{"id":35454,"date":"2024-05-30T09:06:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T13:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=35454"},"modified":"2024-05-30T09:06:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T13:06:11","slug":"on-stage-copely-brings-multimedia-harp-show-to-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=35454","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Copely brings multimedia harp show to Philly"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Kirsten Agresta Copely<\/p><\/div>\n

The show on May 30 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) will be a little different than usual \u2013 in several ways.<\/div>\n

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The headliner will be a solo artist. The main instrument will be a harp — which is more common with a classical concert and less common on the stage of a rock music venue. The show will be a multi-media concert. And the event will feature free admission.<\/div>\n
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The free show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live will showcase Kirsten Agresta Copely.<\/div>\n
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Copely is a GRAMMY\u00ae Award Nominated, international award-winning harpist and composer based in New York City. Her prolific career has taken her throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Israel, Japan, and the South Pacific. She has performed for heads of state, in blockbuster movie soundtracks, alongside Billboard 100 artists, on late night television, and on some of the most recognized arena stages in the world.<\/div>\n

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Copely\u2019s most recent album, \u201cAquamarine,\u201d was nominated in the 66th GRAMMY\u00ae Awards for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album. Her music has over 10 million streams on Spotify, steady airplay on the Sirius XM Spa Channel, and has recent features in the New York Post<\/a>, Hollywood Soapbox<\/a>, and Crain\u2019s Business New York<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAquamarine Live,\u201d is billed as a mesmerizing multimedia show seamlessly blending musical artistry with visuals\u00a0by OBIE and Bessie Award-winning multimedia artist Laurie Olinder.\u00a0\u201cAquamarine\u201d\u00a0is Copely\u2019s second New Age album, and in addition to a\u00a0GRAMMY\u00ae nomination for Best New Age\/Ambient\/Chant Album,\u00a0is also the\u00a0winner of the 2023 Global Music Award for \u201cOutstanding New Age Performance.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe album was released in July last year,\u201d said Copekly, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from her home in Brooklyn.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was recorded in April 2023 and released in mid-July. We have a full recording studio in our home in Brooklyn with digital and analog equipment. It\u2019s called Casa Copely.<\/div>\n
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\u201c\u2018Aquamarine Live\u2019 is a multi-media concert with visuals by Lori Olinder on a fabric backdrop.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Olinder is a multi-media designer, painter textile designer and photographer. She is a founding member of New York\u2019s\u00a0Ridge Theater\u00a0and has been recognized with an OBIE Award,\u00a0a\u00a0New York Dance and Performance \u201cBessie Award\u201d\u00a0and an Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Design in the Theater.<\/div>\n
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Olinder has designed\u00a0projections\u00a0for numerous contemporary composers and performers, including John Adams, The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Gavin Bryars, Bryce Dressner, Philip Glass, Michael Gordon, Henryk Gorecki, The Kronos Quartet, David Lang and Julia Wolfe.\u00a0Her work has been shown at noted performance venues such as ART, BAM, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and MASS MoCA.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor this particular concert, I\u2019ll be joined by two local artists \u2013 Susan Werner on cello and Petula Perdikas on violin,\u201d The set list will include all the songs from \u2018Aquamarine\u2019 interspersed with tracks from my previous album.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Copely\u2019s previous album \u201cAround the Sun\u201d, which was her first solo album, was released in 2020. Copely describes it as a season-based 365-day experience.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was easy to find tracks from the previous album that fit this show,\u201d said Copely. \u201cI do New Age music, so everything is appropriate.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe \u2018Aquamarine\u2019 album was an homage to my late mother and love of the ocean. I figured out the order for the songs after I recorded them. There were moments when I thought they flowed really well. I used Eventide and that helped me write with space.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Steeped in rigorous classical training, Copely\u2019s performance career began at an early age.<\/div>\n
