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FEATURED EVENTS
The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by The Grammys and The National Endowment for the Arts with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, sung for two presidents in the White House and winners of five Grammy® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 70 years and shows no signs of diminishing. Longevity and major awards aside, The Blind Boys have earned praise for their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by acclaimed songwriters such as Curtis Mayfield, Ben Harper, Eric Clapton, Prince and Tom Waits. Their performances have been experienced by millions on The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, the Grammy® Awards telecast, 60 Minutes, and on their own holiday PBS Special. Their music has been featured in the HBO series “The Wire” and the ABC series “Lost”. The Blind Boys’ live shows are roof-raising musical events that appeal to audiences of all cultures, as evidenced by an international itinerary that has taken them to virtually every continent.
"A superweapon of roots-music uplift." - Rolling Stone
“They proclaim their reverence in close harmonies and gutsy improvisations that leap heavenward.” - The New York Times
"Inspired and relevant...borders on the miraculous." - The Washington Post
"Had Johnny Cash and Bonnie Raitt shared DNA, the result would be Sarah Potenza."-Kansas City Blues Society
Specializing in original country/soul, Sarah Potenza & the Tall Boys is a Nashville-based Americana band.
Sarah Potenza's vocal performance lifts the crowd. Her voice is like a Russian nested doll with Bonnie Raitt on the outside and Etta James, Susan Tedeschi and Brittany Howard inside. Not as gritty as Joplin, not as smooth as Norah Jones, sometimes sounding like Carole King channeling Big Mama Thornton, Potenza has a powerful, natural instrument and the originals they perform suit it well.
Potenza is accompanied by her husband and Tall Boys band mate, Ian Crossman, on baritone guitar for the whole eight song set. Crossman is adept at squeezing different sounds from the rarely-seen instrument (last sighting: Sarah Watkins playing with the Decemberists) and he provides a perfect foil to Potenza's acoustic guitar, sometimes playing riffs, sometimes solos, sometimes bass lines.
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor, Ben Taylor, Ben Taylor... Finally! One of the most exciting breakout artists we've ever had the pleasure to present will take the stage on June 23. If you haven’t yet seen or heard Ben Taylor perform live, you’re in for a real treat. Not only has Ben come up as one of the hottest young singer/songwriters touring today, but he's done it his own way and with his own style, no mean feat for the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. Gifted, funny, poetic, a master of melody and the understated lyric, Ben sits atop a pile of his own original songs and performs them with a voice that lingers in the air--tuneful, expressive, the kind of voice that makes its impact with the smallest turn of a whispered phrase.
Wailers
Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played or performed with international acts like Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have completed innumerable other tours, playing to an estimated 24 million people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the Far East.
Rosanne Cash
We're ecstatic to have her back the third year in a row! This cross over star at the height of her powers, Grammy Award-winner Rosanne Cash (the eldest daughter of the late Johnny Cash and his first wife) has just come off two all star tribute concerts the Woody Guthrie Centennial and the Rolling Stones at Carnegie Hall. With 11 #1 country hit singles, 21 Top-40 country hit singles, and two gold records, this singer-songwriter draws on many genres, including folk, rock, pop, and blues. At her Music Hall debut, she will be performing with her husband Grammy Award winner John Leventhal.
The Zombies with Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent
The Zombies were the second UK group following the Beatles to score a #1 hit in America. With gorgeous melodies, breathy vocals, choral back-up harmonies and a jazzy influence, The Zombies ruled the 1960’s with hit singles like “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. Ironically, the group broke-up in 1968 just prior to achieving their greatest success – the chart-topping single “Time of the Season”, from their swan-song album “Odessey & Oracle” (recently ranked #80 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”). Lead singer Colin Blunstone went on to develop an acclaimed solo career, while keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent rocked arenas in the 70’s with his eponymous band ARGENT.
