{"id":43280,"date":"2024-08-22T15:12:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T19:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=43280"},"modified":"2024-08-22T15:12:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T19:12:07","slug":"on-stage-sons-of-cream-keep-the-music-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=43280","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Sons of Cream keep the music alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Sons of Cream<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2019 DNA because their fathers played together in several bands.<\/p><\/div>\n

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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.<\/div>\n
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The major band which featured bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker \u2013 along with guitarist Eric Clapton — was Cream. Often regarded as the first \u201csupergroup,\u201d Cream burst onto the scene in 1966 and produced many classic songs, including \u201cSunshine of Your Love\u201d and \u201cWhite Room.\u201d<\/div>\n

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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<\/a>) are bassist Malcolm Bruce, Jack Bruce\u2019s son, and drummer Kofi Baker, Ginger Baker\u2019s son. The name of their band, which also features Baker\u2019s great-nephew Rob Johnson, is Sons of Cream.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMyself and Kofi got the band together,\u201d said Bruce, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from Asbury Park, New Jersey.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe work on our own music and do our own thing. This project is just a celebration of our dads\u2019 music.\u201d<\/div>\n
The two talented musicians had a similar project a few years ago. In 2018, they toured America with \u201cThe Music of Cream: 50th Anniversary World Tour.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cAt the end of last year, we talked about doing it again,\u201d said Bruce. \u201cSons of Cream did a tour of the U.K. in March.<\/div>\n
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\u201cNow, we\u2019re touring the states and have five shows left in this run. We\u2019ll have another 25-show tour next spring with some dates on the East Coast and most of the shows in warmer states.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as \u201cCrossroads\u201d and\u00a0Spoonful,\u201d modern blues such as \u201cBorn Under a Bad Sign,\u201d and current material such as \u201cStrange Brew,\u201d \u201cI Feel Free,\u201d \u201cSunshine of Your Love,\u201d and \u201cWhite Room.\u201d<\/div>\n
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There will never be a Cream reunion.<\/div>\n
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Baker never did and never would get along with his bandmates \u2013 especially Bruce — long enough to make it through a tour.<\/div>\n
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Bruce succumbed to liver cancer disease in 2014, aged 71. Baker passed away in 2019 at the age of 80\u00a0from complications of\u00a0COPD<\/div>\n
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Clapton has been involved in his own projects for years and Bruce passed away from liver disease in 2014.<\/div>\n
Fortunately, the music of Cream lives on through the three original members\u2019 kin.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSons of Cream\u201d features master musicians whose lives have been steeped in the Cream spirit and are now celebrating that band\u2019s extraordinary legacy.<\/div>\n
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Kofi\u00a0Baker\u00a0first performed live with his father at age six on the BBC TV show,\u00a0The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the early \u201980s, the pair played drum duets throughout Europe, and has since toured with Uli Jon Roth, Vinny Appice, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, and others.<\/div>\n
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Malcolm Bruce\u00a0began performing professionally at age 16 and has recorded and performed with his father. He\u2019s also played on recordings by Eric Clapton, Dr. John and Joe Bonamassa, among others.<\/div>\n
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Johnson is Ginger Baker\u2019s great-nephew.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMe and Kofi play intense,\u201d said Bruce. \u201cWe have a good understanding of each other\u2019s play.\u201d<\/div>\n
Bruce, who has Scottish parents, has always lived in England.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI live in London, but I spend a lot of time in Nashville and California,\u201d said Bruce. \u201cKofi lives in Indiana and Rob is from Liverpool.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOn this tour, we play two hour-long sets with a 15-minute intermission. We tell little stories and just share the songs \u2013 the best-known songs. We also play a couple Blind Faith songs, including \u2018Can\u2019t Find My Way Home.\u2019 It\u2019s a nice balanced set.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re talking about making a record. It will be half-and-half \u2013 Cream covers and original songs.\u201d<\/div>\n
Video link for \u201cSons of Cream\u201d \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/WAGA63BYgg0<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Sellersville Theater on August 23 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets start at $35.<\/div>\n
