{"id":20845,"date":"2016-08-18T09:05:04","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T13:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=20845"},"modified":"2016-08-18T09:05:17","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T13:05:17","slug":"on-stage-55th-annual-philly-folk-festival-on-tap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=20845","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: 55th annual Philly Folk Festival on tap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Folk stars shine at Delaware Valley institution<\/em><\/h2>\n

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The

The Hello Strangers<\/p><\/div>\n

Thankfully, the oppressive heat wave that has blanketed the area lately seems to have reached its final stages. That\u2019s good news for everyone — especially for the thousands of music fans who will be attending this weekend\u2019s Philadelphia Folk Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Folk Festival will be held from August 19-21 at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township. For a complete list of acts, venues and starting times, visit the festival\u2019s website at http:\/\/pfs.org\/folk-festival<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the featured attractions at this year\u2019s 55th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival will be a performance by The Hello Strangers. The band is currently winding down its live schedule prior to taking a maternity break<\/span><\/p>\n

The band\u2019s name may be The Hello Strangers but the two principal members are anything but strangers \u2013 they are sisters. Brechyn Chace and her sister Larissa Chace Smith decided to pool their musical talents and have spent the last decade recording, performing live and treating audiences to tasty tunes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking \u2018Maternity Leave\u2019 this fall for the birth of Larissa\u2019s second child — a girl — in October,\u201d said Smith, during a phone interview last week. \u201cBut we still have some fantastic shows to finish out the summer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hello Strangers just released their first full-length, self-titled album via IMI Records in Nashville, Tennessee. The album features 11 originals and two covers, including \u201cWhat You Don\u2019t Know,\u2019 written by, and featuring on vocals, Jim Lauderdale; and \u201cQue Sera, Sera, an homage to their grandfather, Ronald Chace, who sang with Doris Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made some big strides in the last couple years,\u201d said Smith, who lives in south central Pennsylvania. \u201cWe won a contest and got to make an album with a producer in Nashville.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, Larissa and Brechyn won AirPlay Direct\u2019s \u201cWin An Americana Record Deal\u201d contest, giving them the opportunity to work with Steve Ivey of IMI, and a host of other talented industry professionals, on their 2014 album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow, we were on AirPlay Direct\u2019s list and we kept getting their e-mails,\u201d said Smith. \u201cOne of the e-mails invited musicians to submit to the \u2018Win An Americana Record Deal\u2019 contest. We applied and then forgot all about it. A while later, we were notified that we were finalists and, by the end of the week, they told us that we had won.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEver since that happened, our level of exposure has gone way up. We\u2019ve reached a new level of playing and touring — and of overall exposure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The sisters are supported by a dynamic and talented trio — Spencer Pheil on lead guitar, Trent Renshaw on drums, and Tom Hoy on bass.<\/span><\/p>\n

The talented musicians have shared the stage with Jim Lauderdale and Robert Earl Keen. They have performed at Music City Roots, The Bluebird Cafe, Philadelphia Folk Fest,\u00a0and The Birchmere. Their music spent eight weeks on the Americana Music Chart and can now be heard on Sirius XM Outlaw Country & The Village as well as radio stations worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI was down in Austin studying ethnomusicology\/reggae at U.T. (University of Texas),\u201d said Smith. \u201cWe started writing because we were inspired by the music scene there in Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the name down there but only played one house party when we were still in Texas. We were getting homesick so we moved back north \u2013 to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercersburg is where the sisters spent the childhood while their father taught at Mercersburg Academy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Austin, it was easier for us as a duo,\u201d said Smith. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to remain a duo. I did solo work when I was a student at Berklee (Boston\u2019s Berklee College of Music) and I didn\u2019t want to go back to solo or duo. Once we moved back and got settled in Pennsylvania, we decided to put a band together. We released our first EP in spring of 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe songwriting is about 50-50. We both take pretty different approaches to songwriting I write on guitar. Brechyn will create melodies and bring them to me. Then, we do all the harmonies before we take it to the band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe our music. We won the Americana music contest. So, we\u2019re considered Americana but you could say alt-country. I think we\u2019re actually a roots-rock band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for The Hello Strangers — https:\/\/youtu.be\/lai6StvICUM<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vishten\"