\u201cMy mother was a pianist and a vocal teacher,\u201d said Copely. \u201cShe was interested in a lot of instruments. The Troubadour harp was one. I stated playing one when I was five years old.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Troubadour harp was designed after the medieval harp and represented a breakthrough in lever harp design. It offers nearly three-quarters of the octave range of a full-size pedal harp, making it versatile for a broader range of music. Additionally, its \u201cbig harp\u201d string spacing provides a responsive feel for harpists.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI grew up outside Detroit and studied with a harpist from the Detroit Symphony,\u201d said Copely. \u201cI also studied with Susann McDonald at Indiana University. She holds degrees in harp performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (B.M. & M.M.), where she was awarded the Performer\u2019s Certificate for outstanding musical performance.\u201d<\/div>\n
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This will not be Copely\u2019s first-ever gig in Philly.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve played in Philadelphia a number of times,\u201d said Copely. \u201cThe first time was at Live Aid in 2005.In addition to this week\u2019s show there, I\u2019ll be doing \u2018Aquamarine Live\u2019 at venues around America this year. And I\u2019ve started writing a new album.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Kirsten Agresta Copely — https:\/\/youtu.be\/sr1Tzw2cApI<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show on May 30 at World Cafe Live will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are free.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at World Cafe Live are Chris Smither on May 30, Professor Louie and The Crowmatix on May 31 and Yaya Bey on June 1.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will host two acts from opposite ends of the age spectrum this weekend \u2013 Callum on May 31 and The Two Johns on June 1.<\/div>\n
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Callum<\/p><\/div>\n

Callum is actually Callum Toner, a talented singer-songwriter who, while still in her teens, is starting to make a name for herself in the Mid-Atlantic music scene.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cI turned 17 on February 6,\u201d said Toner,\u201d during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from a gig in Ocean City, Maryland. I\u2019m home schooled and I\u2019m taking a few community college classes.\u201d<\/div>\n
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So far, Toner has released one EP, \u201cYou Know Who,\u201d and four singles \u2013 \u201cTold Ya (I Was a Fool)\u201d (2023), \u201cCaptivated\u201d (2022), \u201cTesting My Patience\u201d (2022) and \u201cIf I Could.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cI made the EP last year and it came out February 2, 2024,\u201d said Toner. \u201cI had been working on it for a very long time \u2013 a couple years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI want to do a full-length. I\u2019m working on my next EP now and then I\u2019ll do a full length. The EP will be very different than my first one and the album will be totally different from everything I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Despite her young age, Toner has been involved with singing and entertainment for a long time.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve been singing and humming since I was in the crib,\u201d said Toner. \u201cI\u2019ve been into music my whole life. My grandparents would sit with me in the kitchen when they played Sinatra and other music like that.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy dad would sit me on his lap at the keyboard when he played. My dad was the techno type. I picked up some of his habits. I hated taking music lessons unless absolutely necessary. I like to play by ear.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started with ukulele when I was four. I picked up guitar at 10 but really got into it when I was 13. And I\u2019ve been writing songs since I was 10. When I was in fifth grade, I wrote and performed her first song. It was for a teacher and was titled, \u2018I Will Remember You.\u2019<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy pop-pop gave me an acoustic guitar. A Fender Stratocaster was the first electric guitar I really messed around with. I didn\u2019t really like it so I went back to acoustic.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Two years later, Toner did some youth performances with Clear Space Theater in Rehoboth, Delaware. At 13 years old, she continued theater with the Theater Academy of Delmarva.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI really thought I was going to pursue a theater career \u2013 all the way to Broadway,\u201d said Toner. \u201cBroadway music was really speaking to me. When I started with theater, I was extremely shy. I eventually came out of my shell. But my last theater work was when I was 13.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Toner had to deal with several setbacks over the years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy dad died in 2012 and that was really hard to deal with,\u201d said Toner. \u201cI also have synesthesia.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.