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Sue Foley<\/p><\/div>\n

Sue\u00a0Foley, 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.<\/p><\/div>\n

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On August 22, Foley will perform at The Lounge at World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>)<\/div>\n
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Foley is making a return visit with some new items on her plate \u2013 a new album and a new musical vibe.<\/div>\n
She will be bringing her band, The Pistolas and will also perform a solo acoustic set, featuring songs from her latest album,\u00a0\u201cOne Guitar Woman,\u201d which was recently released on Stony Plain Records.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne Guitar Woman\u201d\u00a0is 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe new album is just me honoring my heroes,\u201d said Foley, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from a diner in New Jersey.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of interviews with female artists. It\u2019s really put a lot of wind in my sails.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis album pays tribute to Memphis Minnie, Lydia Mendoza, Maybelle Carter, Ida Presti, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThere is a lot of diversity. It crosses cultures. It crosses genres \u2013 but everything is blues. The song selection was pretty easy.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI recorded it last year at a studio just outside Austin \u2013 Blue Rock Stdio. It was mastered at Abbey Road Studio in London.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The album showcases the dexterity of Foley\u2019s acoustic nylon string guitar skills as she expands on her blues playing into other genres like Piedmont fingerpicking, traditional country, flamenco and classical.<\/div>\n
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According to Foley, \u201cFrom the time I decided to be a professional guitar player, I\u2019ve always looked for female role models. These are the women who were expressing themselves through the instrument as far back as the 1920\u2019s, at the inception of radio and recorded music. They are the trailblazers and visionaries whose footsteps I walk in.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In May 2024,\u00a0Foley\u00a0was 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\u2019s Blues, took home Best Traditional Blues Album at the 2022 Blues Music Awards.<\/div>\n
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Foley\u2019s other \u201cnew\u201d CD, \u201cLive in Austin, Vol. 1,\u201d came out last October on Stony Plain Records.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI had never done an electric live album before,\u201d said\u00a0Foley. \u201cI had been getting requests from fans for a long time. Recorded at the Continental Club in Austin, it has a great vibe.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe knew we had to use the Continental Club. We\u2019re very loyal to Steve (Wertheimer, owner of the Continental Club). \u201cThis is \u2018Vol. 1,\u2019 There will be a \u2018Vol. 2\u2019 with more roots stuff.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Considering\u00a0Foley\u00a0has released 15 albums over the last 30 years, there is no dearth of material from which to choose.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThere is a good selection of songs — a career-spanning selection,\u201d said\u00a0Foley, who won the\u00a0Juno Award\u00a0for her CD, \u201cLove Coming Down,\u201d in 2001. \u201cWe go all the way back to \u2018Young Girl Blues\u2019 (Foley\u2019s debut album in 1992). There was a lot of music to choose from.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m usually about new songs. I tend to be really current. My most recent albums were \u2018Pinky\u2019s Blues\u2019 in 2021 and \u2018The Ice Queen\u2019 in 2018.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn my show now, I\u2019m doing a lot from the new album \u2013 almost all of it. Some of the songs sound the way they were recorded over the years, and some have evolved. Also, I\u2019ve aged \u2013 but I still have angst.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Foley\u2019s live shoes are energetic and powerful \u2013 just what you need for a live recording.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe recorded two nights in a row at the Continental — four hours each night,\u201d said\u00a0Foley. \u201cIt\u2019s a 45-minute \u2018best of the best.\u2019<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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It seems as if\u00a0Foley\u00a0were born to be a musician \u2013 a travelling musician.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy family was very musical,\u201d said\u00a0Foley. \u201cMy father was a guitarist, and my brother also played guitar.\u201d<\/div>\n
Foley\u00a0was born in\u00a0Ottawa,\u00a0Ontario. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to\u00a0the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. After high school graduation, she relocated to\u00a0Vancouver\u00a0where she formed The Sue\u00a0Foley\u00a0Band and toured Canada.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started playing live a lot when I was living in Vancouver,\u201d said\u00a0Foley. \u201cWhen I was 21, I moved to Austin.\u201d<\/div>\n