Vishten<\/p><\/div>\n

Another act performing at this weekend\u2019s Philadelphia Folk Festival that features sisters is Visht\u00e8n, a trio of musicians from the Francophone communities of Maritime Canada — Pascal Miousse and twin sisters Emmanuelle and Pastelle LeBlanc.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the North Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence off Canada\u2019s east coast, sits tiny Prince Edward Island and nearby, the even smaller archipelago known as the Magdalen Islands (\u00celes-de-la-Madeleine).<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to being connected today by a ferryboat, both islands have a shared history and cultural ties that date back several centuries — the tale of early French Acadian settlers seeking a better life in the new world. In their quest to survive, many of these settlers eventually became fishermen and carried with them their musical traditions as a means of celebrating their survival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, there is but a small enclave on Prince Edward Island where the French culture is predominant, while the Magdalen Islands still remains primarily French. The LeBlanc sisters were raised on Prince Edward Island and grew up in a household where fiddle music and percussive dancing was a common part of everyday life. Similarly, Magdalen Islander Miousse\u2019s home was a frequent meeting place for traveling fiddlers and music sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister and I grew up on the west side of Prince Edward Island in an Acadian area known as Evangeline,\u201d said Pastelle LeBlanc, during a phone interview from her home in Evangeline. \u201cWe spoke French when we were growing up. That was the language used in school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis area has a lot of step dancers and musicians. My parents were musicians and they hosted a lot of house parties. Music was just around us all the time. We started step dancing lessons when we were five and later started learning how to play instruments. Emmanuelle plays whistles, piano, bodhr\u00e1n and mandolin and I play accordion and piano. Pascal plays fiddle and guitar and we all sing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first formation of the band, we had another fiddle player but he decided to go back to school. We met Pascal at a festival. About a year later, we asked him to be in the band. That was 12 years and ice albums ago. Three weeks after he joined the band, we recorded our first album. We had a lot of material built up. Pascal also had a big pool of tunes from the Magdalen Islands.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are differences in the music styles in Evangeline and Magdalen — and there are similarities. For example, the shuffle on fiddle is present in both communities. Both styles are also influenced a lot by Cape Breton music. You can hear that in the rhythm. A lot of people say we sound Celtic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last summer, Visht\u00e8n released album Terre Rouge featuring unique music fed by French, Micmac, and Celtic roots. The trio merged footwork and mouth music, \u201ccrooked\u201d fiddle tunes and touching French ballads into dynamic, contemporary pieces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Working with visionary Montreal producer \u00c9loi Painchaud to craft and record the new material, they deconstructed the island\u2019s intriguing sonic elements and then reassembled them with a keen sense of rhythm, texture, and drive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album here on the island,\u201d said LeBlanc. \u201cThe producer \u00c9loi Painchaud came here to make it with us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPainchaud took us out of the comfort zone, pushed us even further into the rhythmic stuff. The album heads into new territory that\u2019s interesting rhythmically. We\u2019re playing quite a few of the new songs in our live shows and mixing them in with older songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Visht\u00e8n — https:\/\/youtu.be\/KO1ZI14G-qk?list=PLF84v7JLhZGmsYCbtTZAbqUJsrKeE5JYO<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tallIf you head south from the Maritime Provinces and into New England, you\u2019ll find Beverly, Massachusetts. Beverly is the home town of another band playing this year\u2019s PFF — Tall Heights.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Boston progressive folk duo — Paul Wright on cello and vocals and Tim Harrington on acoustic guitar and vocals — is releasing its debut major label album \u201cNeptune\u201d on August 19 on Sony Music Masterworks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up together,\u201d said Wright, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Beverly. \u201cTim is two years younger so we had a one-year overlap in high school. We started making music together after college. I went to Dartmouth and Tim went to Holy Cross.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years after he graduated, Wright shifted from heavy metal to folk — sort of.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got my degree in ecology and environmental research,\u201d said Wright. \u201cI was doing research on heavy metal bioaccumulation in plankton — heavy metals like cadmium. I spent time in Costa Rica and Jamaica.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTim and I ended up back in Boston in 2010. We decided to do street performing at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. It was an awesome gig for 75-80 days that first summer. We\u2019ve gone back there for a couple more summers since then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tall Heights has released recorded product every year since its inception — \u201cRafters\u201d EP in 2011, \u201cThe Running of the Bulls\u201d EP in 2012, \u201cMan of Stone\u201d in 2013, \u201cAll or Nothing \/ Fast Car\u201d in 2014, \u201cHolding On, Holding Out\u201d EP in 2015 and \u201cNeptune\u201d in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur first full-length was \u2018Man of Stone\u2019 in 2013,\u201d said Wright. \u201cWe did it on our own. We got nice microphones and recorded out of our apartment –just the two of us tracking. \u2018Neptune\u2019 we recorded over the course of nine months — three one-week stints in the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy the third session, we were moving quickly — and experimenting.\u00a0 Our core of vocal harmony and songwriting approach stayed the same but we were looking to create a fuller, lusher sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got rally interested in percussion do we did a lot of experimenting before we made the \u2018Holding On, Holding Out\u2019 EP. We bought our own electric drum pad and augmented with a variety of cello and guitar tones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This weekend will mark a return visit to the festival by Tall Heights.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe played the Philadelphia Folk Festival for the first time last year,\u201d said Wright. \u201cWe played the Thursday night emerging artists show and it was great. It was an awesome crowd. This year, we\u2019re playing on Saturday afternoon and we\u2019re really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Tall Heights — https:\/\/youtu.be\/yOf7LTGN6AY<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two interesting acts will be visiting Philly for shows on August 18. One of the bands might cause confusion for people who look at the group\u2019s name when it\u2019s up on venue marquees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"No

