Calendar

Jan
26
Fri
Big Ben Hillman – The Professor of Funk
Jan 26 @ 10:00 pm

Over the course of his career, Big Ben Hillman has shared the stage with a host of diverse and well known musicians including hip hop stars Method Man and Ghostface Killa from the Wu Tang Clan, De La Soul, Biz Markie, Digable Planets and Mix Master Mike of The Beasty Boys. He has also been seen performing with rock legends Les Claypool and Jimmy Buffet.

Big Ben Hillman is quite the smooth retro funkster…. The production is excellent on all levels, keeping the listener in a comfortable, easy-flowing harmonic place. Ben never falters – his compositions and production show signs of a master at work enjoying his craft. I’m just going to think of Big Ben Hillman as the new Barry White on the opposite end of the vocal spectrum. – T Max, The Noise

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Jan
27
Sat
Red Tail Hawk
Jan 27 @ 10:00 pm

Red Tail Hawk has opened for National acts such as G-Love, The Brew and Chris Duarte, to name a few. They’ve played major music festival in the region and sold-out shows at The Stone Church in Newmarket, NH and The Press Room in Portsmouth, NH.

Red Tail Hawk

Jan
28
Sun
Sunday Spins
Jan 28 @ 3:00 pm
Sunday Spins

Bring your vinyls as we get to take turns playing our faves…

LEARN MORE

Ship of the Sun (music of the Grateful Dead)
Jan 28 @ 8:00 pm
Ship of the Sun (music of the Grateful Dead)

Ship of the Sun celebrates the music of the Grateful Dead with a fun, free-wheeling, danceable show that pays tribute to the sounds of rock & roll’s most unique band.

Ship of the Sun came together in 2015 around each member’s love of the songs, spirit, and improvisation adventurousness of the Dead.

 

 

Jan
29
Mon
David Johnston
Jan 29 @ 7:30 pm

David Johnston  – if you don’t know him, you have to stop by TOAD for Blue Monday – take a listen HERE where David talks about his influences and plays a bit of music –

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The White Owls
Jan 29 @ 9:00 pm

Just look at the band; Dennis Brennan on harmonica, guitar and vocals. Tim Gearan on guitar and vocals. Steve Sadler on lap steel.  Jim Haggerty on bass and Andy Plaisted on drums.

Check out a clip from one of their shows HERE  – After making it thru Monday, YOU deserve a night out!

Image result for white owls at toad

Jan
30
Tue
Liz Morrison
Jan 30 @ 7:30 pm
Liz Morrison

take a listen HERE   – Liz Morrison always brings some of the community’s best musicians to accompany her – can’t wait to see who’s up on that little stage this night . . .

The Blue Ribbons
Jan 30 @ 10:00 pm

The Blue Ribbons was formed by singer/songwriter/keyboardist James Rohr.

They have been building a base of devoted fans with their 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.

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Jan
31
Wed
Fandango
Jan 31 @ 7:00 pm

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.” –

Feb
1
Thu
Todd Thibaud Band
Feb 1 @ 7:30 pm
Todd Thibaud Band

Todd Thibaud is a Vermont born, Boston based Singer-Songwriter who’s songs are a slice of what life is really like…the pains and pleasures, love lost and life reborn. Using songwriters like Elvis Costello, Neil Finn, Johnny Cash and John Hiatt for inspiration, Thibaud has built a sound that is entirely his own. His music is meshed with elements of Americana, Folk, Country and Roots Pop Rock, making it seem at once familiar and new.

Baker Thomas Band
Feb 1 @ 10:00 pm

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.

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Feb
2
Fri
Comanchero
Feb 2 @ 10:00 pm
Comanchero

Comanchero’s country-funk thunder melds a rambling jam sensibility with genuine boot-stomping twang. Shades of Widespread Panic, CAKE, and Wilco in these feverish Cactus Rock rhythms.” – Relix Magazine

Feb
3
Sat
Leland Sundries
Feb 3 @ 7:30 pm

Leland Sundries, a band from New York led by Nick Loss-Eaton, is dedicated to storytelling in a way that recalls Woody Guthrie and his Folkways brethren.
[Their] scrappy Americana will get you longing for
empty two-lane highways and kudzu-encased back porches.”
~ The New York Times

Citizen Slim
Feb 3 @ 10:00 pm
Feb
4
Sun
Sunday Spins
Feb 4 @ 3:00 pm

 Sunday Spins!  – Vinyl Lovers Unite! 3-8pm every Sunday!

Sign up on the list and play two songs each turn.

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Watch the Super Bowl HERE
Feb 4 @ 6:30 pm
Watch the Super Bowl HERE

A big TV (well, big-ish, which is to say big for us)
will take the place of a band tonight, playing the BIG game!
Right after Sunday Spins, we’ll get ready for the 6:30 kick-off with baskets of our Homemade Potato Chips as well as an extended Appetizer menu!

Feb
5
Mon
David Johnston
Feb 5 @ 7:30 pm

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, and black hat – Busy during the day?  Lucky you – David Johnston brings his blues to TOAD every Monday before The White Owls!

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The White Owls
Feb 5 @ 9:00 pm

Just look at the band; Dennis Brennan on harmonica, guitar and vocals. Tim Gearan on guitar and vocals. Steve Sadler on lap steel.  Jim Haggerty on bass and Andy Plaisted on drums.

Check out a clip from one of their shows HERE  – After making it thru Monday, YOU deserve a night out!

The White Owls

Feb
6
Tue
Radium Girls
Feb 6 @ 7:30 pm
Radium Girls

The original four members of Radium Girls got together at Ladies Rock Camp Boston in April 2014. Their semi-retired original punk hit “Security Theater” has been followed by a slew of originals crossing several genres such as psychedelic rock and doom metal.

