By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Anna Shoemaker
Anna Shoemaker is an indie pop singer-songwriter from Philadelphia now in the process of moving from New York to Los Angeles.
In October, she returned to her hometown to headline a show at World Café Live as part of her “Go To Heaven Tour.”
Now, Shoemaker is coming back to Philly for a show on December 6 at Brooklyn Bowl (1009 Canal Street, Philadelphia, www.brooklynbowl.com/philadelphia).
There will be differences between the two concerts. In October, she was the headliner and performed with her band. This weekend, she is the opening act, and she is performing solo.
“This tour, I’m playing acoustic – just guitar and singing,” said Shoemaker, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon as she traveled through New Hampshire on her way to a gig in Portland, Maine.
“I’m playing the songs the way I wrote them It’s kind of fun to be able to change it up every night. I have a lot more flexibility.
“It’s been really fun doing solo shows because it allows me to play album tracks that I wouldn’t play with a band.”
Shoemaker’s songs feature infectious pop melodies, interesting production work and honest, heartfelt lyrics. They fit with Shoemaker’s statement — I like making my music sound the way it should make you feel.
After growing up in Wyndmoor, Shoemaker headed west to Boulder, Colorado where she was an English major at the University of Colorado.
Making music was already a part of her life.
“I was always obsessed with listening to music like in the car with my mom,” said Shoemaker. “I was 12 or 13 when I started writing songs.”
Shoemaker first gained notice in 2017 with her SoundCloud mashup, “No Lie, Bitch Don’t Kill My Cocoa Butter Kisses” – an acoustic cover/mashup of “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” by Kendrick Lamar, “Cocoa Butter Kisses” by Chance the Rapper and Drake’s “Girls Love Beyonce.”
She signed with 5Towns Records in 2017 and released her debut EP, “East Side” in September 2018. Her next release was her debut album, “Everything is Fine (I’m Only on Fire) in March 2024.
“There was a long gap between releases because I was writing for the album,” said Shoemaker. “And there was the pandemic.”
Shoemaker will release her sophomore album, “Someone Should Stop Her,” early next year.
“The album release date is February 21, 2025.,” said Shoemaker. “Right now, I’m on tour supporting Joe P. I have a couple singles out. I started last spring.
“The fourth single was ‘Iced Coffee.’ I think putting singles out is a really good thing – especially because my songs are more slow burn.
“I recorded the new album in Nashville. My producer also played drums. The rest of the band I put together in New York.”
This weekend, fans will have the rare opportunity to hear the songs without the band.
“The set list is a mix of stuff – some from the EP, some from the last record but mostly stuff from the new album,” said Shoemaker.
Video link for Anna Shoemaker – https://youtu.be/qYFPsoklmU4.
The show at Brooklyn Bowl with Joe P as the headliner will start at 8 p.m. on December 6.
Tickets are $37.65.
Deni Bonet and Chris Flynn
When Deni Bonet is not globetrotting, she has a favorite spot here in the Philadelphia area – a small, comfortable club in Delaware County.
Bonet has become one of the fan favorites for audiences at Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).
After two scintillating shows in 2023, Bonet is returning to the popular venue in Lansdowne on December 7 for her second show in 2024.
According to Jamey’s website, “Whenever Deni plays our room, the fire department is on high alert as she is incredibly smoking hot on that trademark blue fiddle. A must see!”
At Jamey’s this weekend, Bonet will perform with her musical partner – guitarist Chris Flynn.
When we spoke Wednesday afternoon, Bonet was still trying to get her biological clock in synch with EST (Eastern Standard Time).
“My husband and I just got back last night from holiday in Barcelona (Spain),” said Bonet, during a phone interview Monday from her home in Upper Manhattan.
Bonet, who is a world traveler, spoke about how little English is spoken there – unlike the rest of the European continent.
“Very few Barcelona residents spoke English,” said Bonet. “It’s because of the Catalan influence there.”
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy. The capital and largest city, Barcelona, is the second-most populous municipality in Spain and the fifth-most populous urban area in the European Union.
Now, Bonet is back to life on the road in America with her musical partner Chris Flynn
“Chris and I are now offering Deni Bonet & Chris Flynn as a duo – which is good,” said Bonet.
There is a saying –“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
So, it is with Deni Bonet & Chris Flynn.
As individual artists, they have more than made their mark in music. As a duo, they have created something extra, engaging and extremely entertaining.
