This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Maria Muldaur’s chart-topping hit “Midnight at the Oasis.” To celebrate this milestone, she and her band will be embarking on a special tour with stops throughout New York, presenting Muldaur’s multi-media retrospective show, Way Past Midnight, which will chronicle her 60-year musical journey.
In this one-of-a-kind multi-media retrospective, Mulduar chronicles her 60-year musical journey through American Roots Music, to The Oasis and Beyond. Mulduar and her band will perform her iconic hits, such as “Midnight at the Oasis,” “I’m A Woman,” and more. They will also play many oft-requested fan favorites from the 43 albums she has recorded in the last 50 years.
Mulduar will treat audiences to previously unseen photos and videos and will share fascinating, often humorous personal stories from every stage of her 60-year career, spanning from her early days in the 60s with The Jim Kweskin Jug Band to her years of pop stardom, and on to her continuing exploration of the many forms of American Roots Music – Blues, Bluesiana, Jazz, and Gospel.
Way Past Midnight tells Maria Muldaur’s story in words, pictures, videos, and songs. Through this, she allows fans insight into her personal encounters, friendships, and collaborators, including many notable names in music: Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Aaron Neville, John Sebastian, David Grisman, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder, Hoagy Carmichael, and Benny Carter, amongst others.
After 80 years of hard work, the Blind Boys of Alabama continue to wow audiences and touch souls with the recent release of their praiseworthy single “Work Until My Days Are Done.” The doo-wop, gospel ditty is the second release from the group’s upcoming album Echoes Of The South, which will officially be released to the public on September 8th through Single Rock Records.
The Blind Boys of Alabama have faced more struggles and success in the music industry than most musicians will in their lifetimes. Their eight decades of experience and pure talent has led them from street performances in the Jim Crow South all the way to being the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement, giving them the chance to perform for three different United States Presidents and landing them as legends in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
This dedication and persistence to one another and to their love of music is epitomized in their newest single, as they will not only “work” but “sing” until their days are done. There is no stopping the powerhouse group as they rely on one another and the shared agreement that “as long as everybody gives all that they have to give and we sing songs that touch the heart, we’ll live on forever.”
Now, after losing their brothers in arms Paul Beasley and Benjamin Moore, the remaining members carry on, releasing their new album Echoes Of The South in their name and memory. Echoes Of The South not only marks the first album that the Blind Boys of Alabama have released in six years but also marks their first ever fully made in their home state, giving the tracks a deeper significance than can be imagined for the music vets.
The tracklist is similarly rooted in coming home, drawing from the music that’s most inspired them over their careers: long-lost gospel classics, traditional spirituals and timeless R&B/soul cuts made famous by artists like Pops Staples and Curtis Mayfield. These incredible personal touches establish Echoes Of The South as a “homecoming” in countless senses of the word.
With the two released singles from the album, “Friendship” along with “Work Until My Days Are Done,” it is evident that the Blind Boy’s newest music is some of their best. Their harmonies and messages touch hearts, while their bridges and power take listeners by surprise and never fail to get people on their feet with rafter-raising moments. This is something special that anyone with ears will not want to miss. Until September 8th, the Blind Boys of Alabama’s current members; McKinnie, Jimmy Carter, the Rev. Julius Love, Sterling Glass, and Joey Williams, will be touring the country from this July well into 2024.
Blind Boys of Alabama Tour
July 19 – Mendocino Music Festival 2023 – Mendocino, CA
August 19 – CHOMP – Redmond, CA
August 27 – Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival – Vancouver, WA
September 9 – Paramount Center for the Arts – Saint Cloud, MN
September 10 – Reif Performing Arts Center – Grand Rapids, MN
September 11 – Pablo Center at the Confluence – Eau Claire, WI
September 15 – City Winery Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
September 16 – City Winery Boston – Boston, MA
September 17 – City Winery New York – New York, NY
November 19 – Edwin J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall – Akron, OH
November 26 – Lone Tree Arts Center – Lone Tree, CO
January 13-20 – Sandy Beaches Cruise 2024 – Fort Lauderdale, FL
February 8 – Fred Kavli Theatre (with Bobby Rush) – Thousand Oaks, CA
Songwriter, harpist, and Rochester born artist Mikaela Davis has recently shared a stunning music video to accompany her newest single “Cinderella.” The song is a selection from her upcoming album And Southern Star which will officially be released on Aug. 4 via Kill Rock Stars.
