More outdoor concert chances in our area as July turns to August

Well, July has gone by in a FLASH! As we wrap up that HOT month, we slide into August & the home stretch of our outdoor concert series...

This week, we head BACK to Eagleview for a very cool show featuring Ndichu along with the talented Josh Joplin that starts TONIGHT & is a FREE event. A nine-piece band fronted by Kenyan-born vocalist and songwriter Liz Ndichu, this group fuses high powered, tightly wound, groove based originals with music that spans funk, world, reggae, soul, fusion, and rock. Incomparable vocals, sensational improvisation, horn lines, and hefty amounts of funk. Joplin is a rock and folk singer/ song-writer whose song "Camera One" might be a familiar tune for you as it popped up in several places including on the TV show Scrubs back in the day - Should be a fun night!

More info at: https://www.eagleviewtowncente...

Over at the township building in King of Prussia on Wednesday will be Rachel & Vilray - Since their formation in 2015, this Brooklyn-based duo have achieved a certain timeless quality with their singular take on traditional pop. Though rooted in the language of an earlier age, their songs transcend nostalgia with wit and a flair for the theatrical. On their album West of Broadway, vocalist Rachael Price (also of Lake Street Dive) and guitarist/singer/songwriter Vilray evolve their music’s previous dreaminess to achieve a refreshing angularity built on left-of-center instrumentation. The record unfolds in a series of sharply drawn vignettes inspired by a recent fascination with classic musicals—bringing their luminous vocals to offbeat tales of love and heartache along city streets.

Another FREE showcase on Friday at the Twilight Series in Bryn Mawr with what they are calling a Folk Fest Preview - This show will getcha in the mood for this year's Philadelphia Folk Festival (more on that in a few weeks) & features the legendary Main Point-er Larry Ahern along with the talents of Max Davey, Cloudbelly, and Lili Anel... It's all things folk-fest & a great way to kick off that annual tradition.

Also on Friday, BACK at the Concerts Under the Stars series in KoP will be Low Cut Connie... Since their debut record Get Out The Lotion, they’ve firmly established their reputation as one of the most exciting live shows in the US, with Greg Kot (Sound Opinions / Chicago Tribune) exclaiming they are “the essence of what rock n roll should be” and The New York Times stating, “Low Cut Connie’s word-of-mouth legend is built on live shows like this one.” Sweat-drenched, piano-pounding songwriter and frontman Adam Weiner’s writing has been described as “Seventies Stones (but dirtier), the New York Dolls (but tighter) and Jerry Lee Lewis (but Westerberg-ier)” (Rolling Stone).

Low Cut Connie made unprecedented strides in 2018 when they made their network television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers and performed the rollicking album opener “All These Kids Are Way Too High.” That following month, the band, who can already count Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and Nick Hornby as fans, received a shoutout from Sir Elton John when he took the stage at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. WOW!

Finally, on Saturday in King of Prussia, we will keep it on the down low(e) as we will be treated to a set from Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets! The legendary Nick Lowe is an artist of many talents; he's a songwriter who deftly balances humor and emotion, an influential producer, and a vocalist of almost surprising grace and charm. Along the way, he's pioneered pub rock, served as a pivotal figure in the early days of punk, had hits as a power popper, and settled into a dignified third act as an elegant crooner. Lowe aligned himself with punk and new wave in the 1970s, serving as the house producer for Stiff Records, where he helmed seminal LPs by the Damned and Elvis Costello. During the heyday of new wave, Lowe co-led Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, with the pair regularly appearing on each other's solo albums into the early '80s. The high-water mark of this period was Labour of Lust, a 1979 power pop album overspilling with hooks and jokes, a sensibility crystalized on the hit single "Cruel to Be Kind." Once Rockpile disbanded, Lowe steadily moved toward country-rock, experiencing a renaissance with The Impossible Bird, a 1994 album that featured "The Beast in Me." This album led Lowe toward his latter-day incarnation as a sophisticated crooner, a style he maintained even when he hired Los Straitjackets to give him a little rock & roll kick for a series of EPs and 2024's album Indoor Safari - A collection that included newly written songs, redone versions of then-recent singles, and a few updated takes of previously unreleased songs from Lowe's decades'-old vault. Los Straitjackets are masked marvels of instrumental rock. Playing in a style that owes a debt to veteran instrumental acts such as the Ventures, Duane Eddy, and Dick Dale, and never taking the stage without their trademark Mexican wrestling masks, Los Straitjackets deliver crisp guitar work with twang and reverb for seasoning, a no-nonsense rhythm section, solid instrumental skills, and a pronounced sense of humor. An interesting mash-up of musical styles that somehow works to perfection when both entities take to the stage... It's gotta be seen (& heard) to make you a believer! Check them out...

More info for Bryn Mawr shows at: https://www.brynmawrtwilightco...

More infor for King of Prussia at: https://www.concertsunderthest...

Have a great week as the 'dog days' descend upon us!