April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and there’s no shortage of excellent jazz acts delivering jazz to regional stages over the next few weeks. If you’re looking for a place to vibe out and enjoy some jams, check out the shows listed with an asterisk under “Honorable Mentions.” And, if your venue or friends have a show coming up that should be on our radar, drop me a line at [email protected].
ALT AMERICANA
4/12, An Evening with Yarn, The Abbey Bar
Cult faves Yarn are hitting the stage at The Abbey Bar this month, supporting its 2024 album, “Born Blessed Grateful & Alive.” Frontman Blake Christiana has been releasing folky-country-rock music under the moniker Yarn for nearly 20 years, with a rotating cast of musicians joining him on stage and in the studio. The lyrics heard on “Born Blessed Grateful & Alive” present a poignant reflection on contemporary topics with a lively sound, reminding us of the joys we can unlock with the powers of community and live music.
RETRO RHYTHMS
4/15, WXPN Welcomes The Dip with BAILEN, XL Live
This show’s going to be a real treat. While I’m looking forward to seeing retro-inspired rhythm and funk outfit The Dip, whose songs “Slow Sipper” and “Sure Don’t Miss You,” you might know (or will love if you go listen to ‘em right now), I’m even more excited to watch sibling trio BAILEN open the show. Their songwriting skills and warm voices blend so beautifully. I love the dreamy pop earworm, “Going on A Feeling,” and any fellow WXPN listener might recognize the band’s Fleetwood Mac-esque hit, “Your Love Is All I Know,” which climbed the charts a few years back.
JAZZ THINGS UP
4/27, Central PA Friends of Jazz Present Melissa Aldana Quartet, Trinity Lutheran Church
Central PA Friends of Jazz is kicking off International Jazz Week with a performance from Grammy-nominated saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana and the Crash Trio (aka the Melissa Aldana Quartet) at Trinity Lutheran Church. The celebrated Chilean musician’s latest album, “Echoes of The Inner Prophet,” reflects her “personal journey, with an especially introspective point of view. The inner prophet is my own self, now older, who has the knowledge and the intuition and the truth about what my path should be,” Aldana said in a press release. Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 2000 Chestnut St., Camp Hill.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
4/4, Central PA Friends of Jazz Present Kirk Reese and Tom Strohman, Midtown Scholar*
4/5, Hellbender Hootenanny featuring Local News Legend, Shelter Cat, Joe Pye Revival, Almost Honest, The Abbey Bar
4/5, G-Eazy, XL Live
4/10, The Record Company, XL Live
4/13, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light, Fort Hunter Barn
4/17, Octave Cat, XL Live*
4/18, Public Disco Porch, The Abbey Bar
4/19, Tracy Grammer, Fort Hunter Barn
4/30, Neon Trees, XL Live
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