No Small Children<\/p><\/div>\n

When they see \u201cNo Small Children,\u201d they might think it\u2019s a Donald Trump rally. In reality, it\u2019s just the name of a band from Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Small Children is not your average rock band. The three members — Nicola Berlinsky, Joanie Pimentel and Lisa Pimentel — are all teachers at Oakwood Elementary in North Hollywood.<\/span><\/p>\n

On August 18, No Small Children will make its Philadelphia debut with a show at Franky Bradley\u2019s (1320 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, 215-735-0735, frankybradleys.com<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbout four years ago, Lisa and I were on recess duty at school and were chatting,\u201d said Berlinsky, during a phone interview last week. \u201cWe were solo musicians and were supporting each other\u2019s music. So, we decided to form a band.\u00a0 Then, we worked on convincing Lisa\u2019s sister Joanie to move from Massachusetts to California\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lisa Pimentel said, \u201cI was teaching school in Boston. Lisa and I grew up there — in the South Shore area. Then, she moved to L.A. and I stayed in Boston. When she asked me to come out, I decided it was something I should do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNicola and I don\u2019t have children and we were feeling kind of sad about it,\u201d said Lisa Pimentel. \u201cSo, we came up with the name No Small Children.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It took less than six months for the band to put out its first EP. The trio\u2019s third studio album, \u201cHold Tight, I\u2019m Flying\u201d came out a few months ago. Produced by band member Lisa Pimentel and mixed by Bob Marlette (Rob Zombie, Black Sabbath, Filter, etc.), the new album is heavier and more complex, but just as bold and unapologetic as their first two — \u201cTrophy Wife\u201d and \u201cDear Youth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe go out on tour whenever there is a school vacation,\u201d said Joanie Pimentel. \u201cWe also do short, close-to-home tours on long weekends.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Small Children\u2019s cover of the original \u201cGhostbusters\u201d theme song can be heard in the closing credits and outtake reel in the new movie, which stars a female-dominated cast.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re looking for elementary school teachers who know how to rock hard and rock heavy, who you gonna call?<\/i> — No Small Children, that\u2019s who.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for No Small Children — https:\/\/youtu.be\/g1XQEKmLsPg<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Franky Bradley\u2019s will start at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gringo

