On Stage: Loreena McKennitt makes rare local appearance

Also: The Darkness, Froth and Ryan Beaver on local stages

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

On first listen, Canadian singer-songwriter Loreena McKennitt might sound like just another folk artist with a nice voice and a Celtic vibe. But, listen more and you’ll find a talented singer whose range of expression is vast and whose musical explorations are along the lines of a veteran musicologist.

Celebrating three decades as Canada’s foremost, groundbreaking independent artist, McKennitt is bringing a rare and intimate tour to select venues in the Maritime Provinces, New England and the Mid-Atlantic. The tour will feature McKennitt in the trio formation which earned a 2012 Grammy nomination for her “Troubadours on the Rhine” album.

McKennit will perform October 29 at the Grand Opera House (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577, www.thegrandwilmington.org) and October 30 at the Scottish Rites Theatre (315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, N.J., http://www.collingswood.com/entertainment/theater-and-ballroom).

Her trio includes longtime collaborators Brian Hughes and Caroline Lavelle. The tour features music and tales inspired by McKennitt’s exotic travels in pursuit of the history of the Celts — from the Sufis in Istanbul, to the Berbers in Morocco, to Delphi in Greece, to the Irish mystical poems of Yeats and classical writers such as Shakespeare and Tennyson.

“I’m out with just Caroline and Brian this time,” said McKennitt, during a phone interview Tuesday morning. “It’s nice. We’ve been out since the beginning of October and we’re wrapping up on Friday night.”

McKennitt has been involved in the arts since a very young age.

“I started dance lessons when I was five,” said McKennitt. “Then, my legs got broken in a car accident so my mother put me in piano lessons and the children’s choir. I grew up in a community outside Winnipeg — a small community where music is given a great deal of stature.

“I was listening to folk music when I was a teenager. In my early 20s, I got exposed to Celtic music. The folks clubs in Winnipeg featured a lot of Celtic music. As soon as I heard Celtic music, I was immediately smitten by it.

“I learned about the Celts and their history. In 1989, I decided to heads off in pursuit of the history of Celtic music. The Celts started off somewhere in the region of the Caucasus. In Ürümqi (the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China in Northwest China), there is a mummy with red hair wrapped in a tartan.”

One of the notable Tarim mummies is the tall, red-haired “Chärchän man” or the “Ur-David.” Chärchän man wore a red twill tunic and tartan leggings.

“I visited a lot of places,” said McKennitt. “The Celts were all over Europe — Holland, Germany, Switzerland and more. My travels have taken me to Turkey, China, Greece, Mongolia, Morocco and Kazahstan. In Turkey, I was in an area outside Ankara where there are Celtic ruins.”

Now, McKennitt is celebrating her 30^th anniversary as a musician/recording artist. Her first album was “Elemental” in 1985 and featured a mixture of traditional tunes and songs written by McKennitt.

“When I’m making an album, the creative process begins with a geographic focus,” said McKennitt. “I try to reach a title early on. It’s like an umbrella and the spokes are the songs. I want it to feel like a journey. And, I like to bring in various influences.”

In addition to her musical career, McKennitt has been recognized for a number of noteworthy philanthropic initiatives. In 1998, she founded the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety, and she was instrumental in the transformation of a 1929 neo-Gothic school into the Falstaff Family Centre, a charitable organization focused on families and children. 

McKennitt is a Member of the Order of Manitoba (2003) and the Order of Canada (2004), and in 2013 she was appointed Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters of the Republic of France.

In 2006, McKennitt was appointed as the Royal Canadian Air Force Honorary Colonel of 435 Transport & Rescue Squadron (Winnipeg), and in September 2014 was appointed as the Honorary Colonel of the RCAF.

Video link for Loreena McKennitt — https://youtu.be/5lMbVzFtvM8.

The Scottish Rites show starts at 8 p.m. with tickets priced at $45 and $72. The show at the Grand will start at 7:30 p.m.

Another area show on October 30 will have a completely different vibe. The hard-rocking veteran English band The Darkness will be shaking things up at the TLA (Theatre of the Living Arts, 334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com).

The U.K. supergroup — Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain, Rufus Tiger Taylor — is winding down its “Blast of Our Kind Tour” — a tour in support of the band’s new album “Last of Our Kind,” which was released in June 2^nd via Kobalt Label Services.

