, or occasionally popping up in each other’s solo shows. Fans of tradition-tweaking acoustic fare eagerly anticipated that Béla & Abigail would begin making music together as a duo.

Fleck has the virtuosic, Jazz-to-Classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with Bluegrass roots. His collaborations range from his ground-breaking standard-setting ensemble, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, to a staggeringly broad array of musical experiments. From writing concertos for a full symphony orchestra to exploring the banjo’s African roots and Jazz duos with Chick Corea, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player.

Washburn has the earthy sophistication of a postmodern, old-time singer-songwriter who has drawn critical acclaim for her solo albums. She has done fascinating work in Folk musical diplomacy in China, presented an original theatrical production, and has contributed to singular side groups Uncle Earl and The Wu-Force. In addition to being named a TED Fellow in 2012, Abigail was recently named the first US-China Fellow at Vanderbilt University, in addition to Carolina Performing Arts/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s DisTil Fellow for 2018-2020.

On stage, Fleck & Washburn will perform pieces from their Grammy-winning self-titled debut, as well as their latest record, Echo in the Valley. With one eye on using the banjo to showcase America’s rich heritage and the other pulling the noble instrument from its most familiar arena into new and unique realms, Béla & Abigail meet in the mean, head-on, to present music that feels wildly innovative and familiar at the same time. Whether at home, on stage, or on record, their deep bond, combined with the way their distinct musical personalities and banjo styles interact, makes theirs a picking partnership unlike any other on the planet.

Paul Reiser

with special guest Vance Gilbert

Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

omedian, actor, television writer, author and musician Paul Reiser is one of Hollywood’s most prolific creatives—and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Reiser is starring in two hit shows for Netflix: Stranger Things as Dr. Sam Owens, in a role created by the Duffer Brothers specifically for Reiser, and Chuck Lorre’s The Kominsky Method, for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Reiser received rave reviews for the latter, where he delivered a moving soliloquy on life and loss in a scene that MediaPost says “will stand… as one of the finest moments seen anywhere on television.” Reiser returned for the third and final season of The Kominsky Method, streaming now on Netflix. The multi-faceted actor also revived one of his most iconic roles in the highly-anticipated return of Mad About You, the long-running hit 90s comedy Reiser co-created and starred in with Helen Hunt. The Emmy, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning comedy ended in May 1999 and premiered 20 years later as a limited series on Spectrum Originals. All seven seasons of the original Mad About You and the reboot are available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Reiser was also seen on Amazon’s Red Oaks for three seasons in a role singled out as “one of his absolute finest, not just of late, but of ever”—and in Mad Men creator Matt Weiner’s limited Amazon series The Romanoffs alongside Christina Hendricks and Isabelle Huppert. Additionally, Reiser joined Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams and producers Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tommy Kale in FX’s Emmy-nominated Fosse/Verdon.

Throughout his prolific career, Reiser has worked with both independent and mainstream filmmakers. Reiser earned acclaim for his supporting roles in the Academy Award-winning film Whiplash, John McDonagh’s War on Everyone and frequent collaborator Jeff Baena’s The Little Hours and Horse Girl, which premiered at Sundance 2020 and is the fourth film the pair has worked on together. The veteran actor has garnered praise for notable performances in films such as Diner, Bye Bye Love, Aliens, One Night At McCool’s, Beverly Hills Cop I/II and The Thing About My Folks, which Reiser wrote for his co-star Peter Falk. Recently, Reiser starred alongside Kevin Hart in the touching comedy Fatherhood, out now on Netflix.

Reiser is a fixture behind the camera as well. He co-created and co-produced There’s Johnny!, a seven-episode series which originally streamed on Hulu and now streams on Peacock. The show, co-created with filmmaker David Steven Simon and co-produced with David Gordon Green in conjunction with The Carson Company, premiered to critical praise, with Decider saying There’s Johnny! is “a television experience unlike any I’ve seen on TV in recent years” and “unfolds like a dream, a memory fondly recalled.”