Gringo Star<\/p><\/div>\n

Gringo Star, which will be playing on August 18 at Johnny Brenda\u2019s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684,<\/span><\/p>\n

www.johnnybrendas.com<\/a><\/span>), is a rock band from Atlanta that has been around for almost a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band has had several line-up changes over the years but has always revolved around brothers Nick and Peter Furgiueles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been us,\u201d said Nick Furgiueles, during a phone interview Tuesday from a tour stop in Durham, North Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing with the same drummer — JB. — for the last couple years and Josh has done guitar, bass and vocals for awhile. This feels like the best incarnation yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The current line-up is Nicholas Furgiuele on guitars and vocals, Peter Furgiuele on guitars and vocals, Jonathan Bragg (\u201cJB\u201d) on drums and Josh Longino on bass.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeter, who is four-and-a-half years younger than me, and I have been doing this ever since we were pre-teens,\u201d said Furgiuele. \u201cWe were making songs on a two-track tape recorder. We love making music — making records and playing shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he got out of high, we started full-on with the band. I was born in downtown Atlanta and then went to high school in Bloom, North Carolina. Then, I went to Georgia Tech.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeter and I have both been living in Atlanta for awhile and we started Gringo Star in 2007. We had a band before that but with a different name. We actually did a lot of touring with that band. After that band, we were recording songs before we even became Gringo Star.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Furgiuele explained the source of the band\u2019s influences, \u201cOur granddad started out in radio in the 1940s and 1950s in Columbus, Georgia. He was a huge promoter of R&B back when it was still super segregated, and he was playing black music and putting on shows with Little Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers, – and a lot of Gospel shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we grew up hearing all these stories — listening to all this music. Our grandfather was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame posthumously. And my grandma — all her photo albums are like Jackie Wilson shirtless backstage, hanging out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The brothers also were influenced by what they heard in their parents\u2019 record collections — Buddy Holly, The Animals and The Kinks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gringo Star\u2019s discography includes \u201cGringo Star\u201dEP (2007); \u201cAll Y\u2019all\u201d (2008); \u201cCount Yer Lucky Stars\u201d (2011), \u201cGoing Way Out\/Taller\u201d 7-inch (2012), \u201cFloating Out to See\u201d (2013), \u201cLong Time Gone\/World of Spin\u201d 7-inch (2014), and \u201cThe Sides and In Between\u201d (2016).<\/span><\/p>\n

During its annual pilgrimage to SXSW in 2016, Gringo Star signed with Nevado Music.\u00a0 The band\u2019s new album \u201cThe Sides and In Between\u201d is scheduled for release on August 26, 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe new album is our first for Nevado,\u201d said Furgiuele. \u201cWe started recording this album last year and finished it in March. We had a 14-song thing that we sent around to record companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen, when we got off tour, we recorded another few songs. We finally cut it down to 10 tracks when it was time to finish the album. We recorded it in my brother Pete\u2019s studio. He also is the producer of the album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten a little more creative on the new album. We write on our own and then finish the songs together. Sometimes, we actually write together. We spent more time making this album than we did on our previous records. I particularly like a lot of the new songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Gringo Star — https:\/\/youtu.be\/pA4Kzm1vEus<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s, which has Louie Louie, and Faberg\u00e9g\u00e9 as the openers, will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at Johnny Brenda\u2019s are Hoops and Shelf Life on August 19;\u00a0 Northern Arms, Tatters & Rags and My Son Bison on August 20; and Frank LoCrasto and Get Up With It on August 24.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seattle is one of those American cities that continues to produce top-flight bands on a regular basis. A good example is Beat Connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beat

