Three-time GRAMMY-winning producer and Woodstock residents Larry Campbell, and singer-guitarist Teresa Williams have announced the release of their latest single, “Desert Island Dreams.” The single is a true Americana piece with a road-trip feel, complete with hearty guitar licks and soulful vocals.
The single, “Desert Island Dreams” is an upbeat ode about disregarding the madness of the modern world. While the world around us may be hectic, we always have the chance to slip away to our own desert island and dream in peace. Whether that desert island be literal or metaphorical, we can all find one to escape the monotony and chaos. Campbell has his creative roots as a multi-instrumentalist with Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, and others, and Williams as a stage actor in productions like Keep On the Sunny Side and Always… Patsy Cline. Together, the creative and talented duo combine to become the couple of Americana.
The duo also has a new album titled, All This Time, set to release April 5. The album is a milestone, marking 40 years of musicianship and partnership of the duo. Also on the duo’s agenda, a tour across multiple states is currently in effect.
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams 2024 tour dates
1/13 – South Walton, FL – 30A Songwriter Festival
1/14 – South Walton, FL – 30A Songwriter Festival
1/17 – Cancún, Quintana Roo – Feat Camp
1/18 – Cancún, Quintana Roo – Feat Camp
1/19 – Cancún, Quintana Roo – Feat Camp
1/20 – Cancún, Quintana Roo – Feat Camp
4/16 – Boston, MA – City Winery
4/17 – Fairfield, CT – Stage One
4/18 – Ardmore, PA – Ardmore Music Hall
4/20 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
4/21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall
4/23 – Columbus, OH – Natalie’s
4/24 – Detroit, MI – Magic Bag
4/26 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music
4/27 – Minneapolis, MN – Parkway Theater
4/30 – Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads
5/1 – St Louis, MO – Off Broadway
5/3 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley
5/4 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic
5/5 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic
5/11 – Lexington, TN – Main & Monroe
For more information on Larry and Teresa’s upcoming shows or releases, click here. Stay up to date on Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams’ album, All This Time. To listen to the duo’s latest single. “Desert Island Dreams,” see below.
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has announced that GRAMMY Award-winning folk icons Indigo Girls and singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridgewill perform together on a series of combined shows this August.
Indigo Girls
Beginning at Ravinia in Highland Park, Illinois, the tour will go on to include a co-billed West Coast tour with Amos Lee. Combining timeless songs and distinct styles, this unique collaboration between one of America’s most beloved singer-songwriters and one of folk’s greatest duos promises an unforgettable musical experience.
Adding to the excitement of the tour, It’s Only Life After All, the documentary film by the Indigo Girls, has finally been released in 2024. Having been screened by major international film festivals, including Toronto’s Hot Docs, SXSW, Tribeca, and Sundance Film Festival, anticipation is high.
Moreover, the jukebox musical romance, Glitter & Doom, is another upcoming film with even more music from the Indigo Girls. Glitter & Doom presents a brilliant queer supporting cast, including Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, Kate Pierson, and more. Scheduled for release on March 8 in NYC and L.A., followed by a nationwide theatrical rollout and a VOD release.
With Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls together, music lovers have a special chance to experience top-notch songwriting and singing.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd pays tribute to his guitar hero Jeff Beck in a new single “Rhapsody In Blues (One for Jeff)”
Guitarist and Singer-songwriter Ricky Byrd who was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in inducted in 2015 with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts has released a new single instrumental single “Rhapsody In Blues (One for Jeff)” to pay a tribute to his guitar hero Jeff Beck who passed away in 2023 due to illness.
Byrd’s new single “Rhapsody In Blues (One for Jeff)” follows the release of his recent digital/7″ singles “Louanne”, “Alien” and “Glamdemic Blues”, which featured a B-side cover of the Four Tops’ classic “Reach Out (I’ll Be There).
The only way I felt I could properly pay tribute to Jeff Beck, whose playing has inspired me my whole life, was to record this track dedicated to him. This is a track I felt I needed to write. I did it as a thank you to Jeff. He was such an important part of the process for me as a guitar player.
First as a teenager discovering all this cool new music I was soaking up, trying to learn a riff here and there (the easy ones), to all these many years later where I’m still in awe of where he took guitar playing. And yes I’m still trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to nick one of his riffs. Thanks again Guv’nor.
Ricky Byrd
The song honors the legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, who played with the Yardbirds and was once named one of the top 5 guitarists of all-time by Rolling Stone. Jeff was a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – first with The Yardbirds in 1992 and later as a solo artist in 2009, before he passed he had with Johnny Depp in the Fall off 2022 and made a stop at UPAC in Kingston. Revisit the performance here.
Neighbor will make their way to Saratoga Springs for the first time on Friday, January 19, having grown a sizeable following in the Northeast over the past five years. They’ll also be at Levon Helm Studios the next night, January 20, for an intimate show, sure to be packed with diehard fans on what looks to be a frosty night.