Reiser’s first book, Couplehood, sold over two million copies and reached the number one spot on The New York Times best sellers list. His subsequent books, Babyhood and Familyhood, were best sellers as well. Reiser regularly performs standup at sold-out venues nationwide and was voted one of the “Top 100 Comedians of All Time” by Comedy Central.

Reiser, a SUNY Binghamton graduate in the prestigious music program, co-wrote the theme song from Mad About You, “The Final Frontier,” with Grammy-winning producer Don Was. He released an album of original songs with British singer-songwriter Julia Fordham called Unusual Suspects. Over the course of his career, Reiser has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, American Comedy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

Reiser and his family reside in Los Angeles.

Special Guest Vance Gilbert

Can something be wry, aching, hysterical, evocative, provocative, fun, beautifully sung, and consummately played all at once? That would be Vance Gilbert. With the generous assistance from a varied list of super-respected guests—including Celtic harpist/singer Aine Minogue, bluegrass boys Darol Anger and Joe Walsh Jr., jazz sax player Grace Kelly, country rock hero Roy Sludge, and guitar mainstay Kevin Barry—this talented man’s musical truth plays out shamelessly on BaD Dog Buffet.

Like all great artists, Vance truly happens live. In fact he developed his reputation with his jawdropping, diverse, funny, devastating, and gorgeous live performances. Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, the late George Carlin have all requested Vance to be added to their bills.

Vance exploded onto the scene in the early 90’s, with buzz spreading quickly. Who was this multicultural arts teacher knocking them dead at open mics? After opening Shawn Colvin’s 1992 Fat City tour, he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god, it was enough to earn him that rarity: an encore for an opener,” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in its review of a show from the Colvin tour.

Chris Smither and Tim O’Brien

with Jan Fabricius

Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

A master of acoustic Folk/Blues, Chris Smither creates a singular guitar sound – a beat-driven finger-picking, layered over his ever-present rhythmic, tapping feet (always mic’d in performance). A lifelong devotee of Bluegrass, Tim O’Brien is skilled on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo. He often performs with his wife, vocalist Jan Fabricius.

Betty LaVette & Raul Midon

Friday, October 7, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Soul singer-songwriter Bettye LaVette has been called the High Priestess of R&B. Her “pure Blues growl” and commanding presence have earned this Grammy-nominated performer comparisons to Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner. Blind since birth, Raul Midón lives in a world of sound. His easy tropical groove, lyrical sophistication, silky voice and flowing electric guitar are his signature.

Kevin Nealon

Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 7:30pm at SOPAC

Emmy and SAG-nominated actor, comedian and author Kevin Nealon is best known for his nine-year stint as a cast member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and has received critical acclaim for his role in the Showtime series Weeds.

Nealon’s self-produced, edited and hosted web series Hiking with Kevin is exclusively available on his YouTube channel of the same name. In the series, Nealon interviews his A-list celebrity friends on hikes throughout the country.

Most recently, Nealon starred in CBS’s Man With a Plan during all four seasons. Nealon’s extensive television credits include Globen Globe and SAG-nominated Weeds, the titular voice role of Glenn Martin, DDS, two critically acclaimed stand-up specials for Showtime, and a number of appearances on Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Still Standing and more. His extensive film career includes projects such as Anger Management, Eight Crazy Nights, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, Just Go With It, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Joe Dirt, Daddy Day Care, Roxanne, and Grandma’s Boy.

As one of the longest running cast members on NBC’s Saturday Night Live (1986-1995), Nealon created some of the show’s most memorable characters; his recurring role as an anchor on ‘Weekend Update’ helped make the sketch a show staple. In 1988, he earned an Emmy nomination as part of the SNL writing team.

Currently, Nealon resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Delfeayo Marsalis

Friday September 30, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

An acclaimed trombonist, composer, and producer, Delfeayo Marsalis has also dedicated his prolific career to music theatre and education. Along with the Marsalis family of musicians, including his father Ellis, the artist was destined for a life in music.