The Darkness came into existence in Suffolk, England back in 2000 with the line-up of the Hawkins Brothers, Poullain and Chris McDougal.

In 2003, The Darkness’ debut album “Permission to Land” was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards — Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album.

Poullain left the band in 2005 and Justin Hawkins departed a year later. The remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins.

In March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows including Download Festival 2011 and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. The band’s third album “Hot Cakes” was released in 2012.

“When the reunion happened, it was just a case of my brother and I wanting to do the band again,” said Dan Hawkins, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Vancouver. “We met up socially when we were in other bands. I was in Stone Gods and he was in Hot Legs. The Darkness has always been our main love.

“We wanted to make an album again. It was very important that it wasn’t going to be just an album to cash in on the reunion.  We actually wrote and recorded ‘Hot Cakes’ before we did our first shows.

“’Hot Cakes’ was the sound of us getting to know each other again. Obviously, the songwriting was on form — but a little calculated. With the new album, we got our Mojo back. There’s no middle ground. It was either over-the-top or nothing.

“I wrote the music, Justin wrote the lyrics and the other two contributed. Things that can make a song great can come from anyone in the room. We finished the album in December. It was done really quickly — 10 days pre-production and three weeks tracking.

“I was the producer and engineer. It was my first time as a solo producer and first time to mix it myself. I learned pretty much everything I know about recording from Roy Thomas Baker.”

Baker, who produced The Darkness’ second album, is a legendary British producer most known for his work as the producer of much of Queen’s best work — including “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Queen is in our DNA,” said Hawkins. “They’re the reason why my brother and I got interested in music.”

Video link for The Darkness — https://youtu.be/4Hi_kzzSXhY.

The show at the TLA, which has These Raven Skies as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $27.50.

Froth at the mouth is something zombies and ghouls will most likely be doing on Halloween.

Froth on stage is also happening on October 31.

Froth, a young band from Los Angeles, will be headlining a show on Halloween at Kung Fu Necktie (1248 North Front Street, Philadelphia, 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com). The quartet features JooJoo Ashworth (Guitar, Vocals), Jeremy Katz ( Bass), Cameron Allen (Drums) and Nick Ventura (Guitar).

Froth’s first album “Patterns” was released in 2013 on Burger Records and Lolipop Records. The disc had a psychedelic-pop vibe with jangly 12-string guitars and swirling keyboards.

The band’s sophomore album “Bleak,” which came out in May on Burger Records, is described in the band’s bio as “a maximalist shoegaze sound that combines screaming guitars with muscular drumming and throbbing, nervy bass lines.”

 “We all met through mutual friends in the L.A. music scene,” said Ashworth, during a phone interview Tuesday from a road stop in Delaware. “Our first gig ever was in July 2012.

“We recorded the first album a few years ago and then did the second one almost a year ago in L.A. with a couple different engineers. It came out May 2015. It actually came out first in Europe — back in February. We did a six-week tour of Europe after its release there.

“There was definitely a shift in music between our first and second albums — mainly just from more experience playing together. The first album was just what we were able to do at the time. The second has more experience — more layering. It’s more slam dunk compatible. And, we play heavier.

“I’ll write a jingle, bring it to the band and it becomes a Froth song. We definitely like to roads-test our songs before we record them. We have four new songs and they’re definitely moving in a different direction. It sounds like the same band but some songs are really slow and some more poppy.

“We don’t have the full album written yet. We’re going to take time off after this tour to write and get in the studio. Recording an album can take a long time. We like to add layer after layer.”

Video link for Froth — https://youtu.be/rC614x4-mqc.

The show at Kung Fu Necktie will start at 7 p.m. with opening acts Line Leader and Momma Hankton. Tickets are $6.

Fans of country music, rock music and Americana all will find plenty to like on October 30 when the World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com) presents a twin bill featuring Ryan Beaver  and Ashley Monroe — two singer-songwriters who shine with their ability to write honest songs.

Beaver has completed a new album and is out on a brief tour of the South and Northeast — but it is not an album support tour.

“The album will come out in February,” said Beaver, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon as his tour bus headed to Pittsburgh. “We’ll do a pre-sell in December where fans who pre-order will get a few of the songs emailed to them ahead of the album’s release.

