Calendar
Come share your vinyl! Record lovers unite at Toad on Sunday afternoons – for a day of song sharing, sipping drinks, and chatting about their favorite music. Toad is a cozy neighborhood bar that hosts live bands every night, but at Sunday Spins, the patrons appreciate music in a different format. People bring their vinyl records and sign up for a slot to play two songs at a time.
The New England Music Exchange presents: Ryan Jarvis of The Budds Band.
3 Week July Residency!
Mike Gent – of The Figgs – claims the little stage at TOAD for big fun on three Tuesdays this month!
The tried and true band The Figgs, which has a worldwide fan base, a hearty discography, and has toured and recorded several times with the legendary Graham Parker, celebrated the year 2013 by turning 25. This occasion was made even more special by the release of “1,000 People Grinning: The Figgs Anthology”. It’s one of the band’s greatest achievements to date. And that says a lot as the Figgs (Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly and Pete Hayes) have been playing together since the trio was in high school in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The MoonRaiders are a Western Swing band that combine elements of Jazz, Rock n’ Roll, Country, and Truck Driving music.
Award winning guitarist Chris Hersch (formerly of Girls Guns & Glory) leads this quartet of accomplished musicians, improvising and singing their way through an eclectic set that will please both the dancer and music aficionado.
Drawing on a unique repertoire often overlooked in the American Songbook, The MoonRaiders pivot between Bob Wills, Chuck Berry, Dave Dudley, Commander Cody, and original music, all in one show.
This band’s style is Honky Tonk Trucker Jazz and Rock n’ Roll!!!!
“While most of Americana’s modern practitioners are busy searching for another rough edge to sand down, Curtis McMurtry’s debut is refreshingly unsymmetrical and beautiful. Like few songwriters his age, he truly understands what a big tent American music actually is.”
– Joe Pug
Bit O’ Trivia: David Johnston also appears in the opening scene of Ben Affleck’s 2010 film The Town, playing outside a Harvard Square bank just before it is robbed.
Ryan Alvanos is a poet by training, editor by trade, songwriter by passion, busker by calling, and whim-blown vagabond by good fortune.
Brian Chaffee has something he wants to share, something he’s kept bottled up inside that he needs to let out: his music. But not just music he’s written and performed, music he’s lived and breathed. – The Pulse
Come share your vinyl! Record lovers unite at Toad on Sunday afternoons – for a day of song sharing, sipping drinks, and chatting about their favorite music. Toad is a cozy neighborhood bar that hosts live bands every night, but at Sunday Spins, the patrons appreciate music in a different format. People bring their vinyl records and sign up for a slot to play two songs at a time.
Led by Lyle Brewer, Eleanor Bigsby takes you on a trip down memory [penny] lane with killer instrumental Beatles tunes!
David Johnston is a regular fixture in Harvard Square. You can find him on just about any sunny afternoon with his old Gibson guitar, his signature black jeans, black hat, and a white bucket to catch the dollar bills —
Founding member of The Figgs (started in 1987), The Gentlemen (started in 1999), and The Rapid Shave (started in 2009). Mike Gent played with many other artists and bands as well, including Graham Parker, Mike Viola/Candy Butchers, Tommy Stinson, etc
The Blue Ribbons was formed by singer/songwriter/keyboardist James Rohr.
They have been building a base of devoted fans withtheir original and soulful music.
Described as
“Ray Charles and Tom Waits on a pirate ship with Sun Ra and Captain Beefheart,” they
combine “upbeat disillusionment and celebratory fatalism with musicianship” – Charan Devereux;Boston Globe.
FANDANGO is as much a spiritual renewal as it is a reinterpretation of some of the best soul, blues, gospel, and Americana music ever written. With a loyal flock of followers (the flock that rock) to their weekly Wednesday night residency at TOAD in Cambridge, FANDANGO fuels frontman Fred Griffeth to lead this congregation into soul and R&B righteousness! For he is like a refiner of fire and he shall purify!
“Ask not for whom the Fandan goes. It goes for thee. On Wednesday donchaknow.” –
BAKER THOMAS BAND “…kind of a musical Robin Hood, robbing freely from the classic roots of American music and bringing it back to the common folks.” – Billy Beard, Talent buyer/Boston Session drummer.
“John Hanifin loved the cello when he was a kid. He still does and he’s having more fun than ever with exciting arco, pizzicato and flamenco techniques while fronting his own band . . . “
– Strings Magazine (Jan 14, 2015)
You can have a sneak preview of Samantha Farrell right HERE in her official video filmed right here at TOAD –
The Little Compton Band embodies a new age of roots rock. Camaraderie around small town living, improvised musical journeys, and a commitment to craft has forged this powerful group.
On a seaside farm in southern Rhode Island, the five friends began making music at a young age.
Through the years, the LCB has developed a sound that is remarkably classic in nature. A common infatuation with the musical languages of soul, jazz, country western, and blues, coupled with their spiritual connection to the rural north, created a unique sound that transcends the status quo.
Bring your vinyl over for a spin! Or perhaps pick some up on your way at The Somerville Flea!
“Being compared by critics to Lucinda Williams and making the CMA CloseUp Magazine’s “Who New To Watch in 2013” list have got to be hard to live up to, but Juliet and the Lonesome Romeos do just that with their debut album, No Regrets. The final track here is her finest moment – the waltz “Learn to Love Again” – where she must dip into someplace deep for such longing in her performance. Not since Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” has ¾-time deserved a spot back on contemporary radio playlists. (Please hit the link to read full review.)”
Janet Goodman – Music News Nashville
More triva! Peter Wolf, whose brilliant Midnight Souvenirs—released in 2010—included David Johnston’s “I Don’t Wanna Know.” This song went on to become the second single from that album, and was performed on the David Letterman Show in June of 2010.
Blue Mondays at TOAD – Listen to Dennis Brennan: “Hey all you progressives, radicals and outcasts out there. It’s Monday and time for the blues with THE WHITE OWLS, featuring Tim Gearan, Jim Haggerty, Andy Plaisted, Steve Sadler & me along with David Johnston starting the night off.”
Start your evening right with the Residency Finale with Mike Gent -right before The Blue Ribbons last show of the season – sigh . .
Friends, we here at The Blue Ribbons Propulsion/Stagnation/Existential Laboratories would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all y’all who have been coming out to TOAD on Tuesday nights. It truly is a beautiful thing to be together sharing the moment, even if that moment is loud and confusing sometimes. Thank you for listening, dancing, loving it, hating it, ignoring it…the important part is that we are all agreeing to be together for a few hours being human.