Over 30 years later, Blunstone and Argent resurrected The Zombies, paying tribute to the group’s musical legacy and collaborating on new studio material. Helmed by founding members Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, the group is marking its half century with a new album – Breathe Out, Breathe In – and a tour. The ten songs that make up Breathe Out, Breathe In are impeccably crafted pieces; the harmonies are rich, the melodies full, the arrangements exquisite, the organ and piano fresh and the production intuitive. Uncut Magazine raves “Argent and Blunstone find Zombie heaven again.”
The Holmes Brothers
On Saturday, July 6, three music giants will return to the tent from Virginia for another of our big blues concerts this season. Make that gospel, R&B, and raw electric blues. Now throw in some country, and a little funk. So come and see the second biggest display of fireworks this summer --- 2 days after the Fourth --- when the inseparable Holmes Brothers --- together for over 40 years --- light up the hills of Truro with unparalleled artistry and authenticity. Recording and touring artists of international stature, their latest album, Feed My Soul, is out on Alligator Records, and was inspired by Wendell Holmes battle with cancer.
They’re also winners of multiple blues awards, have performed for President Bill Clinton, and have recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Boby Dylan, Peter Gabriel and Odetta. You may have heard them on NPR any number of times they have been featured. Now’s your chance to hear them in the outer Cape’s jewel box of a music venue, the Payomet tent. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself standing or even dancing on our huge outdoor dance floor by the end of the night!
An Evening with Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Kaukonen will turn the white tent blue with his own interpretations of American roots music, blues, and Americana. A Grammy nominee and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Kaukonen has been the leading practitioner and teacher of fingerstyle guitar, one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, and at the forefront of popular rock-and-roll. He is well known as a founding member of two legendary bands, The Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna.
Twelfth Night
Experience Shakespeare like never before --- our luscious mischief-filled production of Twelfth Night is going to be like one summer-long party at the Payomet tent. Death, sex, marriage... who could ask for more? One of the Bard's most beloved plays --- and what some consider the greatest romantic comedy of all time --- Twelfth Night features a luminous cast of eight actors: Ben Griessmeyer, Ella Dershowitz, Jake Ford, Abby Solomon,* Jake Ford, Tessa Bry, Ryan Underbakke and Ruby Wolf. *Appearing courtesy Actors Equity Association.
About the play: Shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, Viola uses a male disguise and enters the service of Duke Orsino, only to find herself part of a triangle of unrequited love. Meanwhile, in the household of the Countess Olivia, the one and only Sir Toby Belch and his rowdy companions trick Olivia’s strict and disapproving steward, Malvolio, into believing that she loves him.
Opens Wednesday July 10 for 20 performances through August 13.
Mavis Staples
Multiple Grammy winner Mavis Staples was named one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and by VH1 as among the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll. Rolling Stone named Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself" among Top 500 Songs of All Time.
"Mavis Staples is the most underrated diva of the century. She has an almost superhuman ability to implant the pure power of passion and emotion." - Rolling Stone
Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer and soul/gospel legend Mavis Staples delivers more wall-to-wall joy on her triumphant new album, You Are Not Alone, than any other release you're likely to hear this year. Produced by fellow Chicagoan Jeff Tweedy at Wilco's studio The Loft, the intimate and textured production showcases the iconic singer at her most powerful and fervent. You Are Not Alone mixes traditional gospel numbers with two new songs written for Mavis by Tweedy, plus her unique interpretations of songs by Pops Staples, Randy Newman, Allen Toussaint, John Fogerty, Rev. Gary Davis and Little Milton.
You Are Not Alone, which won a Grammy this year, follows her 2007 critical triumph, We'll Never Turn Back, which revisited the great songs of the civil rights era and prompted her hometown paper The Chicago Sun-Times to hail her as "an American treasure."
2008's Live: Hope at the Hideout was named one of the Best Live CDs of All Time by Amazon.com's editors and earned Mavis her first Grammy-nomination as a solo artist.
Leon Russell
An evening in the company of music legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell and his band!