\u00a0For instance, people with synesthesia may experience colors when listening to music, see shapes when smelling certain scents, or perceive tastes when looking at words.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI see colors with music,\u201d said Toner. \u201cIt happens all the time.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor example, with my EP the first track is purple. Purple is very jazzy and soothing. At the end of the EP, it turns orange \u2013 passive\/aggressive.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Now, Toner is in the middle of her \u201cYou Know Who Tour.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m touring with my band,\u201d said Toner. \u201cJonah Ridgely, who will be studying at Berklee (College of Music), plays electric guitar and I play acoustic. We also have Sam on drums, Nick on bass and Jamar on keyboards and bass.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Callum — https:\/\/youtu.be\/HMzpa9Rr9oU<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show on May 31, which has Greto and the Flood as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.<\/div>\n
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The show will also be available as a pay-per-view at $15 each.<\/div>\n
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The show on June 1 will feature, as the name implies, two Johns \u2013 Johnny Never and John Colgan-Davis, the front man for the Dukes of Destiny. Both bands are frequent headliners at Jamey\u2019s. The duo features John Colgan-Davis and Johnny Never.<\/div>\n
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According to Colgan-Davis, \u201cWe start June off in a club in which we have both spent some wonderful times. Voted a winner of the 2024 Philadelphia Inquirer’s favorite concert venue and a favorite live music spot, this is a room with great sound, good views, wonderful food and brews, a friendly crowd, and wonderful waitstaff. We always have\u00a0a great time\u00a0here, and we know you will too.\u00a0Welcome June at Jamey\u2019s with The Two Johns.\u201d<\/div>\n
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East Coast bluesman Johnny Never has a mission to deliver pure, unadulterated vintage blues to those who already love the blues as well as those who have never heard it. Whether solo or with accompaniment, Never has energized audiences in Northern Maryland, Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey from small bars and restaurants to music halls such as the MAC Concert Series, The Mainstay, the Kennett Flash and Jamie’s House of Music.<\/div>\n
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Never, who has also performed in a variety of music festivals, delivers his take on the blues as a solo performer as well as with a duo and a trio.<\/div>\n
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Often referred to by blues enthusiasts as \u201cthe real deal,\u201d Never pays homage to, but does not mimic, the vast array of original bluesmen that gave birth to the genre more than a century ago. He is known for his covers of artists like Son House, Robert Johnson, and Charlie Patton.<\/div>\n
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His original compositions possess the qualities of the genuine article, delivered through deft finger-style guitar work and a voice that reeks of authenticity.<\/div>\n
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These qualities have earned him recognition by blues and folk music societies from Memphis to Philadelphia. In 2014, Johnny was a quarterfinalist in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.<\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis, harmonica and vocals, started playing the harmonica in local blues and folk clubs back in the late 1960s while he was still a high school student. He played and recorded with Philadelphia singer-guitarist Jesse Graves and played with Bonnie Raitt when she lived in Philadelphia in the early 1970s.<\/div>\n
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Through Raitt, he had the opportunity to meet and play with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arthur Crudup, Buddy Guy, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. He has also jammed with James Cotton, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Bill Dicey, and Louisiana Red.<\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis has toured nationally and has recorded two CDs — \u201cCold and Lonesome on a Train\u201d and \u201cHeroes and Hard Times.\u201d A founding member of The Dukes of Destiny, John also taught social studies at Friends Select School in Philadelphia for 29 years and has written articles and supplements for The Philadelphia Inquirer on Blacks in the American West, Black Literature, the History of Black Philadelphia, and other topics.<\/div>\n
