On Stage: Altan brings Ireland to Longwood Gardens

Busy local schedule features roots rock, tribute bands and EDM

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Over the years, Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, 610-388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org) has presented a wide array of musical acts from around the world and in a variety of genres. On February 26, Longwood is hosting one of Celtic music’s all-time great bands — Altan.

Altan is an Irish folk music band formed in County Donegal in 1987 by lead vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband the late Frankie Kennedy. They rose to fame by focusing on Donegal’s rich collection of Gaelic songs and instrumental styles.

The top-selling Celtic band features Ciaran Tourish (fiddle, tin whistle, backing vocals), Dáithí Sproule (guitar, vocals), Ciarán Curran (bouzouki, guitar), Mark Kelly (guitar, backing vocals), Martin Tourish (piano, accordion) and Ní Mhaonaigh (lead vocals, fiddle).

“Most of the band has been around for quite awhile but we have one new addition — Martin Tourish,” said Ní Mhaonaigh, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “Martin is a great accordion player. It’s great to have new blood. Most of the band lives in Ireland and one lives in America.”

Altan is touring in support of its most recent album “The Widening Gyre,” which was released last year on Compass Records. The band recorded the album in Nashville with guest performances by a number of American bluegrass, Appalachian and American musicians including Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton, and Compass co-founder Alison Brown.

“We’re an Irish band but in our travels we’ve met a lot of American bands — especially Appalachian musicians,” said Ní Mhaonaigh. “For a long time, we’ve notices similarities between Celtic music and Appalachian and bluegrass music.”

The members of Altan started talking to Compass co-founder Garry West about the direction for their latest project. With Garry in the producer’s chair and many good friends in the studio, Altan fused the traditional Irish music that they are known with American roots music — particularly that of the Appalachian bluegrass fiddle.

“It was Garry’s idea to go to Nashville to record,” said Ní Mhaonaigh. “It was good because we wanted to do something different. We had so many albums out already, we needed to do something different.

“We didn’t have to change our music so much to adapt and blend. We knew it would be pretty seamless. Some of the songs were written prior to the sessions. Some were written there when we had great moments. But, most were traditional songs.

“We’re playing a lot of songs from the new album but we’re also working on new songs. We’re always thinking of the next album. Next year will be our 30^th year so we have to do something special.”

Video link for Altan — https://youtu.be/VDY_yxTjDII.

The show at Longwood Gardens will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are priced at $40.

The show on February 27 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will feature a pair of acts playing powerful, straight-ahead American rock that has folk, country and blues influences — Anders Osborne and the Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers.

Osborne, who was named the best guitarist in New Orleans by Offbeat magazine a few years ago, will be treating fans to some of the music from his new album “Spacedust & Ocean Views,” which will be released next month on Back On Dumaine Records.

“I’m touring with a five-piece band and we’ll be playing four or five of the new ones each night,” said Osborne, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from a tour stop in Syracuse, New York.

“The album is coming out later than I wanted. I started recording it in November 2014, finished recording it in March 2015 and mixed it in spring 2015. It took awhile to find the right distribution. I decided on going with InGrooves (Music Group). That way, I could keep the masters. Now, it’s coming out next week.

“I financed it with a pledge campaign. We had a lot of things that we gave to fans and raked in enough money to make the album. I recorded it at The Parlor Studio in New Orleans with a group of musicians I work with a lot. And, we had a lot of guests like Rikki Lee Jones and Ivan Neville.”

Osborne, a native of a small city in southeastern Sweden, was a musician who travelled the world when he was a little younger and eventually settled in New Orleans. His new album has a geographical vibe with songs such as “Pontchartrain,” “Lafayette,” “Cape Cod,” “Move Back To Mississippi” and “Tchoupitoulas Street Parade.”

“There are a lot of locations in the songs,” said Osborne. “It just happened that way. I write a lot when I run, ride my bike or go to the beach. It has oceans views from the entire country. I started in Key West. Also, I love outer space — very intriguing.”