Foley\u00a0signed with Antone’s Records in 1992 and recorded her first four albums for the legendary label \u2013 \u201cYoung Girl Blues,\u201d \u201cWithout a Warning,\u201d \u201cBig City Blues\u201d and \u201cWalk in the Sun.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cAntone\u2019s was a big deal at the time,\u201d said\u00a0Foley, who has received several nominations at the\u00a0Blues Music Awards\u00a0in Memphis, Tennessee. \u201cEven in Canada, we were aware of what was going on in Austin.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Over the years,\u00a0Foley\u00a0has also recorded albums for Shanachie, Ruf, Blind Pig and her current label, Stony Plain (the home of her last three releases.)<\/div>\n
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\u201cOn this tour, I\u2019m basically opening for myself,\u201d said Foley. \u201cI play an acoustic set to open the show. Then, I bring the boys out and it goes balls-to-the-wall.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Sue\u00a0Foley\u00a0— https:\/\/youtu.be\/mhu_ePZ1z7k<\/a><\/div>\n
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The show on August 22 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live will start at 8:30.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will present \u201cSteve Shanahan \u00a0— 100 Years of the Blues\u201d on August 23 and Sean Chambers and Savoy Brown Rhythm Section on August 24.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s features either \u201cThursday Jams at Jamey\u2019s\u201d or \u201cOpen Mic\u201d on Thursdays featuring the Dave Reiter Trio and occasional guest musicians.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d will be presented every second and fourth Thursday, and \u201cOpen Mic\u201d every first, third and fifth Thursday.<\/div>\n
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Every Sunday, Jamey\u2019s presents \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM\u201d featuring the Philly Blues Kings. On the second Sunday 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.<\/div>\n
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The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) started its run of the hit musical \u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d on July 13. The show will close on August 24.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d 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 \u201cTry to Remember\u201d and \u201cSoon It\u2019s Gonna Rain\u201d and has the distinction of being the longest-running musical in the history of theater.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d\u00a0is a 1960\u00a0musical\u00a0with music by\u00a0Harvey Schmidt\u00a0and book and lyrics by\u00a0Tom Jones. It tells an\u00a0allegorical\u00a0story, loosely based on the 1894 play\u00a0\u201cThe Romancers\u201d\u00a0(\u201cLes Romanesques\u201d) by\u00a0Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud.<\/div>\n
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The show\u2019s original\u00a0off-Broadway\u00a0production ran a total of 42 years (until 2002) and 17,162 performances, making it the world\u2019s longest-running musical. The musical was produced by\u00a0Lore Noto. It was awarded\u00a0Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre\u00a0in 1991.<\/div>\n
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The poetic book and breezy, inventive score, including such memorable songs as \u201cTry to Remember,\u201d helped make the show durable. Many productions followed, as well as television and film versions.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d was revived Off-Broadway from 2006-2017. The musical has played in all 50 U.S. states and in at least 67 foreign countries.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Fantasticks\u201d is running now through August 24 at the Candlelight Theatre with shows on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.<\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include a buffet meal, beverages, dessert, and free parking, are $70.50 for adults and $35 for children.<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s tribute band time again at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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The venue will present \u201cSail On \u2013 The Beach Boys Tribute\u201d on August 22, The Gambler Returns — The Ultimate Kenny Rogers Tribute Show\u201d on August 23 and \u201cTell Me Lies — The Fleetwood Mac Experience\u201d on August 24.<\/div>\n
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting another tribute band \u201cRust: Neil Young Tribute\u201d on August 24 as part of its Rooftop Series.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times 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\u2019 DNA because their fathers played together in several bands. Their London-based fathers first played together in Blues Incorporated in 1962. In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,14850,14465],"class_list":["post-43280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-sons-of-cream","tag-sue-foley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43280","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=43280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43281,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43280\/revisions\/43281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}