Band members of Crazy Train. Eric Rovito photo I’ve covered a lot of tribute acts recently so I think I can safely say that one of the best is coming to the Somerset Abbey on Nov. 6th. I’m referring to Crazy Train, a four-piece group of talented musicians (Vinny “Ozzy” Cormier, lead vocals; Dylan Cormier, […]

Occasionally an artist comes along that defies musical categorization and Chris Thile is one such musician. His stint with Sean and Sara Watkins in the bluegrass band, Nickel Creek, introduced his considerable skills on mandolin and his subsequent work in Punch Brothers has just augmented that. He’s also got an impressive collection of solo albums […]

It’s always fun to interview new acts coming to central Maine to perform, such is the case with a country singer-songwriter with a very famous name: Hank Williams IV. Back on the 15th of this month, I got a call from a gentleman with an accent that spoke of the south and we chatted. Williams: […]

Jim Weider is a familiar name to the legion of fans of the legendary group, The Band. From 1985 to 2000, he replaced Robbie Robertson as the group’s lead guitarist, writing songs and performing on their three studio albums, “Jericho,” “High on the Hog” and “Jubilation.” In 2018, his group, The Weight Band (made up […]

Those of you who like the basics and the roots of modern music please take note: when it comes to R&B and soul and blues, the name Etta James stands out, and for good reason … many feel that she was the queen of R&B. Born in 1938 and passing away nine years ago, the […]

Those of you who follow my columns know that I’m a fan of classic rock, close vocal harmonies and just good music. Well, the band known as The Fossils are coming back and going to be performing at The Elm in Waterville on the 18th of this month; and seeing they check off the criteria […]

Every so often I get the opportunity to chat with a comedian, which is always fun. Such is the case with a conversation I had recently with one Juston McKinney, who will be appearing at The ELM in Waterville on Sept. 11. I reached him at his home in Newmarket, New Hampshire, and after the […]

This week, I’m bring you an update of Pat Pepin, one of Maine’s venerable performers who’s humor, sax skills and singing has delighted audiences for many years. She recently appeared as part of the Johnson Hall’s Waterfront Concert Series and that alerted me that Pepin was out performing once more, so I decided to reconnect […]

It’s always fun to interview a band for the first time and even more so when that band will be coming to Maine to perform. In this particular case the band is a quintet known as Jah Sun and The Rising Tide from Southern Oregon who plan to perform at the club Aura in Portland […]