Since releasing her debut album Delivery five years ago, Mikaela Davis has traveled far away from her hometown of Rochester to fully immerse herself in her musical journey. The artist has joined the stage with musicians from all backgrounds of music and genres including founding members of the Grateful Dead Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, eight-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride, and American indie folk band Bon Iver.
Although Davis earned her degree in harp performance at the Crane School of Music, she has grown and built off of that foundation into a multi-genre and multi-talented artist, molding her classical music training to create an original and genre-bending catalog that weaves together 60s pop-soaked melodies, psychedelia, and driving folk rock. This diverse mix of sounds is what fans should expect from her upcoming album along with the story of Davis’ ever-evolving relationships between her closest friends and bandmates. And Southern Star is a truly collaborative effort that ruminates on the choices we make, and the people we always come back to.
Fans can now use the single “Cinderella” to understand the direction Mikaela Davis is heading in this new decade of growth and storytelling. The song begins with the hauntingly beautiful picking of a solo harp quickly joined by Davis’ atmospheric and soul-stirring melodic voice. Davis can be seen playing the instrument in a gorgeous red dress, tearing the pieces, and running through fields of green throughout the video. As the song picks up, more instruments are built on to add support to a primarily fragile musical story surrounding the girl with countless choices to make with even more roadblocks in her way: Cinderella.
Davis will continue to give her fans all the content they desire as the artist is starting out on tour this summer and into the Fall. She will travel to stages all over the United States bringing her beautiful voice and classically trained harp skills to select audiences. Joining her in multiple locations is the alternative and indie band The Mountain Goats.
Mikaela Davis Tour Dates
AUG 3, THU Happy Valley, OR Pickathon FEST AUG 4, FRI Happy Valley, OR Pickathon FEST AUG 5, SAT Seattle Nectar AUG 8, TUE Redding, CA The Dip AUG 9, WED Fresno, CA Strummers AUG 11, FRI Phoenix, AZ Last Exit AUG 12, SAT Truth or Consequences, NM Artist Abbey AUG 13, SUN Santa Fe, NM Meow Wolf AUG 17 THU, Minneapolis, MN Turf Club AUG 20 SUN Evanston, IL SPACE OCT 2 MON @ 7:00 pm Solana Beach, CA Belly Up * OCT 3 TUE @ 7:00pm Los Angeles, CA The Belasco Theater * OCT 5 THU @ 7:00pm San Francisco, CA August Hall * OCT 6 FRI @ 7:00 pm San Francisco, CA August Hall * OCT 7 SAT @ 7:00 pm Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades * OCT 9 MON @ 7:00 pm Spokane WA Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox * OCT 10 TUE @ 8:00 pm Boise, IDKnitting Factory Concert House * OCT 11 WED @ 7:00 pm Bozeman, MT The Elm * OCT 13 FRI @ 8:00 pm Boulder, CO Fox Theatre * OCT 14 SAT @ 8:00 pm Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre *
Just in time for Pride month, LA’s Andy Frasco & The U.N. have announced the release of their eagerly awaited new album, L’Optimist, on Friday, August 11th. Today, they have premiered the release of the ebullient first single, “You Do You,” with a hilarious music video to accompany it.
As a much-beloved live outfit renowned for unbridled improvisation, audience interaction, surprising covers, special guests, and animated antics unlike any other, Andy Frasco & The U.N. is unlike no other. Frasco’s sixth studio album L’Optimist is the most hopeful and enthusiastic collection thus far in his career.
The upcoming release now sees Frasco continuing to develop as a songwriter, band leader, and human being, his exploratory spirit giving way to something more firmly grounded yet no less adventurous. Having built a still-expanding career on forward motion, Andy Frasco remains positive in his determination to keep on keeping on, pushing himself and his music to grow and improve with every passing day.