Marsalis has toured internationally with jazz legends such as Ray Charles, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Slide Hampton, as well as leading his own groups.

At the age of 17, Marsalis began his career as a producer and to date has produced over 120 recordings, garnering one Grammy award and several nominations.

In 2008, he formed the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, a highly entertaining ensemble that focuses on maintaining important Jazz traditions such as riff playing, New Orleans polyphony and spontaneous arrangements.

In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton, and Jason) earned the nation’s highest jazz honor – a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.

In 2000, Delfeayo also formed the Uptown Music Theatre, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through musical theatre training. He has written sixteen musicals to date focused on uniting the community. In addition, he has composed over 90 songs that help introduce kids to Jazz through musical theatre and has reached over 5,000 students nationally with his Swinging with the Col School soft introduction to Jazz workshops.

Marsalis has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Music performance and Production from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters in Jazz Performance from the University of Louisville. A Doctorate has also been conferred from the New England College.

John Pizzarelli and Catherine Russell

Saturday September 24, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Catherine Russell teams up with Jazz guitarist, vocalist and bandleader John Pizzarelli in a stunning tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra.

Dubbed “the essential duo,” Russell and Pizzarelli transport audiences to the glory days of Jazz with masterful ease, capturing Holiday’s effortless grace and Sinatra’s cool swagger. World-renowned guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli has been hailed by The Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing Jazz,” while All Music Guide says, “Russell emerged as a retro old school vocalist for the ages.”

The James Hunter Six

Friday September 23, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

The James Hunter Six are a Soul-Blues band from Essex, England, who’ve been touring and recording together for more than a decade. Their immediate, gritty sound provides the backing for their songwriter/guitar slinger namesake, whose weathered yet buttery smooth voice has made the group a critical favorite and a touring sensation. Given their intensity and virtuosity, no less than Allen Toussaint, Sharon Jones and Van Morrison have been counted as fans and shared stages with them.

Over the span of 30 years, James Hunter has worked on the railway, busked in the streets of London, provided backup vocals and guitar for Van Morrison, written scores of original songs and recorded some of the most original and honest Rhythm & Soul albums of the last two decades. He’s also opened shows for Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty as well as headlined clubs and theaters all over the world.

By 2006, Hunter was recognized with nominations for a Grammy Award (“Best Traditional Blues Album” for People Gonna Talk (Rounder)) and an American Music Award (“Best New/Emerging Artist”). He and his band then hit the road for a decade of extensive touring and recorded critically-acclaimed studio albums— The Hard Way (Hear Music), Minute by Minute (Fantasy), Hold On! (Daptone), Whatever it Takes (Daptone). By 2016, MOJO magazine had crowned him “The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer.”

​The band’s newest sublime offering, Nick of Time is a shining example of how a master song-smith can continually draw fresh water from a bottomless well. In addition to the up-tempo, swinging R&B that has put The James Hunter Six on the map, Nick of Time explores so much more. The opening track and lead single, “I Can Change Your Mind”, is a beautiful, mid-tempo rumba that tips the hat to the sound of many early King/Federal releases but executed with a vibrancy that propels the tune into the 21st Century. The lush arrangements on “Till I Hear it from You” and ” He’s Your Could Have Been” sound like lost tracks from an early ’60s Burt Bacharach session. The straight forward soul of “Brother or Other” (whose timely message is only tantamount to its groove) and the sparse “Paradise for One” (that finds James channeling his innermost Nat King Cole), enrich the album with sounds one may not readily associate with James and Co. – culminating in James’ most exciting full-length release to date.

Kathleen Edwards

Thursday September 22, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

If you ask Kathleen Edwards, the best thing she ever did was quit.

