By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Sons of Cream
This weekend, two musicians will bring their band to the area for a much-anticipated show. The British bassist and drummer are linked permanently by their families’ DNA because their fathers played together in several bands.
Their London-based fathers first played together in Blues Incorporated in 1962. In the early part of the decade, they also were members together in the Johnny Burech Octet in 1963 and the Graham Bond Organisation in 1963. Much later, they were in the short-lived BBM which released its only album in 1994.
The major band which featured bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker – along with guitarist Eric Clapton — was Cream. Often regarded as the first “supergroup,” Cream burst onto the scene in 1966 and produced many classic songs, including “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room.”
The musicians who will be coming to the area to perform on August 23 at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) are bassist Malcolm Bruce, Jack Bruce’s son, and drummer Kofi Baker, Ginger Baker’s son. The name of their band, which also features Baker’s great-nephew Rob Johnson, is Sons of Cream.
“Myself and Kofi got the band together,” said Bruce, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from Asbury Park, New Jersey.
“We work on our own music and do our own thing. This project is just a celebration of our dads’ music.”
The two talented musicians had a similar project a few years ago. In 2018, they toured America with “The Music of Cream: 50th Anniversary World Tour.”
“At the end of last year, we talked about doing it again,” said Bruce. “Sons of Cream did a tour of the U.K. in March.
“Now, we’re touring the states and have five shows left in this run. We’ll have another 25-show tour next spring with some dates on the East Coast and most of the shows in warmer states.”
Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as “Crossroads” and Spoonful,” modern blues such as “Born Under a Bad Sign,” and current material such as “Strange Brew,” “I Feel Free,” “Sunshine of Your Love,” and “White Room.”
There will never be a Cream reunion.
Baker never did and never would get along with his bandmates – especially Bruce — long enough to make it through a tour.
Bruce succumbed to liver cancer disease in 2014, aged 71. Baker passed away in 2019 at the age of 80 from complications of COPD
Clapton has been involved in his own projects for years and Bruce passed away from liver disease in 2014.
Fortunately, the music of Cream lives on through the three original members’ kin.
“Sons of Cream” features master musicians whose lives have been steeped in the Cream spirit and are now celebrating that band’s extraordinary legacy.
Kofi Baker first performed live with his father at age six on the BBC TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the early ’80s, the pair played drum duets throughout Europe, and has since toured with Uli Jon Roth, Vinny Appice, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, and others.
Malcolm Bruce began performing professionally at age 16 and has recorded and performed with his father. He’s also played on recordings by Eric Clapton, Dr. John and Joe Bonamassa, among others.
Johnson is Ginger Baker’s great-nephew.
“Me and Kofi play intense,” said Bruce. “We have a good understanding of each other’s play.”
Bruce, who has Scottish parents, has always lived in England.
“I live in London, but I spend a lot of time in Nashville and California,” said Bruce. “Kofi lives in Indiana and Rob is from Liverpool.
“On this tour, we play two hour-long sets with a 15-minute intermission. We tell little stories and just share the songs – the best-known songs. We also play a couple Blind Faith songs, including ‘Can’t Find My Way Home.’ It’s a nice balanced set.
“We’re talking about making a record. It will be half-and-half – Cream covers and original songs.”
Video link for “Sons of Cream” – https://youtu.be/WAGA63BYgg0.
The show at Sellersville Theater on August 23 will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets start at $35.
Sue Foley
Sue Foley, a Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader based in Austin, Texas, visited the area right around Halloween last year with shows at City Winery and Elkton Music Hall.
On August 22, Foley will perform at The Lounge at World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com)
Foley is making a return visit with some new items on her plate – a new album and a new musical vibe.
She will be bringing her band, The Pistolas and will also perform a solo acoustic set, featuring songs from her latest album, “One Guitar Woman,” which was recently released on Stony Plain Records.
“One Guitar Woman” is a solo acoustic album that is a tribute to female pioneers of guitar. True to the album title, Foley performs all the songs on one guitar — a nylon-string acoustic guitar, a flamenco Blanca made by master luthier Salvadore Castillo, purchased by Sue on a 2022 excursion to Paracho, Mexico.
“The new album is just me honoring my heroes,” said Foley, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from a diner in New Jersey.
“I’ve done a lot of interviews with female artists. It’s really put a lot of wind in my sails.
“This album pays tribute to Memphis Minnie, Lydia Mendoza, Maybelle Carter, Ida Presti, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
“There is a lot of diversity. It crosses cultures. It crosses genres – but everything is blues. The song selection was pretty easy.
“I recorded it last year at a studio just outside Austin – Blue Rock Stdio. It was mastered at Abbey Road Studio in London.”
The album showcases the dexterity of Foley’s acoustic nylon string guitar skills as she expands on her blues playing into other genres like Piedmont fingerpicking, traditional country, flamenco and classical.
According to Foley, “From the time I decided to be a professional guitar player, I’ve always looked for female role models. These are the women who were expressing themselves through the instrument as far back as the 1920’s, at the inception of radio and recorded music. They are the trailblazers and visionaries whose footsteps I walk in.”
In May 2024, Foley was awarded the Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist (Koko Taylor Award) in Memphis – an award she also won consecutively in 2023, 2022 and 2020. She was also recently honored with Guitarist of the Year and Blues Act of the Year at the 2023 Austin Music Awards, and Guitarist of the Year at the 2023 Maple Blues Awards. Her last album, Pinky’s Blues, took home Best Traditional Blues Album at the 2022 Blues Music Awards.