Bonet’s voice and violin, and Flynn’s guitar and voice, have echoed through the United Nations and the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Mountain Stage, and have even performed their original music as soloists with several full symphony orchestras.
They have shared stages with REM, Cyndi Lauper, Warren Zevon, Sarah McLachlan, and many others. Their audiences have ranged from festivalgoers to Presidents and the FBI.
For the last five years, they have melded that skill, experience and musicality on stages across Europe and America, from festivals to house concerts, libraries to radio stations.
Their lively and humorous shows are full of self-penned songs and instrumentals, and the warm banter of two people completely at one on the stage. The new album, “Off The Record,” is due out in January 2024.
“I’ve been releasing stuff off the album for the last few months,” said Bonet. “I never released the album because these days it’s all about releasing singles.
“For now, I’m just putting out singles and the album will be released next year. So far, I’ve put out four singles from the album – ‘Why Not You,’ ‘Off the Record,’ ‘Always Come Home’ and ‘I Am In Love,’ which is a Crowded House cover.”
The duo went international earlier this year and is ready for a reprise in 2025.
“We went to Ireland in July — some amazing concerts in Wexford, Donegal, Cork and Northern Ireland.
“We’re going back to Ireland again in 2025. That will be in May. And we’re playing in Montreal in February.”
Bonet takes the violin to places most musicians don’t even dream about – and gladly takes listeners along for the ride.
Bonet will be taking the audience at Jamey’s along for the ride – a thrilling ride that spans musical genres and gets audience members out of their seats.
Bonet can rock a violin like nobody’s business and writes memorable songs that make you want to listen again and again.
For years, Bonet has been honing her craft as a violinist, singer, songwriter and performer. Her style ranges from pop to roots rock to new folk.
On her most recent album release “Bright Shiny Objects,” she delivers ultra-high voltage, genre-defying brilliance, with pure classical training and precision playing.
“Bright Shiny Objects” was recorded in New York City with the cream of New York musicians, including Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel’s drummer of 30 years), Graham Maby (Joe Jackson), Shawn Pelton (SNL, Rod Stewart), Will Lee (Letterman, Mick Jagger), Steve Holley (Paul McCartney), Ben Butler (Chris Botti) and Matt Beck (Matchbox 20).
This was Bonet’s first all-instrumental album, and it showed off her skills as a virtuoso violin player, composer and arranger.
A new album is on the way.
“The full album is available at our live shows,” said Bonet.
“We finished the album last year. I’m really proud of this record. We played with a symphony orchestra – my music.
“And we had many great players – Will Lee, Andy York, Leland Sklar, Shawn Pelton and most of the Spin Doctors. They’re buddies. Everybody helped me out.
“I worked with this guy named James Frazee. We co-produced the album, and it was mixed by James and Chris.
“The first track was started before the pandemic – and then the plague hit. I have a studio and I’ve been recording remote for years.
Music has taken Bonet around the world to much acclaim and yet she still remains very grounded.
“I’ve had a very interesting career,” said Bonet. “I grew up in northern Virginia – Woodbridge – and got a full ride to West Virginia University.
“Right out of school, I got on Mountain Stage. I was part of the original cast. A cool thing – I went back recently as a full guest.”
Bonet first came to widespread attention as a founding member of National Public Radio’s premier music show, Mountain Stage, where she built a following as a member of the broadcast’s house band along with singing and playing in her own right and backing up artists as diverse as the Indigo Girls, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint.
In the 90s, Bonet relocated to London, where she worked with alternative rock legend, Robyn Hitchcock, including a series of concerts as a duo that won praise from USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. She played on Hitchcock’s album “Moss Elixir,” and even appeared in the Jonathan Demme concert film, “Storefront Hitchcock.”
Eventually, Bonet decided it was time to go solo – well, almost solo. For several years, Bonet has been performing as a duo with Chris Flynn.
“I do play with a band occasionally,” said Bonet. “Since the plague hit, I go out mostly with Chris. It’s a duo. He’s not a side guy. We have a chemistry.
“We hooked up a few years back. I was asked to play the New York Irish Rock Review show at City Winery. I was in the house band and Chris was the musical director. The second year I did it, we hung out a little more and I asked him to do a gig with me. From then on, we started to work together. We’ve played Carnegie Hall four times.”
After moving to New York, Bonet released an initial EP (titled, simply, “EP”) and then her full-length debut, “Bigger Is Always Better.”