By 2014, the singer-songwriter had released four studio albums and amassed widespread critical acclaim. She had been touring since the release of her 2012 album, Voyageur, and the prospect of returning home—only to start writing her way toward another album, and another tour—felt impossibly daunting. She put her guitar away, at least for awhile. She moved back to her hometown of Ottawa and settled down in Stittsville, an old village on the western edge of town. A running inside joke with bandmate Jim Bryson about opening a coffee shop and naming it “Quitters” became reality. For years, the only new music she heard was playing in the background while she served her regulars at the shop, where she slowly started to fall in love with music again.

“I had no desire to write, no desire to play,” she says of what she refers to as her “working sabbatical.” “It allowed me all the time and space I needed to even just enjoy listening to music again. There were so many times where, if I was thinking about my own writing or playing, my heart just wasn’t in it. Opening a cafe gave me such a clean break from the weight of what I was carrying, I worked my ass off building a shop, I didn’t have to be ‘just a singer’ anymore.”

But in 2018, she received an unexpected phone call that changed that. Maren Morris, a longtime fan, invited her to Nashville for a songwriting session. Edwards accepted, and “Good Woman,” their collaboration, wound up on Morris’ 2019 album, GIRL. “It reminded me that writing and creating music is entirely my wheelhouse, and it was so easy to just jump back in and do that,” she says of her fortuitous time in Nashville. “Funny enough, the third person in the room for those two days was Ian Fitchuk, and [we] ended up starting the process of producing a record.”

Edwards made her long-anticipated return to music with Total Freedom, her fifth studio album in August 2020. Written and recorded in Canada and Nashville with longtime collaborator/guitarist, Jim Bryson, and Grammy-winning songwriter/producer, Fitchuk, Total Freedom is both a return to form and a “hard reset,” one that empowered Edwards to write and perform entirely on her terms.

“I didn’t want to write songs that were going to keep me in a dark place on stage every night,” she says. “I didn’t have to carry a lot of the pressure of whatever course I was on previously… There’s a pressure sometimes to keep that ball rolling, and that’s what was so freeing about stopping altogether. I have this whole other experience now that grounded me and helped me rebuild my relationship with myself, and writing music. I’m entirely in control and deciding what my course of action is.”

Opening Artist: Matt Sucich

Matt Sucich writes songs mostly with a pen and sings them, always, with his mouth. His last name is pronounced “Sue-Sitch” and his latest LP is called Don’t Be so Hard on Yourself, and features performances from long-time collaborators, friends, and bandmates, including a guest appearance from Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. Tracked over the summer of 2020 in Brooklyn, NY, with co-producer and engineer, Jeff Fettig, Sucich’s lyrics are front-and-center in a mostly hushed production from the storytelling of the opening track, “Make Peace” to the vignettes of the album closer, “New Normal.”

On the road, Sucich most recently spent summer 2021 supporting Counting Crows across the U.S. on their Butter Miracle Tour. Matt has also performed at Willie Nelson’s Heartbreaker Banquet in Luck, TX, Firefly Music Festival in Dover, DE, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN and Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI. It’s possible you’ve heard Sucich on the radio, including NYC’s WFUV, WXPN in Philadelphia, and Nashville’s Lightning 100.

“Matt Sucich is my favorite New York songwriter. There’s something quintessentially NY school about him. I love the way he writes, the detail of it, and the effortless brilliance of his guitar playing.”—Adam Duritz, Counting Crows

David Broza & Trio Havana

Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 8:00 PM at SOPAC

From Haifa to Havana

DAVID BROZA, one of Israel’s most important recording artists,

brings the full spectrum of his music in collaboration

 with the Cuban band, TRIO HAVANA.

Israel’s legendary singer-songwriter David Broza brings a unique Cuban twist to his hit songs through a collaboration with Trio Havana. Band members include: MANUEL ALEJANDRO CARRO– Cuban-born singer-songwriter and master percussionist with a style firmly rooted in Latin Pop; YUNIEL JIMINEZ “EL GUAJIRO” –  master tres guitar player from Santa Clara, Cuba; JORGE BRINGAS – renowned bassist from Havana, Cuba, who played previously with Albita Rodriguez and the late Celia Cruz.