For a long time, the two Philly area blues aces were aware of each other and their talents. A few years ago, their paths came together.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAbout four years ago, Johnny and I were at the same gig and started talking,\u201d said Colgan-Davis, during a prior phone interview from his home in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe started hanging out together. Then, I sat in with him at a mini-festival but I can\u2019t remember where. It was somewhere out in the country. He also had a bass player with him \u2013 Dave Young who since has moved to Colorado.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In a prior phone interview, Never said, \u201cJohn is a great harmonica player. I\u2019ve been playing blues for decades and had a parting of ways with my previous harmonica player. I called John up to see what would happen.\u201d<\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis said, \u201cFor the past few years, we\u2019ve been playing as The Two Johns. Our first real show was at Hummingbird on Mars in Wilmington.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI love playing acoustic again. There are things you can do as an acoustic harp player that you can\u2019t do with a loud band.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJohnny is a very good picker and a great slide player. He\u2019s also a great Piedmont Blues player.\u201d<\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis and the harmonica have a long history together.<\/div>\n
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I started acoustic harmonica when I was in high school at Philadelphia\u2019s Central High School,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u201cCentral High had a folk music club, and we had a budget big enough to being Skip James and Son House to play at our school.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWith The Two Johns, we play a couple songs I played in high school \u2013 including Son House\u2019s \u2018Death Letter Blues.\u2019 We play a lot of Piedmont Blues, ragtime and some 1920s jazz \u2018Ain\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019,\u2019 a Fats Waller\u00a0song. We do things I haven\u2019t found a way to do with the Dukes of Destiny.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Never said, \u201cMusic is about feel. When you play with somebody, you need to make sure you can connect with the feel. John\u2019s playing works very well with old blues \u2013\u00a0especially Piedmont style. I play guitar almost exclusively acoustic. Early blues didn\u2019t have electric guitar.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI got attracted to early acoustic blues as a young person. It was a slow evolution. As a teenager, I heard recordings by Charley Patton and Son\u00a0House. It hit me \u2013 and really stuck with me. When I was in my late 30s and early 40s, I really started working at it.\u201d<\/div>\n
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With regard to The Two Johns, you have Never and Colgan-Davis.<\/div>\n
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With regard to Never, you actually have three Johns \u2013 Johnny Never which is the stage name for John\u00a0Carleton\u00a0and John Dorchester, the artist\u2019s real name.<\/div>\n
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John Dorchester is a multi-discipline artist\/creator who grew up in West Chester and attended West Chester Henderson before graduating from Westtown School. As an adolescent, he had a keen interest in landscape painting and filmmaking — studying painting with Nantucket artist, Warren Krebs, and filmmaking with Earl Fowler, whose famous brother, Jim, made nature films for Mutual of Omaha\u2019s \u201cWild Kingdom.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve had a bunch of different jobs,\u201d said Never\/Carleton\/Dorchester. \u201cI started as an AFA painter and then got into commercial filmmaking from 1993-2014. Now, I\u2019m back to being a fine artist working in oils\u201d<\/div>\n
He is also back to being a fine musician who has teamed with Colgan-Davis to keep early acoustic blues alive.<\/div>\n
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Video link for The Two Johns — https:\/\/youtu.be\/ny2EmfXYMR0<\/a><\/u>.<\/div>\n
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The show on June 1 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.<\/div>\n
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The show will also be available as a pay-per-view at $15 each.<\/div>\n
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The next gig for The Dukes of Destiny is on June 14 at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville.<\/div>\n
According to Colgan-Davis, \u201cThis is our first time at Steel City since the year before the pandemic, and at that time Arlyn was our lead singer. The band personnel is different now, and we would love to have a good turnout.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d will be presented every second and fourth Thursday, and \u201cAnything Goes\u201d every first, third and fifth Thursday.<\/div>\n
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Every Sunday, Jamey\u2019s presents \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM\u201d featuring the Philly Blues Kings. On the second Sunday each month, the featured act is the Girke-Davis Project which features club owner Jamey Reilly, Roger Girke, Glenn Bickel, Fred Berman and Colgan-Davis.<\/div>\n
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\u201cCorteo,\u201d the long-running and most enchanting arena production from Cirque du Soleil, is back in North America and heading to Philadelphia. This unique production, directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, has amazed over 10 million spectators in 20 countries on four continents.<\/div>\n
