My music-loving SouthCoast pals, I announce today a slightly new direction in this column, based on what you’ve told us you want to read.
And we’ve heard you: You want more local news.
So starting today, Spotlight focuses its lens on SouthCoast. Think of this column like a special little issue of “Rolling Stone” that’s based solely on SouthCoast Music News.
“Rolling SouthCoast,” if you will.
This is going to be fun.
Mostly, you can expect all the solid music reporting you’ve come to love in Spotlight from your trusty loyal scribe here (ahem, ahem) — we’ll still talk about the best SouthCoast concerts as always, but we’ll also hear from more local musicians and bands, and I’ll keep you posted on Major national music news with a SouthCoast hook.
If there’s something specific you want to know, or if you’re a local musician with a new album coming out, or news to share, e-mail me, tweet me, or hit me up on Facebook.
And now, without further ado, let’s rock.
We have some outstanding shows coming to the area in the next two weeks.
Grammy-winning icon Bettye Lavette at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River July 20. SouthCoast’s own Neal McCarthy opens. Don’t miss this night of local and legend.
A song interpreter with a pitch-perfect taste, LaVette’s voice is Blues Personified — a bottle of whisky and a pack of cigarettes waft from each note. She belts with guttural feel. She crackles with emotion. A sultry, smoky barroom purr.
She brought down the house in her tribute to The Who’s Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors. She performed at Barack Obama’s Inaugural Celebration. She shared the stage with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 2009.
You might remember I interviewed her last year for this column on her 2018 album of Bob Dylan covers, “Things Have Changed.”“Bob Dylan’s fans are so quirky, I thought they’d be throwing apples and bananas and sh**. But they’ve been so receptive,” she told me.
Love it. Must listen: “Most of the Time.”
$32 advance; $37 door. Doors at 7 p.m. 508-324-1926. McCarthy at 8 p.m. 16 Anawan St., Fall River. https://www.narrowscenter.org/live-music/
Guns N' Roses fans, take note: Steven Adler, former drummer of Guns N' Roses, plays New Bedford’s Greasy Luck on July 21. The hard-rocking night starts with a Motley Crue tribute band, Shout at the Devil.
Doors open 6:30/ 7:30 p.m. depending on ticket type. $30-$60. VIP Meet & Greet tickets available. 791 Purchase St. Learn more http://www.vaultnb.com/venue.html
Homegrown pop/R&B/rockers The Khourys play a hometown show at the Narrows July 26. The Khoury sisters, Giulia (lead vocals/keyboards/songwriter) and Jahnna (rap/backing vocals/violin/songwriter) released their debut EP "Good Stuff" at The Narrows in 2017. The daughters of local musicians Tom and Charlene Khoury, the sisters “have been raised in a family of singer/songwriters/musicians. A musical story that started four generations ago with their great-grandparents,” according to their Facebook page. $22 advance, $25 doors. Doors 7 p.m.
Guitar hero Tinsley Ellis, whose 2018 album, “Winning Hand,” was just nominated for two Blues Music Awards, rocks the Narrows July 27. I had a hilarious interview with this dude a few years back. Expect a good time.
He also told me when he was 7, “I saw the Beatles on ‘Ed Sullivan’ in 1964, and it really blew my mind. I had heard that before, that twang and guitar, I just didn’t know what to call it. ...During the British Invasion, all the roads seemed to lead back to the blues. I was the little kid who went to see BB King, Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters.”
$27 advance, $30 doors. Doors open at 7pm.
Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin plays the Narrows Aug. 7. Fans of 90s music know Colvin for her many radio hits, including “Sunny Came Home,” “You and The Mona Lisa” and “Nothin’ On Me,” “Get Out of This House” and “The Facts About Jimmy.”
She’s since collaborated with everyone from Jakob Dylan, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, James Taylor, Sting, Bela Fleck and Steve Earle, to name a few— and even voiced a character on “The Simpsons.”
The South Dakotan cut her teeth in the New York scene, but told me Massachusetts was the first place that embraced her.
“Boston was very helpful to me. I played Club Passim repeatedly. College radio was a big stepping stone for me. My first theater show was in Boston, and that was just the pinnacle in my career,” she told me in 2017. “I was so grateful, I put a white carnation on every seat.”
I hope you’re hungry…Mark your calendars, baby for 105th Feast of the Blessed Sacrament aka The Portuguese Feast, aka the Feast Aug. 1-4. Aside from heaps of food, it’s essentially four continuous days and nights of music.
I’ll have your guide to everything you need to know next week, along with much more SouthCoast music news. #RollingSouthCoast
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer and Spotlight music columnist. Contact her at ldaley33@gmail.com. Follow her at https://www.facebook.com/daley.writer She tweets @laurendaley1.