The Radium Girls band name honors the female factory workers dying from radium poisoning whose fight established the right of individual workers to sue for damages from corporations due to labor abuse.

The Blue Ribbons
Feb 6 @ 10:00 pm
Fan Faves!  The Blue Ribbons list some of their interests:
making good music for good people, and trying to occasionally scare each other.

“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.

 

Feb
7
Wed
Fandango
Feb 7 @ 7:00 pm

Fred Griffeth fronts Fandango  – Their celebrated selection of Americana music draws a loyal band of pious sisters and reform school brothers! – Truth . . .

Air Congo
Feb 7 @ 10:00 pm

Boston-based African style band AIR CONGO play music from the 1960’s-70’s Kinshasa/Brazzaville scene–the music of Docteur Nico, Tabu LeyLes Bantous De La CapitaleFranco et l’Orch TPOK Jazz, and more!

Feb
8
Thu
Melvern Taylor & His Fabulous Meltones
Feb 8 @ 7:30 pm
The Band Members: Melvern Taylor- Ukulele
And the Fabulous Meltones: Matt Murphy -Upright BAss Dave Livingston – Slide Guitar Sir Bob Nash – Drums
Genre: Post-Modern Parlor Music  – give it a listen HERE
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Baker Thomas Band
Feb 8 @ 10:00 pm

ET – phone home –   yeah, yeah –

but only after the Baker Thomas Band show . . .  they’re out of this world. . .“A whole bunch of musicians and a whole bunch of instruments, come together to deliver an electrifying show which promises a whole bunch of fun” -Tracey Delfino, Trespass Music

 

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Feb
9
Fri
Los Goutos
Feb 9 @ 10:00 pm

LOS GOUTOS

“A veritable Grand Ole Opry with a modern sense of humor….”   (Music Connection Magazine)

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Featuring:

Bruce Bartone
(acoustic and electric guitars; bass guitar, keyboards; backing vocals);

Mike Eigen
(lead and backing vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar, clarinet, ukulele, songwriting);

Shamus Feeney
(bass guitar, acoustic, electric, and resophonic guitars; percussion; lead and backing vocals);

Chris Gleason
(lead and backing vocals, mandolin, tenor banjo, acoustic guitar, percussion, songwriting);

Paul Stewart
(lead and backing vocals, accordion, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, harmonica, songwriting)

…and whenever possible:

Jakub Trasak
(fiddle)

 

Feb
10
Sat
Grace Morrison Trio
Feb 10 @ 7:30 pm
Grace Morrison Trio

Grace Morrison is an award winning singer/songwriter. Her professional career has included stints performing with some of the most well known musicians in America including Eddie Money, J. Geils, Pete Francis of Dispatch, Chris Slade of AC/DC and The Firm, Greg Douglass of The Steve Miller Band, Joey Molland of Badfinger, Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge, and Jimmy Baine of Dio

Mike Hastings Band
Feb 10 @ 10:00 pm
Mike Hastings Band

“When Mike Hastings isn’t playing at local venues such as Toad, he can often be found busking around Davis and Harvard Square. Next time you’re out, keep an ear out for the sound of guitar and a tambourine, and if you see Mike, stop and listen for a while. You just might leave a little warmer.” – Sound of Boston

Give a listen HERE

 

Feb
11
Sun
Sunday Spins
Feb 11 @ 3:00 pm
Sunday Spins

Bring your vinyls as we get to take turns playing our faves…

LEARN MORE

Chris McDermott
Feb 11 @ 9:00 pm
Chris McDermott

with Jim Haggerty on Bass and Jorge Perez Albela on Drums –

Chris McDermott is a very busy musician playing all over America,  Europe, and the Caribbean for over 25 years.  Posessing a truly unique rhythmic style he draws from what seems to be every available musical color in the palette. He is also one of the bravest and most energetic musicians you will ever experience live.
Playing solo or surrounding himself with some of the best international musicians in the world, Chris lives for that real “in the moment” exchange with his audience, his players and the vibrations created by all involved.

 

Feb
12
Mon
David Johnston
Feb 12 @ 7:30 pm

David Johnston  – if you don’t know him, you have to stop by TOAD for Blue Monday – take a listen HERE where David talks about his influences and plays a bit of music –

Image result for david johnston music

The White Owls
Feb 12 @ 9:00 pm

Just look at the band; Dennis Brennan on harmonica, guitar and vocals. Tim Gearan on guitar and vocals. Steve Sadler on lap steel.  Jim Haggerty on bass and Andy Plaisted on drums.

Check out a clip from one of their shows HERE  – After making it thru Monday, YOU deserve a night out!

Image result for white owls at toad

Feb
13
Tue
Grant Bloom
Feb 13 @ 7:30 pm

Grant Bloom was brought up learning classical piano; wedged between Dallas and Ft. Worth Texas. Much like a kid eating broccoli, he pushed it away, not realizing how beneficial the music was. Some years later, he was baptized into the world of jazz and from this, music began to tug at Grant’s sleeve. After being taught basic guitar chords from his father, and becoming comfortable in his vocal prowess, Grant began to craft songs.

The Wolff Sisters
Feb 13 @ 10:00 pm

Hailing from the cobble stone streets of Boston, The Wolff Sisters blend rock, blues, and roots music into their own unique sound. Their gritty songs draw from adventures all over New England that shaped their lives.

Feb
14
Wed
Fandango
Feb 14 @ 7:00 pm

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.” –

AS SEEN AT TOAD...