One of the tracks on the new album is titled “From Space.”

“We recorded over 30 songs,” said Osborne. “The 12 that aligned together were the ones we chose. I was writing a lot — topics like just being in a mid-life situation. I’m 50 and I wonder what will matter to me when I’m 65.

“Another thing that inspired me is the beauty of nature. I’m religiously enchanted by the planet’s nature. When I’m out in nature, I feel I’m a part of something.”

Video link for Anders Osborne — https://youtu.be/J-XnVISyWZQ.

This is a show where you don’t to be late and miss the opening act. Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers could just as easily be headlining their own show at the venue.

Helm is touring in support of her first solo album “Didn’t It Rain,” which was recently released on eOne Music.

“Didn’t It Rain,” might be her first release under her own name but Helm is a veteran who has been making music for most of her life. She has established herself as a top-flight singer, songwriter and live performer — as a member of the celebrated alt-­country collective Ollabelle and for her extensive work with her father Levon Helm, who passed away in 2012.

Levon Helm was an American rock/Americana musician who became world-famous as the drummer and regular lead vocalist for the Band. Amy Helm has heavy music influences in her DNA from both sides.

Her mother Libby Titus is a stellar singer who, in the late 1960s, released two critically-acclaimed albums as a singer-songwriter. Titus has written songs that have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Burt Bachrach, Linda Ronstadt and Dr. John.

Helm began connecting with audiences early in life, playing her first gig in her early teens in a Manhattan bar and drifting informally through a series of combos before her father recruited her to join his live band.  She also absorbed musical and personal inspiration from Titus, Dr. John and her stepfather, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen.

She had originally planned to release her solo debut a bit sooner, but chose to substantially rework the album that she initially recorded, re-recording more than half of the songs with the road-tested Handsome Strangers.

“I re-did a good chunk of it,” said Helm, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from her home in Woodstock, New York. “I started making the record when I was till touring with the Midnight Ramble Band and Olabelle.

“I had never really done my own show with my own name. So, I put my toe in the water fronting a band. When I started playing the songs with my own band, my singing got stronger and the arrangements got tighter.

“So, I decided to re-do a lot of the songs. The original tracks were different with different drummers. They were more like demos. I probably recorded 30 songs altogether. I have some really cool stuff that my dad played on.

“The album songs are continuing to evolve as we play them more and more. That’s been an incredible thing to watch. Some of the ballads have changed quite a bit. I’ve gone with more of a rock vibe.”

Helm is also progressing with finding her voice as a songwriter.

“I’ve been trying to do more songwriting lately,” said Helm, who is also a mother to boys ages four and eight. “I’m home with the boys in full mom mode so I try to use my time at home to write.

“Have I written a song about my father — yes and no. Something changes so much when a parent passes. We energetically take on so many aspects of them when they go. I had been performing with my dad since I was 17years old.”

Video link for Amy Helm — https://youtu.be/tj9XwDLue5A.

The show at Ardmore will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $24 in advance and $30 day of show.

Other shows over the next week at Ardmore areMusic Hall are McLovins and The Sakima Connection (Feb 25), Melvin Seals & JGB and Mason Porter (Feb 26), Alex & the Kaleidoscope (Feb 27), and Rad and Kell, Seoul Delhi, and Vinnie Paolizzi (Feb 28).

Jon Cleary’s blip on the musical radar became a lot stronger when his latest album “GoGo Juice” was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Regional Roots Music category. It became a lot more intense on February 15 when “GoGo Juice” won the Grammy.

 “My whole world has completely changed,” said Cleary in a light-hearted manner during a phone interview last week. “I’m still doing what I’ve been doing for the last 30 years. If it (winning a Grammy) allows more people to hear my music, then it’s a good thing.”

For most of this year, Cleary has been on the road with his band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen. On February, Cleary and his crew of New Orleans musicians will visit the area for a show at the World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, philly.worldcafelive.com).