Speaking with singer and keyboardist Richard James, one had to know – how did it take so long to come to Saratoga Springs?
“Every time we come to Putnam Place with Pink Talking Fish is a blast, and I wanted to make sure the first time we played there with Neighbor, it was a packed house and the date made sense. Having not played Saratoga Springs definitely has driven up interest in the show, and could be the start of something.”
Neighbor is the creation of childhood neighbors Richard James (vocals, keys) and Lyle Brewer (guitar), plus Dan Kelly (bass) and Dean “The Dux” Johnston (drums), together combining ambitious composition, soulful balladry, and a fearless approach to improvisations with intent, creating Neighbor’s “down home” sound.
While James was touring with Pink Talking Fish, Brewer went on to teach guitar at Berklee College of Music, and in 2018 they revisited playing music together. With no barriers, it was like they were back in middle school, writing songs and performing together. The two are now finding balance after five years, between songwriting and jamming on (mostly) original material each night.
photo by Chris Capaci
Having just celebrated their 5 year anniversary as a band earlier this month, but four years ago in early 2020, Neighbor was just getting warmed up when COVID hit, shutting down the live music industry. Thus, in the years that have followed, they have been strategic with their touring schedule.
“All members of the band have families and kids. Lyle is an instructor at Berklee College of Music, and Dean is drum chair at Milton Academy outside of Boston, so routing needs to work out among balanced schedules and family obligations”
This, while also trying to push as hard as they can without burning out or taking away from instruction at these music schools, maneuvering the the band’s direction deftly. The band, collectively, wants to make sure they are not overwhelmed by how much is going on – the number of shows, the time on the road and away from home.
As a band, Neighbor wants longevity, and they’ll defer to taking the slow road instead of rushing.
photo by Chris Capaci
Neighbor saw its genesis well before 2018, going back to when James was on the road with Pink Talking Fish. “I’ve been writing since I ever got into music. Once I got started with Pink Talking Fish, I toured for six or seven years straight, compiled all this original music, and it was eventually time to do something different,” said James. After spending a day in New Orleans with piano legend Jon Cleary and gaining clarity towards a vision for his music, he began a Tuesday night residency at Thunder Road in Somerville, recruiting childhood neighbor Lyle Brewer, hence the band name, Neighbor.
For Neighbor’s five year anniversary, they decided to go back to their roots and recently announced a five week residency, one week for each year as a band, to pay tribute to how things came to be what they are now. James recalls those early Neighbor shows. “There are so many weird, crazy antics we would do at Tuesday night residencies in the past, special guests, switching up instruments, keeping fans on their toes and coming back for more the next week.” They look to bring back this magic with their upcoming residency at Soundcheck Studios, starting February 20 through March 19, every Tuesday night. “A lot of people travel to see us, and although we play the songs differently each night to keep it fresh, to give it that extra factor (horns), keeping it interesting where fans won’t want to miss a show” said James.
There is also the Neighbor rock opera, Silver, which was recently performed with the “Neighbor Nine,” where five additional horns and back up singers join the Neighbor quartet for a surprise factor on any given night. The Neighbor Nine come together with the full band, plus Matt Wayne (saxophone), James Cronin (trumpet), Rob Krahn (trombone), with Renee DuPuis and Joanne Cassidy as backup vocalists. The band has custom baseball jerseys, and if four members are wearing them, you might see the three horns and two singers come out and join Neighbor for some or all of the show.
Performing Silver was hands down the show of the year. I was blown away by the musicianship of the other band members, and even with limited opportunities to practice in advance, we ran a bunch of music during soundcheck and it was all there, no one skipped a beat. To have that trust and perform at the level we did – including songs played that night for the first time – it was magical. Adding in the show was rescheduled from October when the shooting in Lewiston postponed many events, in this case until January – which meant practice during the holiday season, a tough call for family-centric band members, but they pulled it off.
Richard James
That rock opera is based on the whole idea behind Neighbor – “let’s go out and have fun,” as James puts it. “The moment this stops being fun, it’s time we should stop doing it. We thought it would be fun to write a rock odyssey. Lyle and Richard grew up on rock operas, and we gave it a go during COVID, escaping the division in the country while settling on a story: two guys plan to leave the planet, stumble upon a guy who has the answers, and take off on an interstellar adventure, spread out over 10 songs, ” “Magic Marble Crew,” “Magna Zero” and “We Need You” among them. The story unfolds as the pair discover different civilizations, steal a spaceship, all in the pursuit of finding a home where everyone looks out for each other – neighbors helping neighbors, if you will.”
Having just released 30 shows on Nugs.Net and a thorough collection of music on the Neighbor Bandcamp page, Neighbor’s diverse catalog of hundreds of songs makes them one of the most exciting and unpredictable live bands in the music scene today. Don’t miss them at Putnam Place on Friday, January 19, and Saturday, January 20 at Levon Helm Studios.