“‘You Do You’ is basically a call to arms to myself,” Frasco says about the single. “Like, what is success? We built success through being outlaws and being ourselves. I did it my own way and it worked out for the best, I think. Could we have been way more successful if I just conformed? Maybe, but that’s boring. It sounds like cheating in a race and I’m not trying to cheat. I want to do it my way. Hopefully I’ll look back when I’m 80 and realize that, like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way.”
A testament to Frasco’s wide-ranging influences and boundless energy, L’Optimist sees the magnetic frontman continuing to chart his path of self-exploration and personal discovery through increasingly introspective lyricism and musical adventure. The album sees Frasco fully in command of his craft, more comfortable and confident than ever before, his notorious party-animal persona giving way to a wiser, but no less enthusiastic, artist and band leader.
Frasco once again challenged himself to explore difficult lyrical terrain, spanning relationships and chronic depression, empathy and alienation, inspired in part by his first real girlfriend. Songs like the deeply moving “Iowa Moon” touch on matters of the heart and mental health, emotional struggle and the sheer vulnerability of the human experience, all relayed through a wildly eclectic approach navigating funk, jazz, surf rock, blues, swing, gospel, reggae, exotica, and more with horn-blasted positivity and soulful power.
“With so much bad news in the world, why not try to figure out a way to get out of the darkness,” Frasco says. “We’re not going to be able to change the world, but at least we can change the mind state we have moving forward. We can at least help the process along by being optimistic that the future will turn itself around. And if everyone changes their mind state about the future, then maybe we can change the world.”
In the meantime, Frasco will spend the summer traveling America on a wide-ranging itinerary that features headline dates, top-billed festival appearances, and an eagerly awaited double bill supporting Slightly Stoopid set for August 13th at Morrison, CO’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Additional dates will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. TOUR 2023
MAY
19 – Beaufort, NC – Beaufort Music Festival *
20-21 – Garrettsville, OH – Tropidelic’s Sunny Days *
28 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Music Festival *
JUNE
1-3 – New River Gorge, WV – Mountain Music Festival *
16 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands Music & Arts Festival *
17 – Wellfleet, MA – Beachcomber
18 – Nantucket, MA – The Chicken Box
21 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
22 – Isle of Palms, SC – The Windjammer
23 – Black Mountain, SC – Pisgah Brewing Company
24 – Kill Devil Hills, NC – Outer Banks Brewing Station
25 – Kill Devil Hills, NC – Outer Banks Brewing Station
27 – Roanoke, VA – 5 Points Music Sanctuary
28 – Dewey Beach, DE – Bottle & Cork
29 – Virginia Beach, VA – New Realm Brewing Co.
30 – Baltimore, MD – Union Craft Brewing
JULY
1 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival *
2 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse
14 – Buffalo, NY – Cobblestone Live! *
26 – Victor, ID – Knotty Pine
27 – Salmon, ID – Sweet Water Hollow
28 – Livingston, MT – Pine Creek Lodge
29 – Ketchum, ID – Argyros Performing Arts Center
AUGUST
1 – Durango, CO – Animas City Theatre
2 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater
4 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Snow Bowl Steamboat
5 – Telluride, CO – Sheridan Opera House
6 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen
10–12 – Yuba, WI – People Fest *
13 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre +
SEPTEMBER
9 – Indianapolis, IN – All In Music & Arts Festival *
10 – St. Louis, MO – Music At The Intersection *
28 – E. Lansing, MI – Hall 224 ^
OCTOBER
1 – Washington, DC – Atlantis ^
4 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom ^
8 – Portland, ME – Bayside Bowl ^
11 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry ^
NOVEMBER
2 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl †
4 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse †
5 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre †
DECEMBER
5 – Little Rock, AR – Revolution Music Hall –
6 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard –
7 – Austin, TX – Mohawk –
8 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co. –
9 – Houston, TX – Last Concert Cafe –
10 – Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea’s Live –
16 – Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic Lounge #
