The Roots Report: All I Am Saying Is Give Fall a Chance

Okee dokee folks … I know that most, if not all, of you will be unhappy about this, but it makes me VERY happy — summer is almost over!!! Fortunately it wasn’t really a brutal one and it went by pretty quickly. Yay!! My girlfriend isn’t thrilled that summer is ending, but I do have a group of friends who share my general disdain for the season. Okay, now please bear with me for a minute while I wind around to make a point. In the past I have encouraged songwriters to start writing (more) protest songs because they ARE needed. Well, I TRIED to write one a couple of weeks back, but it wound up being a protest song about SUMMER. It was a hot day. I went through writing three variations of a song before I landed at the summer protest tune. One of the earlier drafts was an anti-Trump song that was filled with off-color adjectives and foul metaphors about him, and I meant every word that I wrote, but just could not imagine myself performing it. At least not right now. I am seriously thinking about finishing it AND performing it sometime soon. Trump has gone off the rails and needs to be removed from office, period. We all need to speak up. Music is a form of communication, so lets convey our feelings through songs, even if they are filled with Trump hate. Let’s do it before it’s too late.

The Narrows Center closes out the summer with its FREE, 16th Annual Narrows Festival of the Arts, and countless performances by seasoned musicians. Beginning Sep 9, the gallery will feature its 5th Annual Narrows Poster Exhibition, showcasing affordable fine art and gig posters by four renowned design artists. The September schedule of upcoming performances is: Sep 7 — Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Seth Glier with Matt Nakoa; Sep 8 — The Schemers; Sep 10 — Narrows Festival of the Arts featuring Eilen Jewell, Kat Wright, Julie Rhodes, The Jim Robitaille Group featuring Dave Liebman, The Barley Hoppers, Ikebe Shakedown, Stan Martin, TJ’s Music All Stars, and the Colonial Navy of Massachusetts, and this is a FREE EVENT; Sep 15 — Grammy Award-winning musician Dom Flemmons; Sep 16 — Rik Emmett of Triumph-Acoustic Duo Performance with Dave Dunlop; Sep 19 — Matthew Sweet: his fifth album of new material in this century, Tomorrow Forever, is teeming with his signature sounds and ongoing preoccupations (watch for my interview with Matthew Sweet); Sep 21 — blues legend Albert Cummings; Sep 23 — Chris Hillman (of the Byrds, Desert Rose Band) & Herb Pedersen with John Jorgenson; Sep 28 — Seth Walker; Sep 29 — Coco Montoya; and finally, on Sep 30 is The Sweetback Sisters. If you cannot find something good in that group, then you have to have your musical taste buds checked! Get over the big ole Braga Bridge and see a show! For more, go considerably longer or higher than wide to NarrowsCenter.org

“When you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let live…” If you know that opening line, then this is a must-see show for you. Live & Let Die – A Symphonic Tribute to Paul McCartney plays the Stadium Theatre on Sep 16 with Milford Massachusetts’ Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra. Live and Let Die features a four-piece band led by Tony Kishman (vocals, bass, guitar & piano) and the 19-piece Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra lead by orchestrator and conductor Martin Herman. You’ll hear, complete in every detail, hit songs from the Beatles catalog and Paul McCartney’s solo works. Look forward to hearing robust renditions of your favorite Paul McCartney, Beatles and Wings songs, including “Hey Jude,” “Penny Lane,” “Live and Let Die,” “When I’m Sixty- Four” and many more. Band leader Tony Kishman starred for six years in both the national and international tours of Broadway’s smash hit, Beatlemania. For more, jet over to stadiumtheatre.com The THE BAND Band, a tribute band to Bob Dylan and the Band, will be returning to the The Courthouse Center for the Arts on Sat, Sep 16. CCA director says, “They totally blew us away when they were here before, and we can’t wait to hear them again!” While iconic roots rock group The Band may be long gone from the stage, The BAND Band is keeping their sound and spirit alive and well with authentic, true-to-form renditions of the legendary repertoire. This group of veteran musicians showcases the astounding breadth and depth of The Band’s distinctively original Americana music with classics such as “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight,” and“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” as well as deeper cuts from The Band’s vast catalog. The THE BAND Band draws their set list from The Band’s seminal period — from Big Pink to The Last Waltz — capturing the sound and spirit of their live performances and bringing the songs to life again. Since 2007, The THE BAND Band has shared the stage with notables Richie Havens, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Aztec Two-Step, Marshall Crenshaw and more. The individual band members have performed or toured with original band members Rick Danko and Levon Helm, as well as Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Patti Smith, Keith Richards and many others. For more, go out yonder to courthousearts.org

Grammy Award-winning Trumpeter Chris Botti will open the Park Theatre’s fall season. Over the past three decades, Botti has recorded and performed with the best in music, including Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Josh Groban, Yo-Yo Ma, Michael Buble, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Andrea Bocelli, Joshua Bell, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and even Frank Sinatra. Hitting the road for as many as 300 days per year, the trumpeter has also performed with many of the finest symphonies and at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, from Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House and the Real Teatro di San Carlo in Italy. Chris Botti has thoroughly established himself as one of the most important, innovative figures of the contemporary music world. For more, brass attack to theparktheatreri.com

The Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich keeps on booking and adding to their already impressive list of upcoming shows. Their season is beginning and it kicks off with Doug Woolverton’s Tribute to Miles Davis on Sep 16. Get your tissues out (no, not really) for — , and on Sep 21. Big Head Todd & The Monsters stomp in on Sep 23. Watch out, they are going to steal your face on Sep 29 when Playing Dead takes the stage and brings you Dead songs live. The jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra summer struts into the Odeum and closes out the month on Sep 30. Much more is coming up, but you will have to visit their site! For more, mainline to the Main St location’s webber at greenwichodeum.com

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com