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\u201cCorteo\u201d\u00a0will be presented at the Liacouras Center (1776 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, www.liacourascenter.com<\/a>) for five shows from May 30-June 2.<\/div>\n
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\u201cCorteo\u201d is a\u00a0Cirque du Soleil\u00a0touring production that premiered in\u00a0Montreal,\u00a0Quebec, Canada on April 21, 2005.<\/div>\n
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As of May 24, 2005, Cirque du Soleil had broken its record of spectators for the premi\u00e8re location in Montreal; more than 200,000 people had viewed the production, far outpacing the prior record of 180,000 tickets sold for\u00a0Varekai\u00a0during its premi\u00e8re.<\/div>\n
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The show\u2019s final performance under the big top took place in\u00a0Quito,\u00a0Ecuador\u00a0on \u00a0December 13, 2015. On November 20, 2017, Cirque du Soleil announced that the show would once again set out on tour, this time in the arena format. The re-staged show premiered March 2, 2018 in\u00a0New Orleans.<\/div>\n
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Cort\u00e9o — an Italian word meaning \u201ccort\u00e8ge\u201d or procession\u2014is a contemporary circus\u00a0show about a clown who watches his own funeral. It was partly inspired by\u00a0\u201cThe Grand Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown\u201d\u00a0on display at the National Gallery of Canada\u00a0and the movie\u00a0\u201cI Clowns\u201d\u00a0by Federico Fellini.<\/div>\n
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The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.<\/div>\n
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The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us.<\/div>\n
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The touring show has a Delaware County native starring in the cast.<\/div>\n
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Jonathan Buese, who was born in Drexel Hill, performs the \u201cTournik\u201d act which marries horizontal bar techniques with circus arts. It\u2019s often said that the complexity of this act defies gravity and keeps audience members on the edge of their seats.<\/div>\n
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Buese, who competed at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, was recruited by Cirque du Soleil\u2019s casting department during a competition. At the same time another life opened for him with a job offer in Iowa as assistant manager for a high-end fashion brand.<\/div>\n
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His taste for travel, new sportive challenges and his gymnastic teammates convinced him to move to Montreal for genera acrobat training in 2010.\u00a0That same year, he officially joined the Cirque du Soleil family as an aerialist on high bar act in \u201cMystere.\u201d He then performed in \u201cAlegria\u201d for the arena tour in Europe from 2011-2013, and \u201cTotem\u201d from 2014-2020.<\/div>\n
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Video link for \u201cCorteo\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/ds7ETyJqFzE<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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\u201cCorteo\u201d will run from May 30-June 2 at the Liacouras Center.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $29.<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s time once again for the Ladybug\u00a0Music Festival\u00a0(Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, https:\/\/theladybugfestival.com<\/a>) \u2013 a free festival held on Market Street in downtown Wilmington.<\/div>\n
The popular annual event will be staged on May 31 from 5-10 p.m.<\/div>\n
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The 2024 festival will feature more than 30 different female-fronted bands, duos, and singer-songwriters performing simultaneously at four indoor venues and on four outdoor stages on the 400 and 500 blocks of Market Street.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Ladybug\u00a0Music Festival is a celebration of women in music taking place annually in both Wilmington and Milford, Delaware. Started in 2012 by Gable Music Ventures<\/a>, the idea was to offer an alternative to the Firefly Music Festival that was focused on local independent artists, and free for the community to attend.<\/div>\n
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Michael and Debbie Schwartz, owners of the popular Shops and Lofts at 2nd & LOMA, engaged the company to throw a live music block party for their tenants shortly after Firefly was announced. Gable used the timing of the request to put on the first ever \u201cLadybug\u00a0Festival\u201d, featuring an all-female lineup of artists local to the Wilmington\/Philadelphia music scene.<\/div>\n
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One of the featured acts at this year\u2019s\u00a0Ladybug\u00a0Music Festival will be Gina Zo\u00a0and the\u00a0Philly-bred, L.A.-based\u00a0indie pop act Velvet\u00a0Rouge.<\/a><\/div>\n
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In 2016, Gina Castanzo (AKA Gina Zo) was featured on NBC\u2019s The Voice, Team Blake for the show\u2019s tenth season. After her time on The Voice, Zo formed Velvet Rouge.<\/div>\n
