On Stage: Lion King roars into Philly

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Many touring Broadway shows make frequent return visits to Philadelphia but the hit musical “The Lion King” is not one of them. The show made its area debut in 2006 at the Academy of Music and then didn’t come back again until 2010.

Now, after another wait of just over four years, “The Lion King” is ready for another triumphant return to the Quaker City.

The musical, which features music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, is running now through June 14 at the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org), as part of the Kimmel Center‘s “Broadway Philadelphia” series.

The show, which is set in the jungle somewhere in Africa, tells the story of the lion Simba from his days as a newborn cub through his adult years and is filled with sub-plots and unexpected twists. The hyenas – Shenzi, Banzai and Ed – provide a bit of comic relief.

With “The Lion King”, the animated feature came first and then the Broadway show. The stage production is very similar to the movie. The story and the characters are exactly the same and so is a lot of the dialogue.  The stage version “The Lion King” is known for its elaborate costumes — outfits that transform human actors into jungle animals. It also wins over audiences with its lively, exotic music.

“The Lion King” won six 1998 Tony Awards — Best Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical.  It has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and the 1999 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.

One of the key players in the touring show is Tshidi Manye, who performs the role of Rafiki. As the start of the show, Rafiki the mandrill calls the animals to Pride Rock. She greets King Mufasa and QueenSarabi before presenting their cubs to the gathered animals.

“I established a bond with Rafiki,” said Manye, during a recent phone interview. “Being an African, I understand her. I know what a Sangoma is so it’s easy for me to play the role. I have Sangomas in my family.”

The name given to the traditional healers of many southern African tribes, including the Zulu, is Sangoma. It is a spiritual calling based on a belief in ancestral spirits. A Sangoma performs a holistic and symbolic form of healing by drawing on the beliefs that ancestors in the afterlife guide and protect the living.

“I have both a niece and an aunt who are Sangomas,” said Manye. “For me, it’s easy to relate to the role. I can think about how my aunt would be. With Sangomas, it has to be a spirit within coming with a message to you. My niece started as a Sangoma when she was a child in school. She would zone out during class. It was like she was possessed — but not possessed.”

Manye was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“My mom is Zulu and my dad is Pedi,” said Manye. “I grew up listening to their music — jazz and gospel. I’ve always been very much into South African music and even had the great opportunity to perform with Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens.”

Not only has Manye sung with that legendary South African band, she has also performed with artists such as Paul Simon, David Byrne, Hugh Masekela, Jabu Khanyile and Vusi Mahlasela.

“I thought by now I would have recorded a mbaqanga album,” said Manye, who has recorded two albums of pop music. “I joined ‘The Lion King’ in Toronto years ago and then came to Broadway for nine years. Now, I’ve been on tour for one year.

“I had been on Broadway for so long. I needed something fresh — just to see the country on Disney’s dime. I love Broadway and I will go back to Broadway. Touring is different than being home. At home, you have a schedule. With touring, everything is different every day.”

Manye has toured Europe and Japan with M. Bongeni Ngema in the hit musical “Sarafina.” Some of her other stage credits are “Daughter of Nebo” by Hillary Bletcher, “Mfowethu” by Gibson Kente and “The Stick” by Aubrey Sekhabi.

“I love playing Rafiki,” said Manye. “And, I love that she can be funny. Sangomas can be funny. But, when it’s time to get to work, they can be serious. They can switch off quickly. Rafiki has all these different worlds in her.

“She can be playful and then, all of a sudden, become serious. I always like the way she will pay with you and, when it’s time to get a point across, she gets very serious. She delivers the lesson.”

Manye offered her take on why audiences love “The Lion King” so much.

“It’s a mixture of African cultures and other cultures,” said the veteran actress. “Seeing these things weave together is so beautiful. The costumes are amazing.

“But, this is not a kids’ show. It’s about adults. They see the show and they become kids. It allows everyone to let their inner kid come out. This show is always young. And, it’s different.”

Video link for ‘The Lion King” — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-pgZtzDj_7o.

Tickets for “The Lion King” range in price from $28.50-$108.50.