Like Osborne, Cleary crossed the Atlantic Ocean, arrived in New Orleans and quickly adopted the Crescent City as his hometown. He was born in Kent, England but moved to New Orleans when he was 17.

“As soon as I got out of school, I got on the first plane to New Orleans,” said Cleary, who is a vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter. “I had $100 in my pocket when I ended up in New Orleans.

“I grew up in a musical family — lots of musicians and music lovers. My uncle had lived in New Orleans and he brought back hundreds of obscure 45s — Clifton Chenier, Professor Longhair, Huey Smith and the Clowns. It was a perfect introduction to the joy and exhilaration of music.”

When his uncle — musician Johnny Johnson — returned from New Orleans in the early 70’s and brought back two suitcases of rare and obscure local 45s, Cleary pursued his study of R&B in great depth with special attention to the New Orleans sound that increasingly captivated him.

“Part of the charm of the music of New Orleans is that it’s strong and it exists even though it has been ignored by the mainstream,” said Cleary. “Every once in awhile, there is some notice.

“The music business in Los Angeles is fashion industry. What we have down here is real. New Orleans music always has been hard to quantify and categorize. I like the status of being an outsider. I’m a round peg in a square hole. I’m a guitar player playing piano — a New Orleans musician born in England.

“There is a huge sense of camaraderie with New Orleans musicians — not just artists but they’re artisans. There is a great deal of pride down here in being a good musician — not really a sense of competition. New Orleans is one of the last vestiges of real music tradition.

“All New Orleans musicians know that there are 12 notes — four beats in a bar. The idea is to improvise and pick a note to make people smile, dance and be happy. It’s all music down here.”

Video link for Jon Cleary — https://youtu.be/4hBtH2WNa1s.

The show on February 25, which has The Suitcase Junket as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are priced at $20.

Other upcoming shows at the World Café Live are Marc Broussard with Peter Aristone, The Last Bandoleros (Feb 26), Tascam Presents: The Philadelphia Battle of the Bands Finals (Feb 28), Luther Dickinson & The Cooperators with Amy LaVere and Will Sexton (March 1), Greyhounds (Feb 25), The Miners, Reckless Amateurs, and The Defenders (Feb 26), Korby Lenker, Megan Slankard and Alex Wong: The Doers And Dreamers Tour (Feb 27), Three Fourteen and Curtis Jr. (Feb 28),  Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles (March 1) and Korey Dane and honey honey (March 3).

In a few days, Jeff Riddle will experience what every musician dreams of happening — the first record. March 4 will mark the release of his debut album “Destroy.”. Prior to that, Jeff Riddle and the Bella Vista Social Club will be performing a show at Everybody Hits Philadelphia (529 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-769-7500, http://everybodyhitsphila.com/) on February 25.

The album is the culmination of Riddle’s eclectic musical endeavors that have spanned the last decade. From his early start in underground punk to his transition into the vibrant Philadelphia music scene, Riddle and his music have evolved.  On ‘Destroy,” he can be found focusing his efforts on a more refined, precise and delicate approach to songwriting.

“My best friend Jeff Leonard is a recording engineer form Charleston, South Carolina where I grew up,” said Riddle, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon as the band was travelling through West Virginia to a gig in Richmond, Virginia.

“I wanted to go down there to record but instead he sent some recording gear up to me. I used two rooms in my house to make the record. The recording took six days. I did it last January and it was really cold. It was fun to turn a little room in my house into a studio.”

“Destroy” has been described as “successful because of the care, effort and time spent on each song, without feeling over-produced or insisting.”

“I’m really happy with the way the record came out,” said Riddle. “And, it was really great to have the album mastered by Michael White. He has worked with a lot of great musicians including Whitney Houston, James Taylor and David Byrne.

“The core of the band is me and my buddy Riley Byrne. He plays cello and upright bass and I play guitar. Sometimes, the Bella Vista Social Club is two and sometimes it’s five of us playing. It’s a revolving door of friends. It was that way on the album and it’s that way for our live shows. Right now, it’s just Riley and me.”