Beat Connection<\/p><\/div>\n

Beat Connection — Reed Juenger, Jarred Katz, Tom Eddy, and Mark Hunter — released its latest album \u201cProduct 3\u201d on Anti- Records a few months ago and has been touring in support of the disc. The group\u2019s \u201cFor the Record Summer Tour\u201d touches down in Philadelphia on August 18 for a show at Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some shows in Seattle this weekend and then we\u2019re on the road again,\u201d said Juenger, during a phone interview last week from his home in Seattle. \u201cWe have four dates in the Midwest and four dates on the East Coast with some time off in New York.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest incarnation of Beat Connection has evolved from its origin as a duo to the current and complete status as quartet.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as its compositional evolution has emerged, so too has the group\u2019s mentality — relying on a laser focus and sharp eye for detail to help shape its big-picture worldview. The band\u2019s music exists at the convergence of disparate sonic avenues and forward-thinking ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

The name of the current tour is taken from the quartet\u2019s recently-released single \u201cFor the Record.\u201d The song is a heady blend of sensuous hooks and inventive instrumentation by the band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely playing a lot of songs from \u2018Product 3\u2019 and the new song is a continuation,\u201d said Juenger. \u201cThis is Round Two of the \u2018Product 3\u2019 tour. We did more than 40 dates when it came out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a big headlining tour in2013. We started working on \u2018Product 3\u2019 in 2013 and worked on it from mid-2013 to mid-2015. It came out in October. It was a long writing process. We definitely tried to go out of our way to find new recording techniques and work with a full band. This is our first album with a full band involved in the writing. This time, we stretched out and got everybody involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The band traces its history back to when its members were college students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all going to college at the University of Washington,\u201d said Juenger. \u201cWe got together at house parties in college.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201dThere was Tom, who was the vocalist, and me. Jared came in on drums and Mark on bass. We\u2019re all from different places around the state of Washington. We became good friends in college and all lived together in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJared and Mark were in the music program at school. We all take a lot of inspiration from non-musical art forms. I did a lot of audio-visual art. My thesis was a three-channel video, four-channel sound installation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, it all led to \u201cProduct 3.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Juenger, \u201cThe name \u201cProduct 3\u201d started as a joke. This band is our business. The products are ourselves and our songs, the art, unifying all those and also being accepting of the idea of presenting it to the audience. It\u2019s a little tongue-in-cheek but it is serious at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything that is super important to you, like this band is to all of us, can come fully out of satire. We’re all into pop music, and I\u2019m incredibly proud of these songs. But, sometimes when we\u2019re writing, it\u2019s like — \u2018Where\u2019s the line? How do you make pop music that\u2019s not just Top-40-radio pop music? So that was the exploration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The exploration led to diverse recording techniques.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried different ways of using microphones,\u201d said Juenger. \u201cWe were doing things to degrade the sound quality — doing things different non-traditional ways. We used sound processes that brought different quality to the vocals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Beat Connection — https:\/\/youtu.be\/XGaUmZX_srk<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Boot & Saddle, which features Kodak To Graph and Moon Bounce as the opening acts, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at boot & Saddle are SUMAC, Jaye Jayle and Nordra on August 19; \u00a0Venice Sunlight (Record Release Show), The New Connection and The Way Home on August 20; Dreamswell, A Film in Color, Grim Sleepers and Bad Mood Randall on August 21; Mile marker, Yankee Bluff and Callowhill on August 22;\u00a0 and Chain Of Flowers, Remote Control and The Guests on August 23.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tribe