On May 21, one of the pioneers of techno-industrial music will perform in the area at an intimate venue. En Esch, who was a key member of KMFDM, will perform with his band at Mojo 13 (1706 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-746-7033, http://asylumthirteen.com).

Over the years, En Esch had been a major part of many major super groups in the industrial genre including KMFDM, Pigface and his own band Slick Idiot. He is now touring in support of his new album “SPÄNK.”

SPÄNK is the long overdue follow-up to his last solo record “Cheesy,” which was released in 1993. The new disc features guest appearances by Tim Skold (KMFDM, Marilyn Manson, Skold), Guenter Schulz (KMFDM, Slick Idiot), Jim Marcus (Die Warzau, Go Fight), More Machine Than Man and Trixy Reiss (Crystal Method).

En Esch’s most recent recordings have been “Sucksess” with Slick Idiot in 2009 and “Do With Me What You Want,” a collaboration with Mona Mur in 2011.

“I’ve put Slick Idiot and my work with Mona Mur on the back burner,” said En Esch, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “I’m trying to concentrate on my solo stuff — but there will be more with them.

“The tracks for my newe album were dome all over the worlds — 20 or more locations all over the place — some in Europe, some in Canada and some in the United States. Tim Skold is on the first song (“12345”) and that was recorded in New York and L.A. We created a new genre back in the day — a crossover of techno and metal.

“I finished making the album a few months ago and it officially was released on February 10, 2015. Some tracks I worked on 15 years ago and some are brand new. And, some are middle-aged.

“When I was mixing the album, I might have had to re-work some of the songs from the old days. I wanted to show the variety of stuff I’ve worked on through the years and to prove to myself that I could do a record with myself and nobody else. I did the final mixing last year in Berlin. I had to fight with a deadline.”

En Esch reflected on the experience he had when he was one of Pigface’s core members. Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.

Pigface’s line-up over the years has included such notable musicians as Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Flea (Red Hoy Chili Peppers), Dean Ween (Ween) and Michale Gira (Swans).

“Pigface was such a good band,” said En Esch. “I was living in Chicago at the time. And, I almost died in a fire in Chicago when I was trapped in a burning room. I wrote lyrics about it for the Pigface song ‘War Ich Nicht Immer Ein Guter Junge? War Ich Nicht Immer Schoen Und Nett? Ich Zerpfluckte Niemals Eine Spinne. War Niemals Frech Und Stahl?’

“In the song, I questioned why I almost died. I questioned why such a thing should happen to me because I had always been a good boy. I never even stepped on spiders.”

In his current live show, En Esch has a four-piece band with a drummer, a guitarist and a female vocalist.

“I’m running electronics and doing vocals,” said En Esch. “I’m doing some songs from ‘SPÄNK’, some old KMFDM songs and some stuff from Slick Idiot. After this tour, I’m going to do another solo record, some more things with Slick Idiot — and a secret project.”

Video link for En Esch — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_a7FnzV_Whs

Tickets for the En Esch show at Mojo 13 are $13. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

Delaware is also the home of Nick Krill, one of the founding members of Teen Men, a four-piece audio/visual group based in the First State. The band is embarking on a tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — a tour that will have shows on May 26 and 27 at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com).

The band’s eponymous debut album was recorded at The Garden Center and Paper Lab Recording studios in Delaware and engineered, mixed and produced by Krill. It is being released on CD and digitally June 9 and on vinyl July 14 on the Bar/None label.

Teen Men features two musicians — Joe Hobson and Krill — and two visual artists Albert Birney (creator of the Simply Sylvio series on Vine) and artist Catharine Maloney (who has exhibited internationally and has a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University).

“Teen Men started as a one-off project between Albert and myself,” said Krill, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Wilmington. “We had both just finished pretty intense projects on our own.

“He was doing a feature film titled ‘The Beast Pageant’ and I was working on albums with the Spinto Band. We wanted to do something quick and off-the-cuff so we decided on a project that would involve music and visuals. We each were interested in the other genre so we decided to collaborate together.”

Gradually, Teen Men started to take shape.

“We did two or three songs at first,” said Krill. “Time passed and we did a few more. After awhile, we had a body of work that we thought was worth pursuing and sharing. Over the course of 10 studio sessions, we had maybe 12 songs and 10 made it to the album.