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In March of 2023 the band was WMMR’s Local Shots Artist of the Month. They have performed at an eclectic mix of Philly\u2019s music venues, including a sold-out show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s, Brooklyn Bowl, and World Cafe Live. Velvet Rouge has also had the opportunity to perform on WXPN for National Public Radio Day 2022, as seen in NPR Music.<\/div>\n
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In 2022, Gina Zo was inducted into the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter and has set out on a journey to put her mark on rock n roll. In late 2022, Velvet Rouge was voted Best Rock Band in Philly by PHL Live & was featured in the March issue of Philly Style Magazine as the music to listen to in the Now section — where they were titled \u201cPhilly’s Hottest Rock Band.\u201d<\/div>\n
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As they prep for their EP release in early 2024, they have been recording at Philly\u2019s top studios with Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey (War On Drugs, Sharon Van Etten, and Dr. Dog) at Miner Street Recording, Tommy Joiner at Milkboy Studios, and Mitch Beer at Retro City Studios.<\/div>\n
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They announced the\u00a0self-titled EP\u00a0due\u00a0July 26\u00a0and the folk-pop single,\u00a0\u201cLonely Since The Day We Met,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0out now.<\/div>\n
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Velvet\u00a0Rouge\u2019s raw and unrestrained EP\u00a0is a throwback to early 2000s pop and \u201890s rock music with each track taking on one of the\u00a0essential life elements:\u00a0\u201cLonely Since The Day We Met\u201d\u00a0(Earth);\u00a0\u201cTrial\u201d\u00a0(Space);\u00a0\u201cI Don\u2019t Know Why\u201d (Air\/Wind);\u00a0\u201cShattered\u201d\u00a0(Fire); and\u00a0\u201cWhen Did I Become\u201d\u00a0(Water).<\/div>\n
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The material on\u00a0Velvet\u00a0Rouge\u2019s upcoming\u00a0self-titled debut EP\u00a0features drummer\u00a0Buddy Mazzenga,\u00a0guitarist Joe McEnany\u00a0and guest pianist Zo\u2019s younger brother\u00a0Tyler DeTulleo.<\/div>\n
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Some of the other featured acts at this year\u2019s Ladybug Music Festival will be Catbite, Screaming Orphans, Humilitarian, Miss Cantaloupe, LA Creus and Chatterbox.<\/div>\n
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Video link for Velvet Rouge — https:\/\/youtu.be\/LUPKzC-tBXo<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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On May 31 and June 1, Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, 610-388-1000,\u00a0savoy.org<\/a>) is hosting a special live production by the\u00a0Savoy\u00a0Company\u00a0in its\u00a0Open Air Theatre.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Savoy\u00a0Company, which is the oldest amateur theater company in the world, is dedicated solely to the production of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.<\/div>\n
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This weekend, the\u00a0Savoy\u00a0Company is returning to Longwood Gardens with another Gilbert & Sullivan classic \u2013 \u201cThe Grand Duke.\u201d<\/div>\n
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This classic take on a \u201cplay within a play\u201d has hilarious turns and twists that will keep you riveted. A rollicking tale of love, politics, and mistaken identity, sprinkled with Gilbert\u2019s razor-sharp wit and Sullivan\u2019s enchanting melodies.<\/div>\n
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Without a shot being fired, confusion and hilarity reign as a troupe of actors take political power overthrowing the government of the mean and miserly Grand Duke. Duels with weapons have been outlawed.<\/div>\n
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A statutory duel has been instituted: the two disputants draw cards from a deck.\u00a0 The person with the higher card wins. The person with the lower card becomes a legal ghost and all his relations (including fianc\u00e9es), debts, bets, and obligations pass on to the winner.<\/div>\n
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After 24 hours, the \u201cdead\u201d man returns to life, and all will be well again, or will it? Changing the setting to post-war Britain, this updated and revised version of the show will delight all ages.<\/div>\n
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This gem of a show is rarely produced, and it has been 30 years since The Savoy Company last staged the show. Director Bill Kiesling has created a masterful comedy that sings under the outstanding direction of Peter Hilliard and the professional orchestra.<\/div>\n
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Tickets for reserved seating are $29 and $39.<\/div>\n
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On May 30, the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com<\/a>) is hosting GRAMMY Award-winning Americana and bluegrass artists Mark and Maggie O\u2019Connor.<\/div>\n
In April, the talented duo released \u201cLife After Life.\u201d<\/div>\n