The name of the band comes from the Bella Vista neighborhood in South Philadelphia.

“I live in Bella Vista,” said Riddle. “I moved up to Philadelphia five-and-a-half years ago. Having friends here and playing music were the reasons I decided to move here. I’ve been living in different places in South Philly ever since I came here.”

If Riddle’s shows on the current mini-tour feature reduced physical activity on his part, there is a good reason.

“I have a broken leg,” said Riddle. “There is a big boot on my leg with an air pump. I got hit by a car when I was walking my dog in South Philly. I got thrown through the windshield and my dog went flying. The dog is O.K. but I got a broken leg.”

Video link for Jeff Riddle — https://youtu.be/4X3_jUZayp8.

The show at Everybody Hits, which starts at 9 p.m., will also feature Emperor X, Three Man Cannon, and Peter the Pianoeater.

Jimkata, an electronic rock trio based in Ithaca, New York, just released its new album “In Motion” on February 12 and then embarked on a tour that will keep the band on the road until the end of April.

The musical troika, which features Evan Friedell (vocals, guitar), Aaron Gorsch (synths) and Packy Lunn (drums), visits the area on February 25 for a show at at MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, www.milkboyphilly.com),

“This will be our third full-length,” said Friedell, during a recent phone interview from his home in Ithaca. “In 2008, we released ‘Burn My Money’ and then we did the ‘Di-Digital’ album in 2010.

“We recorded ‘In Motion’ in spring 2015 in Syracuse at More Sound Studios. We recorded it over the course of a few months because we were touring at the same time. “The new album shows how we’ve been growing individually as producers,” said Friedell. “Aaron writes a lot of music on his own. I write on my own using Logic. Packy and Aaron use Ableton.

“Personally, I spend a lot of time thinking about songwriting — listening to old country, reggae and soul — finding the balance between technology and stripping a song down to its chords. A good song has to have a good song structure and, at the core, we focus on making a good song.

“When we first started, we were making weird psychedelic music in strange time signatures. It was very experimental. Over the years, we started focusing more on songwriting. As kids, we played grunge and punk.”

The three friends actually have been playing together since they were kids.

“We’ve been together quite awhile,” said Friedell. “The three of us go back to middle school. We started playing together when we were just learning our instruments. We’ve always had a long relationship of listening to music and playing music together.

“There was a point in high school when we recorded some music and then went our separate ways. Then, we got back together again. Our passion has always been to make something new.”

The passion got serious almost a decade ago.

“Jimkata has been around nine years as a band,” said Friedell. “This is the first time we’ll be touring a s a three-piece so it’s back to the originals. We were a four-piece for a long time but we parted ways with our bass player last winter. We used another guy for awhile. Then, we decided to stay on as a three-piece and it sounded good.”

Video link for Jimkata — https://youtu.be/DXZwYRgQinQ.

The show at Milkboy will start at 8 p.m. with opening act Horizon Wireless. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Jazz fans know they’re in for a treat if they attend the concert on February 26 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, 215-763-8100, http://www.philamuseum.org) — a concert featuring the trio of Ches Smith (drums, percussion, vibraphone), Craig Taborn (piano) and Mat Maneri (viola).

The talented threesome is touring in support of Ches Smith’s debut album “The Bell,” which was just released on January 15 on ECM Records.

“We recorded ‘The Bell’ in June 2015,” said Smith, during a recent phone interview from his home in Brooklyn. “I wrote all the pieces with Mat and Craig in mind — for sure. I started with pieces that were two or three defined sections — each with no idea how to get to them or get from them.

“I had quite a bit of time to work on it. By the time the recording date came upon us, I had some more composed things. Then, these guys had a way of making things their own. I wrote with space for improvisation. Even the more composed parts have a few spaces for improvisation. Other parts are supposed to be different every time we play them.”