Tribe Society<\/p><\/div>\n

On August 19, Tribe Society will be sharing the bill with Goo Goo Dolls & Collective Soul at Festival Pier at Penn\u2019s Landing (601 North Columbus Boulevard at Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215- 629-3200, www.festivalpierphilly.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Tribe Society — Seth Hachen, Gavin Merlot, Brad Alderman, Rory Given, Phil Boucher \u00a0— hails from the uptown neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City where the band creates its distinct style of music in its own home studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band signed with indie label Lokal Legend in 2015, released its debut mixtape \u201cDelirium Sonata\u201d and followed the release of the EP \u201cLucid Dreams.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe moved from Boston to New York a few years ago,\u201d said Merlot, during a phone interview Wednesday while the band rode a boat across Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with a producer from Portugal — Thiago Carvalho. He loved our idea of mixing band sound with production — taking hip hop and electronic music and merging them with live instruments. Thiago was friends with Lokal Legend owner Rami Afuni. We got hooked up with Rami through a songwriter friend of ours. Rami heard a cover we did with our previous band Gentleman Hall. It was a cover of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u2018Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe\u2019 that had trip, hip hop and rock elements. Thiago had worked with Rihanna and acts like that but he wanted to work with a rock band. We started working with Rami and Thiago, made the EP and Lokal Legend put it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tribe Society just released a brand new mixtape \u201cWe Sell Drugs\u201d\u00a0featuring nine songs including\u00a0\u201cSmoke Out The Window\u201d and \u201cProblems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just made that mixtape,\u201d said Merlot. \u201cIt features a lot of original material. It\u2019s not really an album — just us exploring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur last band Gentleman Hall was a synth-pop band. We got to a point where we weren\u2019t inspired by synth-pop anymore. We wanted to completely change. We grew up listening to 90s music. I was listening to bands like Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins while Brad was listening to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re operating now merging rock and hip hop. We made \u2018Lucid Dreams\u2019 a year-and-a-half ago. We\u2019ve also done several covers, a 30-minute mixtape and a Major Lazer re-mix. We\u2019re just trying to stay creative.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Tribe Society — https:\/\/youtu.be\/zU7co2-yn_Q<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Festival Pier on August 19 will get underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are $49.50.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/span><\/a>) \u00a0will host \u201cVictory Brewing Night – A Benefit For The Kennett Flash\u201d with The GTVs, and DJ Shadylady on August 19, \u201cSongwriters in the Round\u201d with Billy Penn Burger, Rob Dickenson, Cliff Hillis and Lizanne Knott on August 20, and \u201cOpen Mic\u201d with guest host William Rose on August 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chaplin\u2019s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110,\u00a0http:\/\/chaplinslive.com<\/span><\/a>) will present \u201cThe GoAround CD Release Show\u201d on August 20 and \u201cOpen Mic Night\u201d on August 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>) will have Splintered Sunlight and Waiting on Mongo on August 18, John Eddie, Smash Palace, and Adam Wilson on August 19, HMFO along with Brothers and Sisters on August 20, and Dick Dale and Billy Walton Band on August 22.<\/span><\/p>\n

Valley Forge Casino (1160 First Avenue, King Of Prussia, 610-354-8118, www.vfcasino.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>) will present Sensational Soul Crusiers on August 19.<\/span><\/p>\n

World Caf\u00e9 Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400,\u00a0www.queen.worldcafelive.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>) will present The Wailers and Universal Funk Order on August 18, \u201cAn’Letreece: I Will Always Love You – A Whitney Houston Tribute\u201d on August 19, Van Halen Nation and Kick it Out on August 20, Blackmore’s Night and Wizard’s Consort on August 21, Johnny Winter All Star Band and Barrelhouse Blues Band on August 21, and Yarn and Apache Trails on August 24.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313,\u00a0www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/span><\/a>) is presenting the classic musical \u201cMusic Man\u201d now through August 27.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.). Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $59 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Folk stars shine at Delaware Valley institution By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times Thankfully, the oppressive heat wave that has blanketed the area lately seems to have reached its final stages. That\u2019s good news for everyone — especially for the thousands of music fans who will be attending this weekend\u2019s Philadelphia Folk Festival. The Philadelphia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,7819,7821,7822,7818,7820,7823],"class_list":["post-20845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-gringo-star","tag-no-small-children","tag-tall-heights","tag-the-hello-strangers","tag-tribe-society","tag-vishten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20846,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20845\/revisions\/20846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}