Calendar
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
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
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.
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.
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 –
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!
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 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.
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.” –
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 “…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.
“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
“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
Sunday Spins! – Vinyl Lovers Unite! 3-8pm every Sunday!
Sign up on the list and play two songs each turn.
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!
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 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.
“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.
Fred Griffeth fronts Fandango – Their celebrated selection of Americana music draws a loyal band of pious sisters and reform school brothers! – Truth . . .
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
“A veritable Grand Ole Opry with a modern sense of humor….” (Music Connection Magazine)
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)
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
“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
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.
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 –
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!
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.
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.
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.” –