The disc, which featured guest appearances from Hitchcock and The Soft Boys’ Kimberly Rew (writer of Katrina and the Waves’ classic hit “Walking On Sunshine”), garnered rave reviews.
Bonet has hosted her own cable TV show, “Duets With Deni,” a combination of music and chat featuring a series of all-star guests, which was the subject of a rave Billboard feature. She has performed highly regarded showcases at CMJ and SXSW and took her act on the road with Lilith Fair.
And she’s remained one of the most in-demand session players and sidewomen around, adding her violin to albums by an impressive variety of artists — from the introspective Sarah McLachlan to techno-metal band Gravity Kills — and making TV appearances on The Today Show, SNL and Late Night With Conan O’Brien.
As she established herself as a solo act, Bonet impressed artists like Patti Smith, Lisa Loeb, Gin Blossoms, Cracker, Midnight Oil, The Saw Doctors, Fairport Convention, Marshall Crenshaw and Kansas, all of whom have invited her to open their shows. She spent several years touring the globe as the violinist in Cyndi Lauper’s band.
“I spent a couple years touring with Cyndi and that was a lot of fun,” said Bonet.
Bonet, a true globetrotter, also had a fun time in Zanzibar.
“I went to Africa – to Tanzania – on safari,” said Bonet. “It was on my bucket list. I was in Zanzibar for a week.
“On the next-to-last day, I met some musicians at a traditional dinner. I jammed with these musicians, gave a workshop to teachers, and performed a mini concert.
“They asked me to come back and do a residency. I got a nice size grant and went back to Stone Town for a month. I spent three-and-a-half weeks teaching rock-and-roll, songwriting and violin.”
In January 2020, Bonet returned to Zanzibar to record original music with local Tanzanian band Stone Town Rockerz (https://youtu.be/uiE2lgajo6E).
Bonet plays the violin like no other. Although classically trained, Bonet quit the classical world because she hated having to wear black and sit still.
“I approach it more like a guitar than a violin,” said Bonet.
Bonet is also known for her signature bright blue violin.
“I was originally given the guitar from the company — Barcus-Berry – when I was touring with Cyndi,” said Bonet. “They gave me violins in every color. Blue is the one that sounds the best.”
Bonet’s show at Jamey’s will feature music from her entire catalogue.
“I’m playing quite a few songs from the new album,” said Bonet. “I have a lot of material – quite a few albums – to draw from. I also play a couple covers that are unusual like ‘Frankenstein’ by Edgar Winter.
“Chris and I work so well as a duo. Our purpose as a duo is to make people feel great. I’m fortunate to be able to do it with my best buddy.”
Video link for Deni Bonet & Chris Flynn – https://youtu.be/9lMDk9I560M.
The show at Jamey’s on December 7 will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. The show will also be available on pay-per-view at a cost of $15.
The show at Jamey’s on December 6 will feature Katie Henry.
Henry is one of the bright new prospects in America’s flourishing blues scene — a talented and versatile blues guitar player. Ironically, neither blues nor guitar were her starting points.
“I grew up playing piano,” said Henry, during a phone interview. “I also played clarinet in middle school.”
Henry’s musical journey began when she was six and started taking piano lessons. She quickly became the “house” piano player for all night family singalongs and very soon began crafting her own songs in the back of her school notebooks. Heavily involved in school band, her passion for music continued to grow in college, where she also picked up the guitar.
“I loved being in bands,” said Henry, who grew up and attended high school in Vernon, New Jersey. “I also loved playing for family and other gatherings. It was the best way to bond with other people.
“I went to Manhattan College in the Bronx. I graduated in 2014 with a degree in education. I was a teacher for three years in Riverdale in the Bronx.
“I joined a jazz band in college playing piano and also went to open mics. It was just a way for me to continue playing.
“One night, I was at an open mic at the Bitter End and met Antar. We had similar interests, so we started a blues band. I was playing piano at the time. He put a guitar in my hand, and I stared playing chords. He opened the door, and I stepped through. That was five years ago.
“My first guitar was a Strat and then I got an SG. Now, the Atele Guitar is my favorite.”
Henry’s musical world had expanded.
“When I started playing guitar, I was listening with new ears,” said Henry. “I had listened to the Allman Brothers Band. Now, I was tuning in to Dickie Betts. I like simple melody lines – like the playing of Robbie Robertson. I consider myself a melodic guitarist. Some of my biggest influences have been Freddie King and Susan Tedeschi.”
