Saturday night, Marine Corps veteran and America’s Got Talent finalist Jimmy Rose will take the stage at the Levitt AMP Middlesboro Music Series, playing a free show in partnership with Freedom Fest 2015. The festival, presented by nonprofit organization Veterans Serving Veterans, celebrates the service of veterans and helps spread awareness about PTSD.
Learn more about Rose before his free show! Continue reading
This Friday, London-born and Brooklyn-based DJ Rekha returns to Levitt Westport with her one-of-a-kind bhangra dance party.
Rekha Malhotra, commonly referred to as DJ Rekha, is a musical force in her own right! For 17 years, she has spearheaded a bhangra dance movement in NYC and beyond. In 1997, she solidified a place for bhangra music—a dance and music that originally comes from India’s Punjab region—in New York City’s club scene with the launch of her popular Basement Bhangra parties. These once-a-month culturally immersive dance parties are still in full force today. The experience begins as a happy hour, moves into a bhangra dance lesson and explodes into a hip-hop and house infused bhangra dance party. Continue reading
Ready for monster horns, shredding guitars and songs about giant robots?
Tonight, the Canadian rockers Five Alarm Funk will bring more than funk to the Levitt AMP Bellingham Music Series. Prepare to experience an eclectic mix of gypsy rock, Latin, ska and progressive metal by this nine-piece Vancouver-based band, which brings an intense dance party wherever it performs!
Want to learn more about Five Alarm Funk? Check out some band trivia! Continue reading
This week, GRAMMY-winning artist and longtime bassist for They Might Be Giants (TMBG), Danny Weinkauf, teams up with the Red Pants Band to bring audiences at two different Levitt locations pop tunes that are loads of fun for the whole family. Weinkauf and his band kick off the party tonight at Levitt AMP Frederick and continue the family-friendly fun tomorrow at Levitt Westport. Continue reading
At 76, Judy Collins shows no signs of slowing down.
The four-time GRAMMY-nominated folk singer, best known for her versions of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” has kept busy since the 1961 release of her debut album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow. Over her 50-plus year career, she’s released 27 studio albums; collaborated with a number of legendary musicians including Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Don McLean and Pete Seeger; and championed such causes as suicide prevention, landmine abolition, civil and women’s rights and more.
Learn more fun facts about Collins before her free show tonight at Levitt Los Angeles! Continue reading
Tomorrow night, Sheboygan is in for a real treat! At the Levitt AMP Sheboygan Music Series, presented by the John Kohler Arts Center, audiences will enjoy an evening of extreme printmaking, Zumba and hip-hop dance lessons and a performance by legendary hip-hop artist Biz Markie.
Dick Van Dyke’s still got #musicmoves!
Last month, the 89-year-old Mary Poppins star made a delightful surprise appearance in the music video for “Never Had To Go,” The Dustbowl Revival’s first single off their new album With A Lampshade On. Filmed in his Malibu home, Van Dyke’s spry footwork and infectious sense of humor helped the video go viral, landing over 2 million views on YouTube.
Van Dyke and his wife Arlene (who also appears in the video) have been longtime fans of the Venice, Ca.-based eight-piece Americana band, which features a washboard, ukulele, mandolin, fiddle and more. After meeting accidentally at a private event years ago, they continued to keep in touch, which is how Dustbowl Revival got the idea to collaborate on their newest video. Continue reading
There’s perhaps no description more apt for the Pine Leaf Boys than their own: “Louisiana music: Worldwide.”
Over the past ten years, the band has brought their exuberant mix of Cajun, Creole and zydeco to not only 42 states across the country but also 22 countries around the world. On multiple occasions, they’ve been invited by the U.S. State Department to tour internationally as ambassadors of American music, performing in the Middle East (2009), Central Asia (2012) and Europe (2010 & 2013).
But whether they’re playing in their home state or overseas, the sound of the Pine Leaf Boys is unmistakably that of Louisiana, driven by a swinging accordion and fiddle and sung almost exclusively in traditional Cajun French.
Beloved internationally and in their hometown of Lafayette, La.—where the band was formed in 2005 and where members Drew Simon and Thomas David were born and raised—the Pine Leaf Boys perform tonight at the Park at the Horse Farm at the Levitt AMP Lafayette Music Series, bringing their neo-traditional music to a space considered one of the last undeveloped properties in Cajun country. Learn more about the band before they take the stage at 6:30 p.m. tonight! Continue reading
After energizing Levitt Shell audiences with their soulful and uplifting sound last summer, Gedeon Luke & The People are back! And this year, they’re bringing three times the joy, three times the passion and three times the soul with performances at three Levitt venues across the nation. Two weeks ago, they brought their vibrant funk to Levitt SteelStacks, and this week they’re heading to Levitt Shell in Memphis (Saturday, 6/20) and Levitt Arlington (Sunday, 6/21). Continue reading
Last year, legendary percussionist, Pete Escovedo delighted audiences at Levitt Pavilion Pasadena when he brought one of his sons onto the stage as a surprise guest.
This Sunday, he’s opening the season with another one of his famous children: GRAMMY-nominated percussionist and pop singer-songwriter, Sheila E.
For decades now, both have blazed musical trails—Escovedo as a member of Santana and bandleader of influential Latin jazz band Azteca, as well as his own Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra, and Sheila as both a solo act and touring musician with artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, and Diana Ross. Together, they have been making music for almost the entirety of Sheila’s life; she began playing her father’s instruments at the age of three and made her onstage debut two years later, when he invited her to play a solo at one of his shows.
Before this Sunday’s show at Levitt Pasadena, listen to some of the Escovedos’ most memorable songs, from Sheila’s debut single written by Prince to Pete’s groundbreaking work during his long career in Latin jazz. Continue reading