When not working on his own projects, Smith is an in-demand session player. He has worked with an impressive roster of musicians including John Zorn, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, Fred Frirth, Narc Ribot, Xiu Xiu, Trevor Dunn and Moe Staiano.

“I’m from Sacramento and started playing drums when I lived there,” said Smith. “I moved to Oregon and then to the Bay Area. That’s where I started gigging around.

“There was a really strong free improv scene in the Bay Area — a lot of jazz — bebop and post-bop. And, there are a lot of jazz clubs. I was also playing a lot of rock music with small arts bands.”

It was in the San Francisco area that Smith added another instrument.

“I started learning some mallet percussion,” said Smith. “I went to Mills College, which is a great school for percussion. That’s when I started playing vibes. Later, when I started writing my own stuff for the instrument, it became part of my solo music.

“I lived in the Bay Area until 2008 and then I moved East. I moved here to Brooklyn because a lot of work was here. Brooklyn’s still my home and I’m still getting lot of work.”

Video link for Ches Smith — https://youtu.be/3iDTbVs_Kj0.

The show at the Art Museum will start at 5 p.m. The show is free with Museum admission — Adults: $20, Seniors (65 & over): $18, Students (with valid ID): $14,

Youth (13–18): $14, Children (12 & under): Free.

Nalani & Sarina were one of the headline acts at last year’s Fourth Annual Ladybug Music Festival in downtown Wilmington. On February 27, they will return to Wilmington’s LoMa district for a show at the World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com).

Saturday’s show, which is being presented by the Ladybug Festival, is called “Sisterbugs.” In addition to Nalai & Sarina, it features the LullaNAs, Joy and Peace Ike and Danielle & Jennifer.

Twin sisters Nalani and Sarina Bolton are seasoned musicians — vocalists, songwriters, multi-instrumentalists who know how to rock, write insightful melodic songs and how to get their funk on.

“If a song works out well live then we know it’s a good song to record,” said Sarina, during a phone interview Monday afternoon. “We’ve learned that the best way to test a song is by the audience’s reaction. Another test is the way it feels to us as we’re playing it.

Nalani said, “We go with the mentality that you have to have 10 songs to get one good one. We’re really hard on ourselves.  We just go and see where a song will take us. We want the song to direct the production. The band that we used in the studio really helped with how the songs sound on the album. We are huge fans of groove and funk.”

The twins have been back in the studio lately

“We’ve been recording some new stuff over the last few weeks,” said Sarina. “We just finished mixing this weekend and now we’re going to get it mastered. We mixed it at Carriage House in Connecticut.

“We did three tracks and every single one is different. One is funk with horns. One is a rock song and one is a ballad. That’s the combination of our music. We’ve been writing a lot lately so we wanted to get it on tape with our band.

Nalani said, “We recorded the songs with no specific intent. There are no big plans for these recordings although we do expect to release something. We’re debating between releasing them as singles or just waiting for awhile.

“This tine was different. In the past, we used to get a bunch of songs together for an EP or an album. With the newer stuff, we’ve been experimenting live and that makes a difference.

“We have more tracks ready to record. We love recording. It’s really fun for us. We’re going to spend the next period honing in on our songwriting. When we’re writing songs, there is no real method to our madness. If it’s too planned, it doesn’t seem natural.”

Video link for Nalani & Sarina — https://youtu.be/SBpqsaHYaRE.

The LullaNAs are also twin sisters in their early 20s — Atisha and Nishita Lulla. They have been singing together since they were little but it wasn’t until their senior year in high school that they performed in public.

“We’ve always liked music,” said Atisha, who graduated with her sister from Penn State University in 2014. “We’ve been singing our whole lives but never took it seriously until we sang at a talent show at our high school in our senior year. That was our first time to sing in front of an audience.”

That performance at Methacton High was the start of a musical career that is starting to flourish.

“When we were at Penn State, we’d perform at events,” said Nishita. “And, there is this place at Penn State called the Hub (Hub Robeson Center) where people are walking by the main area all the time. We’d go there and perform too. The last time we went back to Penn State was to play at the Relay for Life.”