“The album is called ‘Rx’ like in the prescription from a doctor, It’s helped me like a doctor’s prescription. Wiring these songs and recording them was very cathartic.”

Beaver offered the following explanation, “I was going through a really hard period in my life when we wrote this song. Struggling with accepting the sudden loss of both my grandfather and close friend.

“I remember thinking that the world didn’t make much sense to me. I just walked around feeling like this big storm had moved in and wouldn’t leave. I wasn’t handling it well and lost my faith, lost a relationship but once I turned to music, this song, the healing process began.”

The album’s first single “Dark” is already out. It’s a song that has a real emotional punch.

“It’s an uplifting song,” said Beaver. “And, it’s one of the heavier songs. It sort of sets the vibe for the entire record.”

Beaver is now a guitarist/singer-songwriter whose music occupies territory somewhere in the world of country music but, in his early days of making music, he was in a different situation.

“I started playing music as a kid at home with a drum kit first and then a guitar,” said Beaver. “I played in bands in high school that were more rock — and I was always the drummer. The sense of rhythm I have when I’m playing guitar now comes from my experience with rhythm as a drummer.

“We played everything from Nirvana and Tom Petty to George Strait and George Jones. I can find the beauty in a lot of types of music. Growing up in a small town in Texas, country music was always big.

“When I’m doing shows now, it’s fun to play electric guitar and rock out with my band. I also like solo shows — just me and my guitar. I like honest, quite music. And, I like songwriting that tells a story — and that’s very country.”

Beaver is a storyteller through his songwriting.

“Telling a story is important,” said Beaver. “It doesn’t have to be — this happened and this happened and then this happened. It’s more looking at what is going on and looking at different characters along the way. I want to know the story — know what is going on.

“Songs come in different ways. There’s no secret. It’s about getting up every morning and doing it. I try to write a little something every day. I’m always writing on anything I can find — my phone, a piece of paper or maybe just a napkin. I also like collaborating with other writers.

“On this tour, I’ve been out with Ashley Monroe. She’s a great country singer. When you watch her play, you can tell she really loves what she’s doing. We’ve had a lot of great conversations about music and playing for fans.”

Video link for Ryan Beaver — https://youtu.be/putu9r8-_Uw.

Video link for Ashley Monroe — https://youtu.be/K-1reayyENA.

The show at the Queen will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 in advance and $16 day of show.

On November 2, the Queen will present another singer-songwriter who writes songs that are heartfelt, sincere and emotionally touching — Joshua Radin. His opening act on the tour is Anya Marina, who is best known for “Satellite Heart,” from the platinum-selling soundtrack to “Twilight: New Moon” and her provocative cover of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.”

Following an Australian tour, Radin returned to the states for East Coast dates to support his sixth album “Onward And Sideways,” which was self-released earlier this year. Written in Sweden, the album chronicles his courtship. According to Radin, he wrote the album to convince her to fall in love with him.

The album, which artfully and honestly captures the experience of falling completely and utterly in love, also features an all-star team of collaborators including Sheryl Crow (who duets with him on the sweetly acoustic “Beautiful Day.”)

“This tour is a solo, acoustic tour,” said Radin, during a phone interview Wednesday morning. “This is experimental. I never played solo before — except way back when I was getting started and then it was nowhere near a one-and-a-half set.

“Last night’s show in New York was the first night of the tour. I was nervous for the first time in a long, long time. But, it’s good to be nervous. It was pretty exciting. And, it was a lot of fun.

“I wrote down songs I thought I’d play but then people started calling for songs so I played what they wanted. It was like people sitting in my living room and hearing songs played like they were when I originally wrote them on my couch.

“The fans got to hear the songs like they were before they were brought to the band — the absolute inception. It was like one of those old storytellers shows on VH-1. I use to watch those shows a lot.”

Amazingly, Radin has been a singer-songwriter/guitarist who has been recording and touring for more than a decade and had never before done “unplugged’ concerts.

“It’s an experiment and I think it will work out really well,” said Radin. “I’ll be coming to Wilmington — a city in which I’ve never played before. This format opens doors around the world. Without the tour expenses of bringing a band — you just go and bring your guitar.

