Calendar
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Elisa Smith & The Tiny Little Lies are steeped in the Americana roots and vintage country tradition. The inspiration for their outlaw honky-tonk sound is drawn from country greats like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Tanya Tucker mixed with a dash of modern rock country. Their songs elicit feelings of nostalgia, pride, wanderlust, and good ol’ fashioned boot-stompin’ mischief. The diverse backgrounds of the band fuse together to form a truly American sound. Even though they have only been playing together for a short while, each band member’s connection to history, place, and musical tradition has instantly bound them together.
“happy songs for miserable people” – Melvern
check out a fan fave “Sleepy Eyes” – recorded right here at TOAD
Press:
“Your music makes me want to pee. In a good way….”
Melvern Taylor is the Sam Shepard of the Ukulele!
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
“I see myself as a career songwriter,” says McNeill. “And I’m very passionate about it.” Yup, there’s that word again … passion. It’s the same thing that Van Morrison has — and it’s what McNeill, who grew up in Derry in Northern Ireland, has cultivated ever since seeing Van perform at age 10 in Derry. “Seeing Van showed me that you can really occupy a song. You don’t just perform it. You live it,” adds Christian.
Jesse Williams prides himself on his musical depth AND breadth! He has performed and recorded internationally, including two Grammy Nominated Albums and six W.C. Handy nominated albums. He has played with
Jimmy Vivino, Bucky Pizzarelli, Susan Tedeschi, Howard Alden, Duke Robillard, Jay McShann, Al Kooper, Jay Giels, John Hammond Jr., Karin Allyson, Harry Allen, Ruth Brown, Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Johnny A., Maria Muldaur, Johnnie Johnson, Ronnie Earl, Henry Butler, Charles Neville, Julien Kasper, Bruce Katz, and many others. He’s been a member of touring bands with Duke Robillard, Al Kooper, Johnny A, W.C. Handy All Stars, and others. PHEW!
Marco Giovino rounds out the trio…
Hitting the stage tonight is Mike Gent, guitarist & vocalist of The Figgs.
The tried and true band The Figgs, has a worldwide fan base, a hearty discography, and celebrates more than 25 years together. Members (Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly and Pete Hayes) have been playing since the trio was in high school in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The Figgs tunes are stuffed with Kinks-inspired power and melodies, vibrant harmonies and sonic experimentation ala The Beatles and the The Band, the reach of NRBQ’s eclecticism, and a grit and youthfulness akin to the best rock bands from The Who to the Ramones
SUGAR BLOOD JINX
is Eric Waxwood who uses finger-picking and a slide on a National Steel Guitar and sings lead vocals;
Matt Murphy who plays an upright bass and sings background vocals; and
Scott Pittman who plays an old 1920‘s ‘traps’ drum kit and sings background vocals.
“Vinyl record sales are at a 28 year high” – Fortune April 2016 – See/Hear for yourself at Sunday Spins – every Sunday – bring your records and take turns sharing your faves!
Tonight is the TOAD debut of this great new band out of Brooklyn NY! Youth Moose is made up of three humans not in any way affiliated with moose or moose culture. They do not hunt moose. Instead, they are three wild spirits who love to make music. Some people say that Youth Moose sounds like the B52’s, others that they make children’s music for adults. You decide. One thing for sure: you’ll love these people, and you’ll love the music they make.
You could make a whole day of it because TOAD opens at 3pm on Sundays for Sunday Spins which is TOAD’s weekly open mic for your vinyl collection. Every Sunday from 3 to 7 bring your vinyl to TOAD and sign up to play your favorite songs (3 songs per person).
Bring a record, grab a beer, and stick around for Youth Moose! Keep your strength by having a TOAD burger, too! (All natural beef burger with melted cheddar, pickles, crispy onions, chopped lettuce & special sauce on an onion roll)
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!
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 –
The Boston Globe on The Franc Graham Band:
“Immensely Underrated… cool and commanding… an unusually rich blend of singer-songwriter rock…”
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.” –
Catch a Dinosaur likes to play dreamy music.
le Prestige is an attempt by Boston bassist Chris Forkey to create an instrumental music inspired by the jazz-sample heavy sounds of 90’s hip-hop, electronica and lounge, all performed live with just horns, upright bass, and drums. “Repertoire”, finished in 2012, also features Scott Getchell on trumpet, Kit Buckley on tenor sax, John Glenshaw on drums, and Jim Hobbs on alto sax.
“You guys put on a hell of a show, a lot of fun!” – Steve Morse, long time Boston Globe music critic and freelance writier on the Baker Thomas Band . . .
Boston native, Sonya Rae is a rising star with a blend of gifts rarely found on the blues-rock and soul scene today. Her dazzling musical ability is immediately evident through her soaring vocals, scorching guitar work and savvy song-craft. She has been likened to a “fiery female combination of Warren Haynes, Bonnie Raitt and Amy Winehouse”
Zack DuPont is one of The DuPont Brothers –
“The DuPont Brothers have the gift of being both poets and musicians, a rarity these days. It’s always refreshing to hear sibling duos, because you can sense the true bond felt between them. A Riddle For You has a way of really tugging on your heartstrings, having the quality of sounding familiar while at the same time offering a fresh twist on traditional folk music.
-Amy Lieberman, NYS Music
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.
Bring your vinyl as we get to take turns playing our faves…
sorta like open mic – sign up to play two songs from your vinyl – we set up a turn table center stage – . . . – once you play your songs you can sign up again –
bring new – old – anything!
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!