The twins have made a name for themselves by posting their performances of covers on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/LullaNAs_) but they also are emerging as artists with original material.

“We started writing originals our sophomore year in college,” said Atisha. “Now, we have over 50 originals that are completed. One of us will come up with the idea and then we come up with the melody.”

Nishita said, “We have two videos or original songs on YouTube. ‘I lost My Heart’ went on about a year ago, ‘Don’t Say’ went on recently and it’s just now is out on iTunes. In our live shows, we play half originals and half covers.

“We have a little over 50 videos of us playing covers on YouTube. That helped us get out there a bit. It got us comfortable performing in front of a crowd — without really performing in front of a crowd. And, video covers allow us to get into different genres.”

Video link for the LullaNAs — https://youtu.be/s6gsjYZBwBE.

The show at the Queen will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15.

There are a lot of tribute bands playing in bars and clubs throughout the area and most of them are pretty ordinary. Then, there are some tribute bands that stand out and play established venues — bands such as Led Zeppelin 2 which is performing on February 27 at the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com).

Led Zeppelin 2 –Bruce Lamont (vocals), Ian Lee (drums), Paul Kamp (guitars), Matthew Longbons (bass) — recreate the sights and sounds of a prime Led Zeppelin concert with songs such as “Whole Lotta Love,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “Kashmir” and “Dazed and Confused.”

“Led Zeppelin 2 — The Live Experience” creates the excitement of Led Zeppelin in concert by re-enacting the live improvisation and onstage interaction that earned Led Zeppelin their legendary status as performers. Rather than playing a “greatest hits” show, LZ2 performs Led Zep music as Zeppelin would have played in front of an audience.

LZ2 is comprised of musician/songwriters from the best of Chicago’s indie/alternative/metal music scenes. From cutting their individual teeth in the top rock clubs of Chicago, often sharing stages with major international acts, LZ2 promptly gained national attention in 2010 and has sold out major rock music venues across the USA.

“Bruce and I have known each other since he was 15 working in a record store and I was a little older,” said Kamp, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in New Orleans. “We played in a lot of small bands together.

“Around 2003, we did a show for a Halloween concert at a club in Chicago. The club owner liked us and wanted us to play other clubs. We played a few more cover band shows and they sold out. We kept playing and even had a show at the House of Blues. By 2010, we were on the road doing shows in New York, Boston, Houston and Dallas.”

The music of Led Zeppelin is almost a required course for anyone interested in playing classic rock.

“I had been playing Zep stuff since I was 10 years old,” said Kamp. “At first, I was doing the acoustic stuff. As I got older, I was also playing guitar with a bow — not because Jimmy Page did it but because I had a bow.

“If you had asked us back in the day, we’d have told you that we hate tribute bands. We did a Black Sabbath tribute twice and then decided to go with Zeppelin. There was more diversity in it. It was more fun for us to play Zeppelin music. Other people told us that we should keep doing it.

“One of the things that works with this band is that everyone has other things to do. We’re all talented musicians. The first ‘Led Zeppelin 2’ show was around 2007 when we finally took a name.

“When we play live, about 15 seconds into the show, the audience hears that the music is there. We never set out to study and copy rather than just absorbing it. It’s more important to me to play like Jimmy Page than be obsessed with doing s jump just like he did.

“We’ve really built a wide-ranging audience. We get people in their 80s. And, we get young kids — 10-12 years old. These young kids are wearing Zeppelin t-shirts and they know every word to every song. Every show is a great experience.”

Video link for Led Zeppelin 2 — https://youtu.be/VuLMZHVKKkY.

The show at TLA will get underway at 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $15.

Kategory5 Band performs several times a year at Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) and packs the house every time with its popular “Rewind to Vinyl” show. When fans take a trip to Kennett Square to hear the band, they also take a trip back in time.

