Vance Gilbert.: Robert Mattson Photography
Karla Bonoff

Karla Bonoff, Friday, August 23, 2024

The Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St, Arlington, MA 02474

FOR TICKETS, CLICK  HERE

 Karla Bonoff has been described as one of the finest singer/songwriters of her generation. That description is not hyperbole. Bonoff has enjoyed critical acclaim, commercial success, enduring popularity, and the unwavering respect of her peers. Karla has seen her songs become hits for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, and Linda Ronstadt. Many of Bonoff’s ballads are classics. Karla has continued to record and tour extensively, playing sold-out shows worldwide.

Hearing Karla’s moving vocals on her rich, expressive songs is like standing beneath a sparkling waterfall–refreshing, exhilarating, and restorative. Experiencing them live can be transformative. Fans and critics agree that Bonoff’s songs, as are her recordings, are timeless.  Many prefer her versions, live with instrumentation that is clean and spare, giving Bonoff’s voice room to work its emotional magic.

“Long before Alanis and Jewel, there was a breed of singer/songwriters whose earthly anthems of soul-searching, heartache and joy touched souls in a way few can muster today.   Billboard Magazine.

Playing along, Karla will be an extraordinary guest, guitarist Nina Gerber.
Karla says, “Nina has this uncanny ability to weave an emotional tapestry throughout a song…never getting in the way of the song, but adding this incredible depth to it…Sometimes, I am just amazed at what I hear coming from her side of the stage.”

For more Last Dance Productions events, click here.

Kathy Mattea

Kathy Mattea In Concert

Sunday, June 9, 2024, 7 pm

The Regent Theatre

7 Medford Street St

Arlington, MA 02474

 

FOR TICKETS, CLICK HERE

 

 

Hailed by The Washington Post as “one of Nashville’s finest song interpreters,” Kathy Mattea has enjoyed much success and acclaim during her 35-year career in Country, Bluegrass, and Folk music, including 2 Grammy wins, 4 CMA Awards, four #1 country singles, and five gold albums (plus a platinum Greatest Hits collection). Her latest album is “Pretty Bird,” produced by her old friend, roots music wizard Tim O’Brien. The wide-ranging collection of songs chronicles a period of rededication to singing, digging back in with a vocal coach and emerging with a poignant and eclectic CD. In addition to creating and recording music and performing live on tour, Kathy is increasingly involved with public broadcasting, consulting and contributing on screen in Ken Burns’ 2019 documentary for PBS “Country Music,” and recently replacing founder Larry Groce as the host of the long-running NPR show “Mountain Stage.”

Latest Recording

On September 7th, 2018, CMA Award-winning vocalist Kathy Mattea released Pretty Bird, her first new album in six years. A sublime acoustic collection including a number of smartly chosen and heartfelt covers, the record marks something of a new era in Mattea’s 30-plus-year career. Over the past several years her deep, rich singing voice has experienced significant changes that could have put a permanent end to her performing, but after extensive vocal training she has emerged from what she refers to as her “dark night of the soul” with a duskier instrument. That newly trained but still memorable voice, which gave country fans such hits as “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” and “Love at the Five and Dime,” is at the very heart of one of the year’s most affecting LPs.

“This album has led me, slowly and unexpectedly, into new nooks and crannies of singing,” Mattea tells Rolling Stone Country. “Songs showed up in random ways… and became part of our musical landscape during regular Thursday jam sessions in my living room. It’s a very eclectic collection, and for me, each song has a very specific reason for being here, showing me some new point of view about singing along the way.”

One of country music’s most successful artists of the past several decades, Mattea, a two-time Grammy winner, has always approached her material, even the most mainstream country, with an eclecticism and sense of deeper meaning. Those elements are vibrantly evident on “I Can’t Stand Up Alone,” the first track to premiere from the upcoming collection, which was produced by Mattea’s longtime friend and frequent collaborator Tim O’Brien. Written by country-gospel legend Martha Carson in the Fifties, Mattea’s soulful version is a sparkling mélange of those genres, with touches of blues and Appalachian mountain music. The uplifting tune serves as a fitting tribute to singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, who died in 2014, and whose version inspired this one.

Kathy Mattea In Concert, Sunday, June 9, 2024, 7 pm, The Regent Theatre,

7 Medford Street St, Arlington, MA 02474

 

FOR TICKETS, CLICK HERE

 

For more Last Dance Productions events, click here.

Healing Garden Concert
A Healing Garden Benefit
Presented by Patio Records
Proceeds will go towards caring for the Pratt Family Healing Garden at Mount Auburn Hospital.
September 23, 7:30 pm at the Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA
JAMIE WALKER and Friends
Jamie Walker is the guitarist and vocalist for the legendary Swinging Steaks and has been the lead guitar player and vocalist with Susan Cattaneo. As another young kid inspired by the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Jamie Walker started writing songs on the school bus in 2nd grade. What do you do when you are obsessed with songs and the guitar in particular? You learn how to play and find some friends to play with!
Jamie fronted and fueled several Boston bands with his songs in the 1980s; the Lines, the Drive (V66 and MTV Basement Tapes), and finally, Swinging Steaks (Capricorn Records 1990 to present). A few of his songs became Boston radio staples on WBCN, WCOZ, WZLX, and WAAF in Worcester and have appeared in Hollywood movies and on tv. Jamie has made some friends over the years and has some old friends along too. So this is about more than just the music.
On this particular evening will be a veritable all-star cast, including:
Laurie Young (vocals, trumpet) brings the role of the goddess to the forefront and co-fronts the band
Joe Donnelly (drums) of the Del Fuegos, Swinging Steaks, and Wall of Grass
Pat Dreier (Keyboards, vocals) of the Lines and the Drive
Dave Weden (guitar/banjo) and Clayton Young (bass, vocals) of John Cate and the Van Gough Brothers
Dennis Semprebon (drums and percussion) of Craig Carter and the Hurricanes
Brad Kohl (saxophone) of Hot Acoustics and Group Therapy
They play roots rock music, that is, songs wrapped in elements of rock, pop, country, soul, R&B, and blues.
The Gravel Project featuring Jen Kearney
Initially created by Andrew Gravel (vocals, guitar), The Gravel Project is an all-star band of Boston music veterans, including brother, Jordan Gravel (organ, keys), Dave Fox (drums), and Eguie Castrillo (percussion). The Gravel Project’s live show blends rock, world music, and jazz with power and soul. Carrying the tradition of 70’s blues and psychedelic rock music, The Gravel Project embodies the spirit of Santana combined with the classic raw energy and moving songwriting of The Allman Brothers and Tedeschi Trucks Band. With three studio albums, a live album, and countless past performances, the future is bright for Boston’s The Gravel Project, and as the title of their 2022 studio album suggests, there are “Many Miles Ahead.”
For more events from  Last Dance Productions, click here.