You could write a book on the 8th Annual NEARfest, but I’ll just give you a few words. Chad Hutchinson and company run a first class operation in a perfect venue catering to fans who are there for one thing, the music. Rarely will an artist find a more rapt and attentive audience, […]
The final day of NEARfest drew to an anti-climatic close, but before the anti-climax there was some astounding music.
The day opened like the Bethlehem weather, a storm of darkness with Guapo.
They are a surprisingly young band from England. Bassist James Sedwards looked like a high school junior and guitarist Kavus Torabi stared […]
The second day of NEARfest 2006 was nearly perfect, beginning and ending with two utterly different bands trafficking in radically different brands of virtuosity. KBB is a relatively young Japanese quartet who crafted a melodic brand of Pontyesque fusion. Their set was a kinetic ride from beginning to end, driven by a […]
Technically, this isn’t the first night of NEARfest, but the Progressive Legends Concert.
Tony Levin opened. The brilliant bass & Chapman Stick player is well known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson and he makes the most of that, covering tunes from both.
Levin’s latest album is Resonator and he takes a left […]
This weekend is the 8th running of NEARfest, the North East Art Rock Festival in Bethlehem, PA. It sold out instantly again this year. I attended my first festival last year and had to admit some trepidation about it. Progressive Rock or Art Rock was the music of my youth. I […]
Well, he never left. Although it’s been 14 years since he’s put out a proper album, Cobalt Blue, he’s been recording up a storm, producing and performing with people like the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Djivan Gasparyan, Hans Zimmmer and a host of others. But finally Brook has a new album of […]
Today on Echoes, we’ll be hearing Lanterna playing live (Tomorrow for Philly listeners on WXPN).
Lanterna is essentially one guy, Henry Frayne and he’s been around for about two decades, playing in Cocteau Twins influenced groups like The Moon Seven Times and Area out of the midwest.
Henry has a new CD called Desert Ocean.
Lanterna follows in […]
There are no special features on Echoes tonight, but listen for two interesting new CDs operating towards opposite ends of electronica. One is Tempting the Muse by Mysteria.
Mysteria is a studio project headed up by Mark Allison who has also records as Phobos and The Spirit Level.
Mark makes […]
Following on the previous Blog entry, I forgot to note two other fine guitarists on the show, Don Peris and The California Guitar Trio. Many of you heard Don Peris playing live last night on Echoes. Philadelphia will get him tonight and others on weekend Echoes broadcasts, (including XM).
Don played the perfect parlor […]
Who says you need banks of effects, racks of synthesizers or the complexities of a laptop computer to make incredible music. Certainly not the wave of guitarists who’ll be pouring through the Echoes Living Room in the next two weeks. These are musicians who create symphonies on 6 strings.
On June 16, Tommy […]