Local favorite Kategory5 Band, which first performed at The Flash in 2014, features Kat Pigliacampi (lead vocals, keyboards), Al Mullins (drums, vocals), Brian Becker (lead guitar, vocals), Chris Lewis (guitar), Kyle Frederick (bass guitar) and John Cassidy (synthesizer).

“We’ve been really busy lately — playing a lot of gigs,” said Pigliacampi, during a phone interview Tuesday from her home in Unionville. “We’ve been playing regularly at Dover Downs Casino. We’ve sold out the Queen three times and we’re booked to play the World Café Live in Philadelphia.

“We play mostly music from the 70s — pop, rock, one-hit wonders, and classic rock. We do songs by Kansas, Boston, Led Zeppelin and Abba. I think we’re the only band around that plays Abba and Led Zep in the same show. People really enjoy being taken back to that era.”

Kategory5 Band is a cover band featuring a diverse group of talented — and veteran – musicians.

“All of us have played music in the area for decades,” said Pigliacampi. “Previously, I had done acoustic shows with both Chris and John. I went to Dickenson High with Andy, our previous guitarist.

“Three of the guys went to high school together at William Penn High. John, Kyle and Al used to be in a band together called 13^th Floor. Our new guitar player is Brian Becker. He’s a really great guitarist. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in music and now works as a guitar teacher.

“We have a big fan base from our solo work. We’re all in our 40s and 50s and wanted to do the music we loved. We took 70s and 80s songs that aren’t necessarily mainstream and brought them back to life. We’re mixing it up. We’re doing some songs by one-hit wonders like Donny Iris and Andrew Gold.

“Our goal is to play a good nostalgic show. But, I absolutely refuse to play a bar show with three sets until late in the night —  playing in places where it our music becomes like background music to people talking or watching games on TV. I prefer to play concerts where people are there and have bought tickets to hear us play.”

Pigliacampi listed some of the bands whose songs Kategory 5 would be playing — a diverse list that includes — in addition to Abba and Led Zeppelin — Heart, Journey, Dave Mason, REO, the Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, America and the Beatles.

“We’re playing classic rock with an edge,” said Pigliacampi. “Our goal is to play a really good mixture of nostalgia. We are all good singers so we have a lot of four-part and five-part harmonies. Al calls it ear candy.

“We’re looking to do specialty shows rather than be a bar band or a tribute band for just one act. We also are working on original material but not for this show. We just recorded our first original single.

“Our goal is to have four original songs done by April. All of us write. One of us will bring in a song to rehearsal and then we all work on adding parts. We have our own recording studio in Newark and that makes it easy to work on new music.

Kategory5 Band’s show on February 27 will start at 8 p.m. with tickets priced at $22. Other shows at the venue this week will be Open Jam with Davey Dickens & The Troubadours (Feb 25), TVC15 – A Tribute to David Bowie (Feb 26), Kelsie Baxter, Old Ezra, Nate Talley and Caitlin Marsilli (Feb 28) and The Black Lillies (March 2).

The Heirs is a five-piece band driven by the brother-sister duo of Brandon Hudson and Savannah Hudson. They just released their debut EP “Ecliptic” on Capitol Records and are now on tour with The Big Pink — a tour that brings them to the area on February  29 for a show at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com).

 “We started the band when we were really young,” said Brandon Hudson, during a recent phone interview from the family’s home in Los Angeles. “And, we began to write music at a really young age.”

Now, the siblings are a ripe old age of 18 for Brandon and 16 for Savannah. They and their family were living in Boca Raton, Florida and then relocated to California because L.A. is one of the hotbeds of the music industry.

“We moved to L.A, as a family three years ago,” said Savannah. “Prior to that, it was back-and-forth from Florida to California. Our dad is in advertising and was beginning to expand to the West Coast. So, with the move, he could expand his business and we could too.”

“We live in the Woodland Hills area now. At first, we moved to Laurel Canyon. That environment inspired our writing a lot. Back then, we were just a duo creating music. Then, we started collaborating with friends and moved forward as a five-piece band.”