From his whirlwind fingerpicking to Flamenco percussion and rhythms to a signature rock and roll sound, David Broza’s charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world.  Raised in Israel, Spain and England, Broza has performed worldwide since 1977, when his song “Yihye Tov” first hit the airwaves, promoting a message of peace.

Broza has been fascinated with Cuban music since he was a teenager listening to Celia Cruz.  Further explorations led him to become absolutely hooked on the Afro-Cuban sound. Broza first met Trio Havana at a private event in New York and was stunned by their versatility.  By the end of the evening they were jamming together and found a special magnetism in the sweeping rhythms.  Combining the Cuban sound with Broza’s Spanish guitar and songs sung in Spanish, Hebrew and English proved a rich common ground that connected naturally.  Now touring the USA, the result has been pure magic – every show is a mystery, a dance and romance expressed through pulsing rhythms and sweet melodies, resulting in uplifting, energetic performances that leave audiences delighted and exhilarated.

davidbroza.net

David Broza and Trio Havana

Saturday September 17, 2022 at 8pm at South Orange PAC

David Broza

Israeli superstar Broza is considered one of the world’s most dynamic and vibrant performers. From his whirlwind finger picking to Flamenco percussion and rhythms, to a signature Rock and Roll sound, David Broza’s charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world.

Raised in Israel, Spain and England Broza has been giving his charismatic and energetic performances worldwide since 1977, when his hit song “Yihye Tov” first hit the airwaves, promoting a message of peace. Broza is also known for his commitment and dedication to several humanitarian projects, especially a resolution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict through dialogue, culture, music and mutual respect. Now, with a string of multi-platinum albums—in Hebrew, English and Spanish—he continues to hone his message. Broza was awarded a Spanish medal of honor by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, for his longtime contribution to Israel-Spain relations and his promotion of tolerance. A passionate peace advocate, he has also been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Broza garnered widespread acclaim for his 2013 album East Jerusalem West Jerusalem, produced by GRAMMY Award-winner Steve Earle and Steve Greenberg and recorded  it entirely in the Palestinian Sabreen Studio in East Jerusalem. The work, featuring a band of both Israeli and Palestinian musicians, resulted in a beautiful, intimate documentary of the same name. Vanity Fair called the documentary “extraordinary” and added “if no one else is going to try and heal the world, he will.” East Jerusalem West Jerusalem is currently streaming on Netflix. Broza’s 2016 album, The Set List, captures his best-loved songs culled from studio recordings and live performances over the years. His latest release, Taba’at ZaHav (The Golden Ring), is a collection of 13 new songs about love and separation co-written with lyricist/poet Tzruya Lahav and sung entirely in Hebrew. A powerful entertainer and industry innovator, Broza awes and inspires audiences with his sincere message, energetic performances and musical allure.

Trio Havana

Born in 1977 in Havana, Cuba, Jorge Bringas began his music studies at the age of 11 in “La Paulita Concepcion.” He moved on to study with master Cuban bassist, Carlos del Puerto and began playing and touring with Omara Portuondo of Buena Vista Social Club fame. In the late ’90s he settled in Miami, where he became Albita Rodriguez’s bassist and musical director. He recorded on the Grammy Award-winning album, Albita Llegó and then in Miami, he had the great opportunity to perform and tour with the late great Celia Cruz. He also performed with Nachito Herrera and was one of the founding members of the Timba band Tiempo Libre.

Grammy Award nominee Manuel Alejandro Carro, a.k.a. “MannyA,” is a New York based Cuban artist of many talents: a singer, songwriter and a master percussionist who is at home in many musical genres. From his Ballads to Latin songs, music aficionados are uniting around his exceptional lyrics and tunes. In his debut album Ser Grande Por Dentro, MannyA explores a series of reflections, or “inspiraciones,” on universal themes of love, artistic passion and the search for higher meaning. His debut created an awakening in the Latin Pop world and firmly established him as a powerful presence. The world eagerly awaits the release of his upcoming EP.