“The recording was dome as we went along. We’d just go into the studio and throw things against the wall to see if they’d stick. It was a frenzy of ideas going on — fast instinctive moves. Then, we did a lot of refining ideas in our home recording space.

“The final mixing took place in spring 2014 but 90 per cent of the record was done in May and June 2013. It did take awhile to put it out. But, if we had released it right away, I feel it would have been shortchanging the project.”

The audio/visual element really comes into play in Teen Men’s live shows.

“When we play live, there is a synchronized interactive video to go with the music,” said Krill. “When we recorded the songs, we made them with the video part in mind. There are separate music videos for each song on YouTube.

“There are four of us onstage — Cathy on keyboards and vocals, Joe on guitar and vocals, Albert on keyboards and vocals and me on guitar and vocals. The videos interact with the music and the people onstage. The videos are as much a part of the performance as the music is.”

Video link for Teen Men — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BDYblVBTGVY.

The shows at Johnny Brenda’s will start at 8 p.m. each night and tickets are priced at $20.

Johnny Brenda’s will also be the site of another interesting show when it hosts the Raya Brass Band on May 24.

Since 2008, Raya Brass Band has been creating a sound that is a melding of diverse genres including New Orleans brass bands, punk rock, and global music — especially traditional Balkan music.

The six-piece band that sounds a lot bigger than it really is features Greg Squared on saxophone, Ben Syversen on trumpet, Matthew Fass on accordion, Rich Stein on percussion, Don Godwin on tuba and Nezih Antakli on tupan.

“We’ve been a band for about six-and-a-half years now,” said Syversen, during a phone interview Tuesday from his home in Brooklyn. “Some of us had been playing together previously in different bands. There is a big community in Brooklyn for Balkan music so a lot of us knew each other through that community.

“All of us also have a lot of other musical things that we do. I was trained as a jazz musician. A couple of the guys came up through the punk rock scene in the 90s and discovered Balkan music and its energy.”

Raya Brass Band has a lot of energy and a lot of interaction with its audiences. Frequently, the band will leave the stage and play its instruments while walking through the audience.

“It’s really about breaking the third wall and creating a human experience,” said Syversen. “We’re very connected with our audience. We’re Americans and we found Balkan music. We found it to be very captivating. And, we bring in our own musical experience.

“We were a five-piece for a long time and we just brought in Rich Stein as our second percussionist. He fills up the sound. It’s almost like having a cook who knows the right spices to add.”

Raya Brass Band’s most recent album was “The Train Is Now,” which was released in November 2013.

“That was our third album,” said Syversen. “We’re going to be releasing our fourth album in the fall. It sounds great. There are nine original tunes. It documents our development really well. We recorded it here in Brooklyn with Greg as our engineer.

“We owe a great debt to our influences but now we have a lot of original music. We still play a lot of our traditional repertoire but we keep moving forward. It’s been really gratifying to bring new material into the band.”

Video link for Raya Brass Band — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgiXzqlNUhs&feature=player_detailpage.

Tickets for Raya Brass Band’s show at Johnny Brenda’s are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The show will start at 8 p.m. with opening act Sandaraa, which is co-fronted by one of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s most loved vocalists, Zebunnisa (Zeb) Bangash, and Brooklyn’s Klezmer clarinet virtuoso Michael Winograd.

On May 21, there will be a show with an entirely different flavor when the Appleseed Collective plays its brand of Americana music at the World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, philly.worldcafelive.com).

The band, which is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, features Andrew Brown on guitar, Brandon Smith on violin and mandolin, Vince Russo on percussion and washboard and Eric Dawe on upright bass. The band’s latest release is a live album recorded at The Ark in Ann Arbor.

“I met Brandon in Ann Arbor pretty randomly,” said Brown, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “We started playing together and, shortly after that, added our percussion friend Vince.

“I had just gotten back from New Orleans and was influenced by a lot of the bands I saw there that were busking and playing on the street. Vince played great washboard so he fit right in. We did a D.I.Y. tour around the East Coast and came back with some money.