The band’s modern sound started with the siblings’ early musical influences such as Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles. The Hudsons got a boost in moving their career forward when they performed on “America’s Got Talent.”

“We live in the Woodland Hills area now,” said Savannah. “At first, we moved to Laurel Canyon. That environment inspired our writing a lot. Back then, we were just a duo creating music. Then, we started collaborating with friends and moved forward as a five-piece band.”

In addition to Brandon Hudson (lead vocals/guitar) and Savannah Hudson (lead vocals), the other members of The Heirs are Alex Flagstad (guitar), Eian McNeely (bass/keys) and Brennan Benko (drums).

“We made it an official thing about one-and-a-half years ago,” said Brandon. “Our goal is creating cool pop music with artistic intention — expanding our minds and listening to all kinds of music.”

Savannah said, “We have tons of songs written. The way we write them depends. Sometimes, I’ll have some lyrics and an idea and he’ll have a melody and sometimes it’s the other way. I feel like we’re the same person. He’s the boy version of me and I’m the girl version of him. Our music can lead to anything.”

Video link for The Heirs — https://youtu.be/mi5VP6RcvTk.

The show on February 29 will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Other shows this week at Johnny Brenda’s are Julia Holter and Circuit des Yeux (Feb 26), Lushlife, Udbhav Gupta, Botany (Feb 27), and Hermitude and Get Up (March 2).

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will host Former Belle, Josh Miller and Abi Reimold on February 25, Street Greek, Anna Spackman and Mr. Smith and the Administration on February 26 and Travel Lanes and Transistor Radio on February 27.

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will present  Dylan Andre, Dylan Anderson and Oscar Mikols on February 26.

Doc Watson’s Public House (150 North Pottstown Pike, Exton, 610-524-2424, docwatsonspublichouse.com) will present The Mystery Guest Band on February 26 and Northern Rednecks on February 27.

Valley Forge Casino (1160 First Avenue, King Of Prussia, 610-354-8118, www.vfcasino.com) will have a show by Gypsy Wisdom on February 27.

Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present Ross Bellenoit and Birdie Busch on February 26, Laura Shay on February 27 and Liz Longley on March 1 and 2.

 The Kimmel Center  (Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org), will present “Metropolis  — Silent Film with Organ” featuring organist Peter Richard Conte on organ  on February 27,  and Jerry Blavat’s “Salute to Street Corner Harmony” on February 28.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com) presents John Caparulo on February 27.

 

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) will have The James Hunter Six and Nat Osborn (Feb 26), Los Lobos (Feb 27), Geoff Tate’s Operation:Mindcrime along with MindMaze (Feb 28), Brian Gore, Lulo Reinhardt, Mike Dawes & Andre Krengel (March 1) and Stanley Jordan and Tim Farrell (March 2).

The Grand Opera House (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577, www.thegrandwilmington.org) will host John Caparulo on February 26 and Warren Haynes and The Ashes & Dust Band on March 1.

Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com) will present Flyermile , Alright Junior, Brackish (Feb 25), Emmy The Great, Little Strike and TJ Smith And The Wild North (Feb 26), Belgrade, WaveRadio (Feb 27), and Radiation City, Deep Sea Diver, Lockets (March 1).

The Trocadero (10^th and Arch streets, Philadelphia, 215-922-6888, www.thetroc.com) will host a concert by Ty Segall & the Muggers and CFM, Axis: Sova) on February 26.

Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com) will host Born Of Osiris, Veil Of Maya, After The Burial, Erra, Bad Omens (Feb 25), BoomBox and Ben Silver (Feb 27),  The Floozies, Russ Liquid, SunSquabi (Feb 28), and David Cook and Tony Lucca (March 2).

Tin Angel (20 South Second Street, Philadelphia, 215-928-0770, http://www.tinangel.com) will have shows featuring Gina Sicillia with Gretchen Schultz on February 26) and Thomas John: A Night With The Dead on February 27.