Video link for Katie Henry — https://youtu.be/Br9hoDnQrjY.
The show at Jamey’s on December 6 will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. The show will also be available on pay-per-view at a cost of $15.
On December 8, Jamey’s is hosting “2024 Benefit for Tom Craig.”
The following was posted on Jamey’s website —
Philadelphia Blues Society member and long-time bluesman Tom Craig desperately needs our help. Tom is a much loved and popular figure along the east coast from Maine to Florida, known for his clear voice, crisp guitar work and everyman appeal.
The whole music community was devastated to learn that Tom was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer that required immediate surgery followed by intensive rehab.
Tom is now recuperating at home with his wife Victoria, facing an uncertain future and mountains of medical debt. His brothers and sisters in music have held fundraisers and launched a GF page (https://gofund.me/7d28070e) to help Tom’s family in their time of dire need.
The Philadelphia Blues Society is pitching in with a fundraising benefit at Jamey’s featuring five great bands including the Girke-Davis Project, the Mikey Junior Band, the Mark Margolies Band, Slim and the Perkolators and the Lonnie Shields Band headlining, a fender guitar auction and 50/50 raffle.
This promises to be another great day of music and love for Tom, and we hope you will join us for brunch, blues and more!
The event will run from noon- 5 p.m. There is a “$10 Cash Only Minimum Donation at the Door.”
Mary Fahl has a very distinctive voice.
If you’ve ever heard her sing, you have her voice etched permanently into your memory bank.
From that point on, if you hear a song by Fahl, you immediately know who is singing.
If you want to hear holiday music with a difference, head to Upper Bucks County this weekend.
When Fahl performs her annual Christmas shows, which she has been doing for more than a decade, those in the audience hear holiday music in a whole new way.
On December 8, Fahl is returning to the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) with “Mary Fahl: Wintersongs.”
“Nothing much has changed in the last year,” said Fahl, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from her home in Upper Bucks County. “There is nothing new coming down the pike.
“There is the Christmas show. It’s a spectacular show.
“It’s my annual holiday show. I do a lot of Christmas shows every year.”
The Christmas show focuses mainly of her holiday album “Winter Songs and Carols,” which was released in 2019.
“The Christmas record – I didn’t want to do it,” said Fahl. “My husband made me do it. Now, it’s become my favorite album.
“I made a Christmas record for people who don’t like Christmas with songs like Joni Mitchell’s ‘Urge for Going’ and a song by Sandy Denny.”
Some of the album’s other songs are ‘In the Bleak Mountains,” “Ave Maria,” “Wexford Carol,” “What Child Is This,” “Walking in the Air” and “Oh Holy Night/Silent Night.”
“On my current tour, the first half is holiday music,” said Fahl. “The second half is mainly songs from ‘Can’t Get It Out of My Head.’ I also do songs from my previous albums, and I still throw in one or two October Project songs.”
Fahl has honored her favorites by making an album of special tunes — a collection of songs that she calls “essential” to her development as an artist.
The album, which is titled, “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” was released on July 22, 2022, on her own label, Rimar Records.
“I made it in Syracuse with my band and my producer Mark Doyle,” said Fahl, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon while returning from a gig in Maine.
“We finished it in early 2022. We mixed and mastered it in March 2022 and then released it in July 2022.”
These are the album’s 10 tracks and the artists who made the original versions — “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head,” ELO; “Ruby Tuesday,” Rolling Stones; “Tuesday Afternoon,” Moody Blues; “River Man,” Nick Drake; “Got A Feeling,” Mamas and Papas; “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” Neil Young; “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd; “Since You’ve Asked,” Judy Collins; “Beware Of Darkness,” George Harrison; and “The Great Valerio,” Richard and Linda Thompson.
“These were such essential songs for me… like old friends… my musical home in many ways,” said Fahl.
“I fell in love with each of them at the quintessential coming-of-age moment when music goes straight into your heart with no filter and these songs became part of my musical DNA… I learned to play guitar with several of them – especially the early Neil Young songs.
“Most of these covers come from the first albums I ever bought using one of those Columbia House ‘get 12 free albums for a $1’ mail order programs. I played these records endlessly… and the lyrics on many of these songs still have a powerful resonance for me.”
Fahl knew exactly where she was going.