“Our first recording was the ‘Baby to Beast’ album in 2012. Then, we released the ‘Young Love’ album at the beginning of 2014 and the live album in December 2014.”

The band’s distinct style of modern old-time music was an instant hit with a wide array of fans of acoustic music.

“Our music has changed quite a bit bur we’re still grounded in gypsy jazz, New Orleans swing, bluegrass, folk, country and western swing,” said Brown. “The direction we’re trying to move in is to take these influences and make a modern sound — adding funk and soul to these old-time sounds.

“One of my favorite things is funk on an upright bass. Our music has become more groove-driven. And, we’ve worked a lot on three- and four-part harmonies. You could describe us as a progressive swing string band.”

Video link for the Appleseed Collective — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4v9fp6_prc8

Show time at the World Cafe Live’s Upstairs Stage is 8 p.m. and tickets are priced at $7.

The Upstairs Stage will also host a concert by William Fitzsimmons on May 23 and a CD Release party for Cynthia G. Mason on May 27.

On May 12, Fitzsimmons released a mini-album titled “Pittsburgh,” a collection of seven songs about the city where he was born and raised. Fitzsimmons credits the gift of music to his mother, and consequently his grandmother. In October 2014, his grandmother passed away and during the three days spent putting her to rest, “Pittsburgh” was formed. The seven songs are in memoriam to her and in remembrance of the city they shared.

“I live in a small town in Illinois now but Pittsburgh is where I grew up and lived for a long time,” said Fitzsimmons, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “I was fooling around with writing an album about my hometown.

“But, I wasn’t in a writing mode. My last album was in 2014 and I usually like to take time between album releases. Then, my grandmother died in October and I went back to Pittsburgh for the funeral. My grandmother was the reason my mother became a musician. So, it felt right to do the album.

“When you’re writing a story about someone, you have to make it so that someone else can understand. I had plenty of stuff that dwalt with my grandmother — but I didn’t want to make it a diary.”

The album isn’t a narrative or a eulogy. Instead, it is a collection of heartfelt, insightful songs with universal appeal — and an odd number of songs at seven. It’s a little long to be an Ep and a little short to be an album.

“Seven songs really is a strange number given the history of pop music,” said Fitzsimmons. “This was a real quick one. The songs just flowed out. Within two weeks, I had all seven songs.

“Recording it at home felt real natural. I’ve recorded at a lot of good studios with very good producers. They bring stuff out but sometime the vision you have has to be done on your own.

“I taught myself to play bass for this record. There was one part on the album that had to be cello. I can’t play cello so I got a girl from Nashville to play the cello part. She was the only other musician on the album.”

The album has been infused with Fitzsimmons’ love for his grandmother and mother and his affection for the city that sits at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.

“I lived in Pittsburgh for the better part of 25 years,” said Fitzsimmons. “It was the place where I had my first home and my first — and only — divorce. A lot of my family still lives there. It’s been a part of every record I’ve done. The emotional part of my new record was formed there.”

Video link for William Fitzsimmons — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL389477D139941CB9&v=T4uYDcl4t3Q

The show at the World Café Live will start at 8 p.m. with opening act Denison Witmer. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door.

Have you ever had a food that was one of your favorites and then all of a sudden for no obvious reason you lost your taste for it?

Mason, whose new EP “Cinematic Turn” officially will be released on June 16, went through just such an experience a few years ago. Her most recent album prior to this was “Quitter’s Claim” in 2007.

“The reason for such a big gap between albums is complicated,” said Mason, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from her home in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.

“I played a little bit after ‘Quitter’s Claim’ came out. But, I had been playing music for so long I just got burned out. I didn’t want to play music. I didn’t want to hear music. I put all my gear away. I really didn’t want to play anymore. It was a total musical blackout. I wasn’t even attending shows.”

This lasted for several years. Eventually, Mason’s love of music started bubbling to the surface again.

“After awhile, I started to miss it,” said Mason, who had made seven albums prior to the self-imposed hiatus. “I slowly started to listen more. I went out a little more and some things began reeling me in. One big catalyst was a show at the Art Museum. It was a multi-media show with Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth and some dancers. That blew me away.