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A seven-time CMA Award winner, Mark O\u2019Connor is a legendary multi-instrumentalist famous for his work on fiddle, guitar and mandolin. On\u00a0\u201cLife After Life,\u201d Mark not only brings these talents to bear but is also the principal songwriter and harmony singer, in addition to producing the album. Maggie, a talented artist in her own right who won a GRAMMY for playing and singing bluegrass with her husband Mark in the O\u2019Connor Band, debuts as the lead singer as well as an instrumentalist.<\/div>\n
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The compelling theme flowing throughout\u00a0\u201cLife After Life\u201d\u00a0is the idea that while our common experiences can turn into challenges — even hardships — we still seek optimism and hope.<\/div>\n
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According to Mark O\u2019Connor, \u201cOur new songs are about learning to fall in love with life again after being utterly frightened by it\u201d \u2013 referring to the collection which took shape during the pandemic.<\/div>\n
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The recording of\u00a0\u201cLife After Life\u201d\u00a0is an all-acoustic Americana sound garden, with the authoritative upright bass of Dennis Crouch, an old-fashioned drum set masterfully played by veteran John Gardner and the O\u2019Connors using practically every acoustic instrument in their collection.<\/div>\n
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Video link for Mark & Maggie O\u2019Connor — https:\/\/youtu.be\/dy0rfuVGSEQ?list=PL-UUBt4dc5yguUjHsXxb5IqOluesGWXXw<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at the Sellersville Theater on May 30 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $35.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are The Reverend Horton Heat on May 31, Billy Prine on June 1, the Duprees on June 2, Leonid & Friends on June 3 and the Gilmour Project on June 5.<\/div>\n
The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313,<\/div>\n
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www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) has a new mainstage production, \u201cMoon Over Buffalo.\u201d The play opened on May 11 and is running through June 16.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMoon Over Buffalo\u201d\u00a0is a 1995\u00a0comic\u00a0play\u00a0by\u00a0Ken Ludwig\u00a0set in\u00a0Buffalo, New York\u00a0in 1953. This play marked the return of\u00a0Carol Burnett\u00a0to the\u00a0Broadway\u00a0stage after a 30-year absence.<\/div>\n
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This madcap comedy by Ken Ludwig centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s playing Private Lives and Cyrano de Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George\u2019s dalliance with a young ing\u00e9nue, they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom.<\/div>\n
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Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if he likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMoon Over Buffalo\u201d\u00a0relies heavily on\u00a0situation comedy\u00a0for its humor, as well as some sexual innuendo and a little\u00a0slapstick. The actor who plays George, in particular, must be able to deliver a highly physical performance. George engages in a mock\u00a0fencing\u00a0match with Charlotte, a\u00a0wrestling\u00a0match with Howard, and a stunt fall into the\u00a0orchestra pit.<\/div>\n
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The action and dialogue are fast paced, as the characters are constantly bickering or frantically trying to resolve some confusion. It bears numerous similarities to Ludwig\u2019s previous farce,\u00a0\u201cLend Me A Tenor\u201d — period timeframe, Northeastern city, drinking-and-womanizing male star, justifiably jealous wife, young stage manager desperately trying to keep things together, important person(s) in the audience, at least one character who has passed out and is believed missing, non-actors forced to go onstage, etc.<\/div>\n
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Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings (doors 6 p.m.\/show, 8 p.m.) and Sunday afternoons (doors, 1 p.m.\/show, 3 p.m.).<\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $70.50 for adults and $35 for children (ages 4-12).<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present Antje Duvekot on May 30, Strays and Misfits, Nicholas Lurwick and Jac Conner on May 31 and Kennett Metal Festival on June 1.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>)\u00a0is hosting New York\u2019s Finest on May 30, Larger Than Life on May 31 and Diggery Digger on June 1.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The show on May 30 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com) will be a little different than usual \u2013 in several ways. The headliner will be a solo artist. The main instrument will be a harp — which is more common with a classical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[12542,3912,12541],"class_list":["post-35454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-callum","tag-featured","tag-kirsten-agresta-copely"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35455,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454\/revisions\/35455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}