“I wanted to make a record that was special to me,” said Fahl. “I wanted to live in a place with all the music I grew up with. I learned guitar with Neil Young albums. I learned songwriting with Richard and Linda Thompson songs. Each song on this record has a very special meaning to me.
“I lost my mother and my older sister in the same year – lost a link to the past. I chose these songs because I still sing them and love them. They are part of my musical family. They got me out of a funk.”
The songs provide a comfort level for Fahl and her fans.
“The best compliment that I’ve been getting is that it brought people a lot of joy,” said Fahl.
“People really like my cover of ‘Tuesday Afternoon.’ That song gets the best audience response of anything I’ve done.
“I still like singing these songs — and the band loves playing them. It’s more rock and roll. It gives the boys in the band an opportunity to rock.”
Fahl’s band features Mark Doyle and his Syracuse musician friends – drummer Josh Dukaney, bassist Edgar Pagan and new keyboardist Andrew Carroll.
In 2011, Fahl recorded her own version of one of rock’s all-time classics — Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Fahl re-interpreted the songs on an album she titled “From the Dark Side of the Moon.
F
ahl, who was a member of the October Project 20 years ago, went solo in 2001. Prior to this year, her recorded output as a solo artist has been slim — “Lenses of Contact” EP in 2001, “The Other Side of Time” album in 2003, “Classics for a New Century” in 2003 and “From the Dark Side of the Moon” in 2011.
Fahl’s solo releases include “Love and Gravity,” “Four Songs,” “Winter Songs and Carols,” and “Mary Fahl: Live from Mauch Chunk Opera House,” which is a project that included a live album, a performance DVD and a PBS special.
Many of Fahl’s fans have been with her ever since her time with October Project which lasted from 1993-1996.
For many artists, the task of re-inventing songs from an album as iconic as “Dark Side of the Moon” could have been too much of a challenge. Not so for Fahl who crafted a disc that honored its roots but established an identity all its own.
“After making the Sony classical album (“Classics for a New Century”), I wanted to do something that was fun,” said Fahl. “An independent filmmaker I knew wanted to use me in a performance piece. I wanted to do something that I didn’t have the ability to write.
“That’s when I decided to do the ‘Dark Side’ recording. It’s like a classical piece of music. I did not intend to make a cover record. It’s my version and it doesn’t sound at all like Pink Floyd’s version. But a lot of die-hard Pink Floyd fans have responded well. They like the album — and my live versions of the songs.”
Fahl has written and performed songs for several major motion pictures, including the lead song (“Going Home”) for the Civil War epic “Gods and Generals.” Her music can also be found on the original soundtrack of the 2003 movie “The Guys.”
Fahl is a singer, a guitarist and a songwriter. More than anything, she is a performer.
“Performing is my primary form of self-expression,” said Fahl. “When I do a show, I want to take you on a complete journey. I want to transform you.
Video link for Mary Fahl – https://youtu.be/8AOaV5Af2ZM?list=OLAK5uy_lhTOW8-IiA3wOw4iwXFbd5OVj46vjfNEw.
The show at the Sellersville Theater on December 8 will start at 8 p.m.
Ticket prices range from $35-$59.50.
The show will also be available via Livestream. Tickets are $15.
Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are Mickey Dolenz on December 6, Doug Church on December 7, Wishbone Ash on December 9, Tab Benoit on December 10 and The Empty Pockets on December 11.
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is presenting John Flynn’s “Annual Holiday Concert to Benefit Camp Dreamcatcher!” on December 6, “A Not So Silent Night” concert event featuring Mama’s Black Sheep and The Christine Havrilla Duo on December 7 and The Legendary Kennett Flash Open Mic Night hosted by Butch Zito on December 8.
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) will present a concert by the Celtic Tenors on December 9.
The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, candlelighttheatredelaware.org) is presenting Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn” now through December 22.
A Connecticut farmhouse is transformed into an inn featuring shows to celebrate each holiday from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. Inspired by the Academy Award winning film of the same name, “Holiday Inn” is a story of romance with a mix of small-town living, bright lights, and the lure of stardom.
This joyous musical features thrilling dance numbers, laugh out loud comedy, and nearly two dozen Irving Berlin classics with a book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge.
Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (8 p.m.), Sunday afternoons (3 p.m.) and Wednesdays (11 a.m.)
Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $70.50 for adults and $35 for children (ages 4-12).