“I started to open up to more things such as concerts by the Philadelphia Orchestra. There were other things too like videos of Laura Marling on YouTube and Jason Isbell’s latest album. I realized how much I missed making music and I really yearned for it.”

Like a phoenix, Mason rose from the ashes of a musical career that had burned out a few years prior.

“I started reconnecting — seeing what I had been missing,” said Mason. “I also started listening to what was new out there. It was all pretty new to me. I began thinking about making a new album. Recording techniques had changed a lot so it was a big learning curve. “

In December 2014,  Mason recorded the new album at Miner Street Recordings with producer Brian McTear (Sharon Van Etten, Dr. Dog.) Amy Morrissey engineered the record and Matt Schimelfenig mixed it. The five new songs feature Christopher Sean Powell (Man Man) on drums, Ramon Monras-Sender (Hoots and Hellmouth) on bass, and Peter English (Weathervane Music) on keyboards.

“Brian, Amy and Matt were wonderful to work with,” said Mason. “I had worked with Chris 15 years ago so it was fun to be together again. Peter had worked a lot with Brian and Amy and Ramon was a bass player that lived in my neighborhood. It was the best experience in the studio that I’ve ever had.”

Cynthia G. Mason’s CD Release Party will get underway at 8 p.m. with Grey Reverend as the opener. Tickets are $10.

With improvised music, you never quite know what you’re going to hear or where the music is going to go. That’s what makes improve jazz the exciting genre that it has become.

If you’re listening to the improv music of the trio Spectral, you can be sure that no matter where the music goes, it will be a good place. On May 23, Spectral  — Dave Rempis, saxophone; Larry Ochs, saxophone; Darren Johnston, trumpet — will perform a special concert with alto saxophonist Marshall Allen at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, 215- 545-4302, www.arsnovaworkshop.com).

“Darren Johson was a trumpet player I had played with when he came to Chicago,” said Rempis, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Chicago. “Then, when I went to the (San Francisco) Bay Area, Darren put some shows together for me.

“We did a concert at a club called the Uptown in Oakland. It was Darren’s idea to put this line-up together.

“The Uptown was a one-off show. But, right from the start, it felt great. With improve, sometimes it takes awhile but this clicked right away. We immediately found a way to navigate around each other.”

He trio went into the studio last year and then released its debut album on May 6, 2014 on Aerophonic Records.

“Everybody came to it with a unique perspective,” said Rempis. “We just hit the stage and played.  All three of us were conditioned to play improvised music. You just dive into the pool and see what happens. It’s a sharing process.

“It’s not nebulous. If all three of us start a piece with a clear statement, we can figure out how to juxtapose our ideas. It’s like if you’re walking down the street with someone and you know you have to cross here.”

The show in Philadelphia will be a special event — Marshall Allen’s 91st Birthday celebration. Allen is an avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player best known for his work with the legendary Sun Ra.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play with Marshall Allen,” said Rempis. “I’ve been a fan of his music ever since I was in high school.”

The “Marshall Allen’s 91st Birthday Celebration” event will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission.

You may not have heard much about Kanisha K yet but chances are good you will in the very near future. You can hear the singer from Michigan perform live this weekend when she plays a show on May 27 at 2nd State Lounge, 401 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-413-3434).

Last year, Kanisha’s  single “Bring Me Home” spent over 41 weeks on the charts. Now in 2015, the dance version of  “Bring Me Home” (remixed by Razor & Guido) has entered the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart and reached Number 47 after only four weeks. She won “Best Pop” award at the 2014 HMMA’s (Hollywood Music In Media Awards) last November for her song “I Gotta Stupid Boyfriend.”

Kanisha K has recently released her newest single “Oh Damn Yeah” to Top 40 and CHR radio. The song was written and produced by producer Joe Vulpis (Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, Richie Blackmore, Jennifer Love Hewitt etc.) and mastered by Tom Coyne (Adele, Beyonce, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Pink, Ariana Grande.)

“I recorded both “Oh Damn Yeah’ and ‘Never Stopped Loving You’ with Joe Vulpis at his studio in Nashville,” said Kanisha K, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from her home in Holland, Michigan.