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 –
Laurence Scudder picked the viola after a school assembly when he was in the fourth grade. He’s been in love ever since (and so have the people who’ve heard him play here at TOAD (or anywhere).
Currently, he plays with local acts Spotted Tiger, Brothers McCann, Danielle Miraglia & The Glory Junkies, Thank God For Science, The Blue Ribbons and more. You can find him most nights gigging around Boston.
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“Mr. (Ryan) Fitzsimmons is a brutal force of nature on acoustic guitar. Often breaking multiple strings during a performance, he plays with a fire and fierceness that cannot be tamed, or faked for that matter. His songs are as authentic and emotion driven as they come, ranging from beautiful and moving ballads, to raucous and rambling dirt stompers, there is no doubt that Ryan is as enticing a musician as they come.”
Honey Talk is a fresh, innovative, and comfortable quartet that performs classic hits and inviting originals making you feel sweeter than honey.
Honey talk is:
Cody Nilsen – Guitar/Vocals
Steve Bunce- Bass/Vocals
Ben Blanchard – Keys/Vocals
Pat “Daddy” Dalton – Drums/Vocals
check out one of their songs HERE
“I still believe the lessons I learned when I was raised in a Roman Catholic household. Like, it’s harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” – Michael Moore –
Celebrate Hump Day with Fandango
Stash (Short for Stanisław) Wyslouch (Pronounced Why- Slouch)
Guitarist and Singer in The Stash! Band and Molsky’s Mountain Drifters
Stash Wyslouch is a musician based out of the Boston area. A songwriter, composer, guitarist, teacher, music appreciator & nerd, Stash is known for his whacky neo-bluegrass guitar style and inventive compositions and improvisations. He’s released three albums of original music and played on dozens of records as a supporting musician. He currently leads his own band, The Stash Band, that’s been described by the Boston Herald as a “Sonic Kaleidoscopic of Weirdness and Wonder.” Stash plays guitar in Old-Time Appalachian Stringband trio Molsky’s Mountain Drifters and can also be found playing guitar with the Jacob Jolliff Band, Corporate Punk (Sean Trischka) and Tony Trischka’s Early Roman Kings.
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Max Ridley is a Boston-based musician, composer, and teacher. He was awarded full-tuition scholarships to study at Berklee College of Music for both an undergraduate and graduate degree. He earned his graduate degree from Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute under the direction of pianist and educator Danilo Perez. He has shared the stage with renown musicians, Kenny Werner, Ingrid Jensen, Bob Mover, Jason Palmer, George Garzone, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ra-Kalam Bob Moses and Perico Sambeat. He has performed in venues such as the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Umbria Jazz Festival. He has toured domestically and internationally and has also spent some time living in Valencia, Spain and considers it his second home as well as the other artistic community to which he belongs.
“happy songs for miserable people” – Melvern
check out a fan fave “Sleepy Eyes” – recorded right here at TOAD
Press:
“Your music makes me want to pee. In a good way….”
Melvern Taylor is the Sam Shepard of the Ukulele!
“You guys put on a hell of a show, a lot of fun!” – Steve Morse, long time Boston Globe music critic and freelance writier on the Baker Thomas Band . . .
Telescope is one of Andrew Stern‘s projects – He came up with the name because the band is designed around the Telecaster guitar.
When the question is posed to guitarists, “If you could have just one guitar, what would it be?”, polls show that an overwhelming number of guitarists reply, “a Telecaster”. I rank as one who would answer exactly the same. The telecaster is a versatile tool which can cover a lot of ground, but more importantly, it changes the way I approach and play the instrument. Inspired by my own teles and by some telecaster playing guitar heroes of mine, I’ve designed a band around the guitar itself, appropriately titled “Telescope”. A mix of originals and covers, it’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and more than a little bit undefined.
Oh – and besides, Andrew . . . the other names should also “sound” familiar:
Andrew Stern: guitar
James Rohr: keys
Greg Loughman: bass
Mike Connors: drums
Nalani & Sarina, identical twins sisters from New Jersey, have developed a distinctive blend of traditional soul-rock and modern pop likely to keep their faces in the spotlight for years to come. Nalani & Sarina’s smart, kinetic live shows, whether as a duo or with their band, have made the sisters favorites on the Northeastern club scene.
Their most recent album, The Circle, is being digitally distributed worldwide by Kobalt/AWAL Music. Legendary music critic/SiriusXM radio host Dave Marsh has called their material “a splendid melding of ‘classic’ and contemporary styles” and “some of the best music being made today.” In the review of the album’s first single, Young & Inexperienced, Billboard.com raved “Like other great songwriters, Nalani and Sarina are channeling the emotions of their era.” In the review of their album, NJArts.net praised Nalani & Sarina as “one of the best new musical acts to come out of NJ in a long time. (I) believe that Nalani & Sarina are a voice for their generation.”
VERDEgree is a Indie-Rock band led by singer and bassist Elisabeth Hoffman. VERDEgree’s music blends beautiful melodies with intricate rhythms and crunchy time signatures. Each song reflects different experiences and stories from Hoffman’s life.
Interesting, introspective melodies that mix with a hint of dissonance and a pinch of grit. Verdegree is expanding into slightly darker, brooding, sounds with a heavier feel. Look forward to some new sounds soon!
Bring your vinyl as we get to take turns playing our faves…
sorta like open mic – sign up to play two songs from your vinyl – we set up a turn table center stage – . . . – once you play your songs you can sign up again –
bring new – old – anything!
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.