From his early days as a sought-after session musician in LA, through the heady days of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour and a string of collaborations with a veritable Who's Who of popular music (including a recent stint with Elton John), Leon has never lost his ability to write timeless songs, and brings a wide-ranging set of musical influences into his live performances. Truly a "Master of Time and Space"!
Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo
Frank Vignola, on tour with Vinny Raniolo, is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, Mark O Connor, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List” for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola’s jaw-dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him “one of the brightest…stars of the guitar”.
Even though his career in music is only at the beginning, Vinny Raniolo has already had many opportunities that take most players a lifetime to achieve. Vinny has already toured 14 countries with more to come. Now playing guitar alongside many of the finest musicians in the world, he is very excited to see where his musical career will take him.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Carolina Chocolate Drops come back to Payomet for the fourth year in a row. They admit they love coming to Cape Cod! And there's no one we love more!
Six years ago this group of young musicians started off with a shared interest in old-time string music had them collaborating with banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, snare drum, bones, jug and kazoo. Since then they've toured Europe, played Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and won their first Grammy (Best Traditional Folk Album) for their album "Genuine Negro Jig" that features string band and jug band music. The Drops have proved that the old-time, fiddle and banjo-based music they'd so scrupulously researched and passionately performed could be a living, breathing, ever-evolving sound. Starting with material culled from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas, they sought to freshly interpret this work, not merely recreate it, highlighting the central role African-Americans played in shaping our nation's popular music from its beginnings more than a century ago. They dip into styles of Southern black music from the 1920s and 30's string-band music, jug-band music, fife and drum, early jazz and beam their curiosity outward.
John Pizzarelli Quartet
The Payomet tent becomes the Payomet Jazz Club on Sunday, June 21, when John Pizzarelli, the world-renowned jazz guitarist and singer, leads his quartet onto our stage. Pizzarelli, who has recorded twenty-three albums of his own, has been called “Hip with a wink” by Town & Country, “madly creative” by the Los Angeles Times and “the genial genius of the guitar” by The Toronto Star. After his recent smash success with the Boston Pops, he was hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” And the Seattle Times called him “a tour de force” and “a rare entertainer of the old school.” Before a recent show in the northwest, the local paper quipped “John Pizzarelli is so impossibly cool, he shouldn’t be legally allowed to enter Oregon.” Using performers like Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra and Joao Gilberto and the songs of composers from Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin to James Taylor, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Lennon & McCartney as touchstones, John Pizzarelli has established himself as one of the prime interpreters of the Great American Songbook and beyond, bringing to his work the cool jazz flavor of his brilliant guitar playing and singing.
Vagabond Opera
European Cabaret! Vintage Americana! Balkan Belly Dance! Neo-Classical Opera! Old World Yiddish Theater! Welcome to the six-piece, Portland, Oregon-based Vagabond Opera.
Based in the Pacific Northwest, yet encompassing the world, Vagabond Opera delivers passionate offerings of Bohemian cabaret. Paris hot Jazz, gut bucket swing, Tangos, Ukrainian folk-punk ballads, Klezmer and vigorous originals meet a world of riverboat gambling queens, Turkish belly dancers, and the enigmatic Marlene Dietrich. Weaving elements of Kurt Weil, Duke Ellington and Edith Piaf with absurdist flair, theatrics and an old world mood, Vagabond Opera presents the new wave of opera--lusty (trained) voices singing in 15 languages and presenting a cabaret of rich musical phrasing, sparkling lyrics and indomitable stage presence, all played with exuberance, skill and a gritty Vagabond edge. This is Opera liberated and reinvented for everyone.
The band's lineup features trained operatic tenor and soprano vocals, accordion, tenor and alto saxophones, cello, stand-up bass, drums, and, when the mood is right, a burlesque hoola-hooping fire performer.
Vagabond Opera has been featured in Jazziz Magazine, shared stages and players with The Decembrists, Pink Martini, Al Franken and the Oregon Symphony. Vagabond opera has two full length albums.