“My manager knew Joe and sent him some of my songs. Then, Joe sent me some of his demos and I loved them. We cut the songs the week before Christmas Eve last year. I was working on six songs with Joe. I spent a while in Nashville working on my songs. On my past records, I used different writers. Working with Joe, I’ve definitely gotten into writing songs more.

“Joe is a great producers and I’ve also worked with other great producers. I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today without these great producers. I worked with Robyn Robins, who is the keyboardist for Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. He saw a video I made and agreed to work with me. We did an album together in Grand Rapids, Michigan.”

While most of her recent releases have been singles, Kanisha K is also focusing on her album releases.

“My first album came out in 2013,” said Kanisha K, who is involved in a lot of charity work with the Humane Society. “I’m not really sure when my new album will come out. I’ll be continuing to work on new songs with Joe Vulpis.

“I’m doing a lot more performing now that I did before. For this tour, it’s all acoustic — just me and a guitar player. It’s my first time to do this kind of show because when I play closer to home, I perform with a full band.”

Video link for Kanisha K — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H69Di_YkaOU.

Showtime for Kanisha K’s concert at 2^nd State Lounge is 7:30 p.m. She will share the bill with Ryan Aderrey.

The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) will host “Bob Dylan Birthday Bash!” on May 22. The core trio of Mason Porter, Joe D’Amico, Tim Celfo, and Paul Wilkinson will join forces with Ben Smith, Brad Hinton and Daniel “Scrappy” Bower, to form a six-piece band for this annual event that takes the listeners on a tour through the Bob Dylan songbook.  Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $16 in advance and $20 day of show.

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will have Colour & Codeine, Skinny Dip, Nose Goblins and Bride Elizabeth on May 21; John Anthony Seitz, Sean Royle Smith and Matt Spitko on May 22 and Rome’s in Ruins, Broadening the Daylight, Buried in the Walls and  Paralysis on May 23.

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will host The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen on May 21; The New Mastersounds, Euforquestra, The 9’s on May 22;

Splintered Sunlight (Grateful Dead Tribute) and Hotlanta (Allman Brothers tribute) on May 23; and The Nth Power and Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles on May 27.

Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present Suitcase Junket and Red Tail Rin on May21 and then be closed for the remainder of the Memorial Day Weekend.

Melodies Café (2 East Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, 610-645-5269, www.melodiescafe.com) will host Brothers & Sisters, The Translucent Gypsies and Matt Fell on May 22 and Knightlife, Lucky 3 and The Dispersions on May 23.

Valley Forge Casino (1160 First Avenue, King of Prussia, 610-354-8118, https://vfcasino.com) will host Heart on May 22 and Frank Sinatra, Jr. on May 23.***

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) will have David Lindley and Mike “Slo Mo” Brenner on May 21, Time Traveller on May 22, New Riders of the Purple Sage on May 23 and American Aquarium with Brian McGee on May 27.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com) presents Lyle Lovett and Vince Gill on May 26.

World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com) has a number of good shows coming on its Upstairs Stage — Suzie Brown and Scott along with Cariad Harmon on May 21, Apache Trails and Karen Jonas on May 22, Caroline Rose and Hemming on May 23 an dWilmo Wednesdays on May 27.

The Queen’s Downstairs Stage will feature Rhett Miller with Kalai King on May 21, A Jazz Family Reunion on May 23 and Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra on May 27.

“Steel Magnolias” will run through June 21 at the Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org) beginning on May 9.

The Media Theatre (104 E. State Street, Media, 610-891-0100, mediatheatre.org) is presenting “Hello Dolly” now through May 24. The production that features Broadway veteran Andrea McArdle, who was the original “Annie” when the show opened on Broadway many years ago.

People’s Light & Theatre (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, 610-644-3500, PeoplesLight.org) is performing Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” now through May 24. The show is Simon’s semi-autobiographical Tony Award-winning classic coming-of-age tale.

On May 21 at 7:30 p.m., the Serafin String Quartet will perform at Cokesbury Village (726 Loveville Road, Hockessin, Delaware, 302-235-6000, www.serafinquartet.org). The performance, which is free and open to the public, will feature works by Still, Grieg, Chadwick, Gershwin, Foote and Higdon.