New England Americana Festival report

One hell of a night at the Hard Rock Cafe! The first night of the New England Americana Festival (NEAF) saw a huge turnout, well over 250 people. The bands put on an amazing performance, from the energetic and ass-moving sounds of the Whiskey Boys to Eric Royer's one-man band. Big shout-out to the folks from Narragansett Beer for the free drinks! They'll be there at the next two shows in July and August (see previous post for more details).

Citywide Blackout was there, broadcasting live from the club. You can still catch the show by going to the Shows tab on CyberstationUSA.com and going down the list until you find Citywide Blackout. It'll only be archived there for two weeks, so check it out fast! I'll be posting it here when I get a copy.

I talked to John Colvert after the show and he told me the response has been tremendous. And this is only the beginning.

New England Americana Festival

Hey all, big news for the city's Americana scene! John Colvert and Noel Coakley have been hard at work on putting together another New England Americana Festival, and now the dates and bands are set. Expect guests, news updates and more here on Citywide Blackout, and keep an eye out for yours truly, Max Bowen at the show. Plus, I've got free tickets to give away, just shoot me an e-mail at citywidemax@yahoo.com

New England Americana Comes to the Hard Rock!

That's right folks, after a 3 night, sold out festival at Church of Boston (www.churchofboston.com) back in February, the New England Americana Community (www.newenglandamericanafestival.com) will return for a Summer Series at the Hard Rock Cafe in the heart of Boston. This time, 18 acts from around New England will comprise 3 nights of performances, headlined by local legends, Jimmy Ryan and Hayride! and Dennis Brennan. We are also teaming up with Narragansett Beer to provide inexpensive tickets and great drink specials.

June 24

Jimmy Ryan and Hayride (w/ Mark Spencer from SonVolt / Blood Oranges)

Sam Reid and the Riot Act

Eric Robertson & Boston Boys

The Whiskey Boys

Jeff Conley

July 29

Chris O’Brien

Autumn Hollow Band

Jeff Byrd and Dirty Finch

Brendan Hogan

The Thin Heir

Jenee Halstead

Bees Knees

David Sammarco

August 26

Dennis Brennan

Tripping Lily

Kingsley Flood

John Colvert

Highway Ghosts

Rationales

Tickets are only $10!

______________________________

Back in February, 34 New England based acts came together for 3 sold out nights at Church (www.churchofboston.com) down in the Fenway area of Boston. With out a dime behind us, our goal was to put on a local, grassroots festival to give like minded artists and fans the opportunity to mingle in effort to try to reignite a musical community that has been somewhat dormant (in our opinion) for a number of years now. We'll I'm happy to say that it's working. Almost all of the acts are teaming up for shows of their own, sitting in on one another's recordings and sets, and supporting each other by going to shows and spreading the love to their fans and supporters.

Our goal is to continue building the community, energy, and camaraderie throughout the year and beyond. To do this, New England Americana will be presenting shows all around New England with the focus on each local community, reflecting the Greater Boston area's rapidly growing roots music scene. This Summer's lineup at the Hard Rock Cafe features bands that draw from American music's deep heritage in unique ways, often blurring lines between country, rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and other styles.

--
John Colvert

www.johncolvert.com
www.facebook.com/johncolvert
www.twitter.com/johncolvert

All Asia, June 20

Sunday, June 20, it's a great night of folk and rock musicians at the All Asia Bar on 332 Mass Ave. The action kicks off at 9 p.m. with a $5 cover.

Here's the lineup.

Eldridge Rodriguez

http://www.myspace.com/eldridgerodriguez

Ian Adams

http://www.myspace.com/ianquotequotadams

Kimberly Bomba

http://www.myspace.com/kimberlybombamusic

Same time, new show

Hey all, big news for Boston's local musicians. Citywide Blackout is now a full hour long! That's right, music lovers, 60 minutes of the very best of Boston's local tunes. We'll have new segments, regular guests that will come on to provide some great advice to those looking to make the most of their music. Karmic Music, our newest partnership, will have a regular segment at the first week of every month.

In addition, Cityiwde Blackout takes its first steps to becoming a regular music news outlet. We'll have articles, reviews of bands and CDs, and a whole lot more.

If you want to be a part of the program, just e-mail me at citywidemax@yahoo.com.