“I’ll talk about the songs but then I talk a lot between songs even when I’m playing with my band. Even my band is pared down — just a trio. Those shows have been very acoustic so this isn’t a huge departure.

“Last night, I played songs from all six of my albums — more from the earlier albums than the later ones. I also have some new songs which I’m debuting. My music is so slow and mellow and quiet that my fans have always been a listening audience.”

Many listeners are probably familiar with Radin’s music even if they don’t know it. Radin’s songs have been used on television series such as “Scrubs,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “American Idol,” “Cougar Town,” “One Tree Hill” and “House M.D.” Radin has been involved with Little Kids Rock (http://www.littlekidsrock.org), a national nonprofit that provides music education to schools without music programs.

Radin and Marina will also be performing on October 31at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com).

Video link for Joshua Radin — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYqRfQ5G4as&feature=player_embedded.

The show on Halloween night at the Sellersville Theater will start at 8 p.m. with tickets priced at $35 and $50. The November 3 at the Queen will get underway at 8 p.m. Tickets for show are $34 in advance and $36 at the door.

The world of rock music has had song titles with the same words back-to-back such as “Monday Monday” and “Louie Louie” and band names with the same words back-to-back such as Man Man and Duran Duran.

Now, there is a band called JR JR. But, it’s not a new band — just the name is new.

The band was originally known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. It was formed in late 2009 by Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott. The band also uses drummer Mike Higgins for its live shows.

Jr. Jr. will visit Philly on November 3 for a show at Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com).

The band released three EPs in 2010 and 2011 and then an album every other year on Warner Bros. Records starting in 2011 with “It’s a Corporate World.”  The sophomore album was “Speed of Things” and the new album is “JR JR,” which just came out in September.

“We started writing the songs for the album about a year ago,” said Zott, during a recent phone interview. “We still record the songs live in the studio. I have a basement studio in my house in Detroit and our producer Ben has a studio just down the street. We also spent some time in L.A. — playing and recording with our friends. We did a lot more collaborating and that shows a different side of us.

“Because it’s mostly just Josh and I, we can’t write as a band. For the most part, we’ll build tracks and add to them. That’s the beauty — we don’t HAVE to have anything on the album. Josh and I take turns adding stuff. And, Mike Higgins, our touring drummer, played on a few tracks.”

JR JR’s touring band also includes Bryan Pope, who primarily plays bass abut also does synth work and background vocals.

“When we play live, we bring all kinds of stuff,” said Zott. “We have synths, a drum kit, an old vintage bass, and all sorts of sample pads and machines. We like to do a lot of live looping. And, we change parts. I might play keyboards and then switch to guitar.

“I have an old Fender Telecaster from 1973. I used to write a lot more on guitar. But, for the last few years, I’ve been writing on an upright piano. We play a big variety of songs — but we keep it cohesive.”

The name change came naturally.

“With the name, it was just time to move on,” said Zott. “The name served its purpose. Then, it got to be like an old band number. It was time for a new fresh start — more about the music and less about the name.”

Video link for JR JR — https://youtu.be/nq0mpgHNapc

The show at Union Transfer, which has Brothertiger as the opening act, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $17.

Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway” is running now through November 1 at the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org).

The show is about a young playwright whose first Broadway play is financed by a gangster. The score consists of jazz and popular standards of the years between World War I and 1930 by various songwriters. The show’s choreography by director Susan Stroman has several show-stopping tap numbers.

 Video link for “Bullets Over Broadway” — https://youtu.be/u-MNY_zGhDM.

“Bullets Over Broadway will run from October 27-November 1. Tickets range from $20-$95.

 

The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) will host Mike Breen along with Kenny Thompson & Friends on October 30, Radio Riddler and Brixton Saint on October 31 and One Alternative on November 1.

 

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will host Matt Sharayko and Josh Miller on October 29, Ben Arnold and his Band on October 30, and Molly Ringworm on October 31.

 

 

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will present Civil Discord, 11 and Ryan Coates on October 30 and Percolater, Aim 4 Grey, Tre Todd and Lionshead on October 31.

 

Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present Alfred James with Bastard Sons of Captain Mey on October 30 and Vilebred with Curtis Jr on October 31.

 

 

Melodies Café (2 East Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, 610-645-5269, www.melodiescafe.com) will host Project Ico on October 30 and Hemphill with Agatha Sloboda on October 31