Yuniel Jimenez ,”El Guajiro” (The Country Boy), is a singer-songwriter and a master tres player who came from Santa Clara, Cuba to New York City. He brought with him not only his tres-guitar, but also a piece of the country side of Cuba to the Big Apple.

George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners

Thursday September 15, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

George Porter Jr. is an award-winning bassist, songwriter and vocalist. He is a founding member of New Orleans’ seminal Funk band, The Meters and widely recognized as one of the greatest bass players of all time. Formed alongside Art “Poppa Funk” Neville, Leo Nocentelli and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste, the pioneering R&B Funk outfit hit the scene on the streets of the Crescent City in the 1960s, to ultimately become one of the progenitors of the Funk music genre. The groundbreaking collective carved out syncopated polyrhythms and grooves inherited from New Orleans’ deep African musical roots. Porter’s heavy pocket and fat notes formed the rubbery bass lines behind Funk classics like their signature “Cissy Strut,” the now classic 1969 Funk instrumental released as a single from their eponymous debut album, which reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. While the group rarely enjoyed massive mainstream success, they are widely heralded alongside James Brown, Sly Stone, and George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic as the founding fathers of Funk. The Meters have been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (most recently in 2017), and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.

At the outset of his young career, Porter developed his signature style on sessions in his hometown New Orleans, with early musical pioneers Johnny Adams, Irma Thomas, Snooks Eaglin, Eddie Bo and The Lastie Brothers. While Porter developed his pedigree, The Meters were gaining notoriety, soon becoming the house band for Allen Toussaint’s recording label, backing classic records from Dr. John, Lee Dorsey and Earl King, while later supplying the musical foundation for classic hit albums and singles from modern artists Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, not to mention Patti Labelle’s No. 1 R&B hit “Lady Marmalade.” George and The Meters toured with the Rolling Stones in ’75, were embraced by Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and became primary influences to modern artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys. Porter’s rhythmic work with drummer Modeliste also became the building block behind primary samples used by the most relevant Hip-Hop artists of the 1980’s and 1990’s, including A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, N.W.A. and Queen Latifah.

Porter has accompanied the stage as a band member or special guest with the likes of David Byrne, Dead & Company, Jimmy Buffet, Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Scofield, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and various members of Phish, to name a few.

He continues to be the bandleader of current projects, George Porter Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners and George Porter Jr. Trio; with both incarnations still playing often locally, and touring prolifically, garnering respect not only as quintessential New Orleans’ bands, but also as major national attractions within the jam band and festival scene.

Maria Bamford

Sunday September 11, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

Maria Bamford is revered for her deeply personal and experimental comedy about mental illness. She starred in the surreal, semi-autobiographical Netflix comedy series Lady Dynamite, about a comedian who suffers a nervous breakdown, and is the star of three unconventional hour-long stand-up specials: Weakness is the Brand, Old Baby and Maria Bamford, the special, special, special! Maria was the first female comic to have two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials and starred alongside Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis and Brian Posehn in the Comedy Central series The Comedians of Comedy and Netflix’s Comedians of Comedy: The Movie. She also created and starred in the cult hit web series The Maria Bamford Show, in which she plays all the characters.

Maria is often recognized for her prolific voiceover work, including characters on Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman, Summer Camp Island, Adventure Time, Talking Tom and Friends, Bob’s Burgers, Legend of Korra, Puss in Boots, CatDog and PBS’s Emmy-winning series Word Girl. She also stars as Tilly Mulch in Team Coco’s scripted podcast Frontier Tween. Maria played DeBrie Bardeaux on Netflix’s Arrested Development and recurred on the ABC hit series Fresh off the Boat. She is the 2014 winner of the American Comedy Award for Best Club Comic. Maria’s late night appearances include CONAN, The Tonight Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers.