Carbon Leaf

Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 8:00 PM at Bull Run

For 25 years, 17 albums and 2500 live shows, Carbon Leaf’s independent spirit continues to resonate with it’s fans, young and old. Their songs of life, love, hope, heartbreak and landscape are independently written, recorded and produced from the band’s own studio in Richmond, VA.

Pulling from folk, Americana, roots and rock traditions, the Virginia quintet’s lively sound features vocal harmony, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, fiddle, bass, drums, cello, banjo, penny whistle, pedal steel, accordion and whatever else can be placed onto the stage. 

The Virginia-based quintet rose out of Randolph-Macon College where, in 1992, the band met and began playing at college parties and fraternities. A move to Richmond, followed by heavy regional touring, saw the five piece coming into their own and developing a devoted fanbase. At the time, Richmond was a fertile music scene, also giving rise to like-minded acoustic rock acts like the Dave Matthews Band, Agents of Good Roots and the Pat McGee Band, helping to nurture the band to greater artistic heights. By 2001 they had released four records independently and had a radio hit with their single “The Boxer.” The success of that single sparked interest in record labels, and in 2004, they recorded Indian Summer, released on Vanguard Records to great acclaim. Tunes like “Life Less Ordinary” and “What About Everything” found regular rotation on AAA radio stations around the country.

The band stayed with Vanguard for six years, releasing several albums and continuing to tour the country, sharing the stage with acoustic rock juggernauts like The Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., David Gray, and Great Big Sea among many others. But by 2010, the band had decided to try the independent route again, cutting ties with Vanguard. Along with recording new studio albums (Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle, Constellation Prize), the band has re-recorded two of their earlier albums (Indian Summer & Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat) to expose a new generation of fans to their classic songs of the early 90’s.

The group’s current project is a 4-part series called Gathering, and centers on life and death; love and loss; heartbreak, loneliness and landscape and, ultimately, the need for community, gathering and human connection.

Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science

Jazz and Gender Justice

Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 8:00 PM at South Orange Performing Arts Center

Grammy Award-winning drummer, producer, educator, activist, 2019 Doris Duke Award recipient and 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Fellow Terri Lyne Carrington, and her band Social Science, boldly confront social justice issues with their “gritty and politically charged hybrid of Jazz, Rock, Rap and R&B” (The Sydney Morning Herald).

Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science

“A slow-Funk project rooted in the rhetoric of protest.”
The New York Times

“A gritty and politically charged hybrid of Jazz, Rock, Rap and R&B… Undeniably music as social activism – sometimes tough and uncompromising, bristling with elusive grooves, but also glinting with a kind of dark beauty.”
The Sydney Morning Herald

Galvanized by seismic changes in the ever-evolving social and political landscape, Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science confront a wide spectrum of social justice issues. The band’s stunning double disc debut, Waiting Game, released in 2019, immediately took its place in the stirring lineage of politically conscious and activist music, expressing an unflinching, inclusive, and compassionate view of humanity’s breaks and bonds. Waiting Game is as thought-provoking and artistically evocative as it is musically exhilarating. Produced by Carrington and built around her friendship and collaboration with co-producers, pianist Aaron Parks and guitarist Matthew Stevens, and additional band members Morgan Guerin (bass & sax), Debo Ray (vocals) and Kassa Overall (MC/DJ), the album features a diverse ensemble that spans multiple generations, racial, ethnic, sexual and gender identities. The band states: “Along with a message of wakefulness, inclusiveness, and noncompliance, we’ve summoned our musical influences to offer an eclectic alternative to the mainstream. Music transcends, breaks barriers, strengthens us, and heals old wounds. Music is Social Science.”

When Social Science was in its early stages, Carrington also founded the Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where she holds the position of Zildjian Chair in Performance. Both projects point to Carrington’s drive to combine her musical passion with her profound regard for humanity, inflamed by the cultural divisiveness brought into the light by the 2016 presidential election.

Waiting Game is not the first time that Carrington has addressed her concerns for society, though it is the most direct and impactful. On her 2013 release Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (Grammy Award winner for Best Jazz Instrumental Album), she offered a 21st-century reimagining of the Ellington-Mingus-Roach classic with a jaundiced eye on late-stage capitalism. Her previous and first Grammy Award-winning album, The Mosaic Project (2012) let its all-star, all-female ensemble speak for itself, though its argument for gender equity in Jazz rang through loud and clear.

The subjects addressed on Waiting Game run the gamut of social concerns: mass incarceration (“Trapped in the American Dream,” featuring Kassa Overall’s bold rap); police brutality (“Bells [Ring Loudly]),” intoned by actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner); homophobia (“Pray The Gay Away,” featuring Nicholas Payton’s impassioned horn); the genocide of indigenous Americans (“Purple Mountains,” featuring Kokayi); political imprisonment (“No Justice [for political prisoners]),” with Meshell Ndegeocello’s recitation in honor of iconic resistance voices, and gender equity (as expressed in the powerful messages of “The Anthem,” featuring Rapsody and “If Not Now,” featuring Maimouna Youssef).

“There is a tremendous amount of work to be done if we want to make this country actually live up to its as-yet-unrealized aspirations toward true freedom and equality,” adds Aaron Parks. “Activists and organizers have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting for a long time, and are absolutely crucial, but there’s an important role for everyone to play in this process. As a member of Social Science, I aim to listen to, learn from, and amplify the voices of those who have been far too often marginalized and unheard. To help to share these stories, these songs of outrage, of hope, of despair, of healing, of love.”

Dark Star Orchestra

Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Tarrytown Music Hall

Performing to critical acclaim celebrating their 20th anniversary year in 2017 and over 2600 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra’s members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.