Foley’s other “new” CD, “Live in Austin, Vol. 1,” came out last October on Stony Plain Records.
“I had never done an electric live album before,” said Foley. “I had been getting requests from fans for a long time. Recorded at the Continental Club in Austin, it has a great vibe.
“We knew we had to use the Continental Club. We’re very loyal to Steve (Wertheimer, owner of the Continental Club). “This is ‘Vol. 1,’ There will be a ‘Vol. 2’ with more roots stuff.”
Considering Foley has released 15 albums over the last 30 years, there is no dearth of material from which to choose.
“There is a good selection of songs — a career-spanning selection,” said Foley, who won the Juno Award for her CD, “Love Coming Down,” in 2001. “We go all the way back to ‘Young Girl Blues’ (Foley’s debut album in 1992). There was a lot of music to choose from.
“I’m usually about new songs. I tend to be really current. My most recent albums were ‘Pinky’s Blues’ in 2021 and ‘The Ice Queen’ in 2018.
“In my show now, I’m doing a lot from the new album – almost all of it. Some of the songs sound the way they were recorded over the years, and some have evolved. Also, I’ve aged – but I still have angst.”
Foley’s live shoes are energetic and powerful – just what you need for a live recording.
“We recorded two nights in a row at the Continental — four hours each night,” said Foley. “It’s a 45-minute ‘best of the best.’
“We were trying a lot of stuff. They were slightly different sets. We rehearsed a bunch of stuff. After listening to what was recorded, we picked what sounded best.”
It seems as if Foley were born to be a musician – a travelling musician.
“My family was very musical,” said Foley. “My father was a guitarist, and my brother also played guitar.”
Foley was born in Ottawa, Ontario. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. After high school graduation, she relocated to Vancouver where she formed The Sue Foley Band and toured Canada.
“I started playing live a lot when I was living in Vancouver,” said Foley. “When I was 21, I moved to Austin.”
Foley signed with Antone’s Records in 1992 and recorded her first four albums for the legendary label – “Young Girl Blues,” “Without a Warning,” “Big City Blues” and “Walk in the Sun.”
“Antone’s was a big deal at the time,” said Foley, who has received several nominations at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee. “Even in Canada, we were aware of what was going on in Austin.”
Over the years, Foley has also recorded albums for Shanachie, Ruf, Blind Pig and her current label, Stony Plain (the home of her last three releases.)
“On this tour, I’m basically opening for myself,” said Foley. “I play an acoustic set to open the show. Then, I bring the boys out and it goes balls-to-the-wall.”
Video link for Sue Foley — https://youtu.be/mhu_ePZ1z7k
The show on August 22 at the World Café Live will start at 8:30.
Tickets are $25.
Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com) will present “Steve Shanahan — 100 Years of the Blues” on August 23 and Sean Chambers and Savoy Brown Rhythm Section on August 24.
Tickets are $20 advance/$25 day of show on Friday and $35 advance/$40 day of show on Saturday. Livestream tickets are $15 for each show.
Jamey’s features either “Thursday Jams at Jamey’s” or “Open Mic” on Thursdays featuring the Dave Reiter Trio and occasional guest musicians.
“Jazz at Jamey’s” will be presented every second and fourth Thursday, and “Open Mic” every first, third and fifth Thursday.
Every Sunday, Jamey’s presents “SUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM” featuring the Philly Blues Kings. On the second Sunday of 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.
The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org) started its run of the hit musical “The Fantasticks” on July 13. The show will close on August 24.
“The Fantasticks” is a magical journey, part fairy tale, part fable and entirely enchanting. With book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, it features such memorable songs as “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and has the distinction of being the longest-running musical in the history of theater.
“The Fantasticks” is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play “The Romancers” (“Les Romanesques”) by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud.
The show’s original off-Broadway production ran a total of 42 years (until 2002) and 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical. The musical was produced by Lore Noto. It was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991.
The poetic book and breezy, inventive score, including such memorable songs as “Try to Remember,” helped make the show durable. Many productions followed, as well as television and film versions.
“The Fantasticks” was revived Off-Broadway from 2006-2017. The musical has played in all 50 U.S. states and in at least 67 foreign countries.
The main characters in the Candlelight productions are Shawn Weaver as The Mute, Isabell Hartzell as Luisa, Nigel Grant as Matt and James Ofalt as El Gallo.
Weaver, an Upper Darby High alumnus, spent his college years in Chester County and graduated from Lincoln University in 2020 as a vocal performance major. He is an active actor, voice coach and director.
“The Fantasticks” is running now through August 24 at the Candlelight Theatre with shows on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.
Tickets, which include a buffet meal, beverages, dessert, and free parking, are $70.50 for adults and $35 for children.
It’s tribute band time again at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org).
The venue will present “Sail On – The Beach Boys Tribute” on August 22, The Gambler Returns — The Ultimate Kenny Rogers Tribute Show” on August 23 and “Tell Me Lies — The Fleetwood Mac Experience” on August 24.
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, http://www.kennettflash.org) is hosting another tribute band “Rust: Neil Young Tribute” on August 24 as part of its Rooftop Series.
