Juggling Suns (photo credit: bbkingblues.com)
Border state musicians attack the center of the Keystone this November. MCs from Columbus, Ohio, and two bands from central Jersey—the rock ‘n’ roll breeding ground of the East—will peddle their musical wares to our own growing music scene. Love thy neighbor as yourself (or however that command goes) and take in their talent.
Juggling Suns, Appalachian Brewing Company, Nov. 1, doors @ 8 p.m.
Intel is slim on this jam band from Perth Amboy, N.J. They are greatly inspired by The Grateful Dead and have personally played for one of the most famous deadheads of all, Bill Walton, the great basketball player and mediocre sports broadcaster. Mark Diomede, the frontman, has shared the stage with Santana and Bruce Springsteen. For you jam band aficionados and Grateful Dead lovers, this one’s for you.
Greenhouse Crew, Appalachian Brewing Company, Nov. 8, doors @ 8 p.m.
Illogic and Blueprint are old school MCs from Columbus and spit many social and environmental justice rap sermonettes. “Microwave America,” off their first full-length album, “Bend Don’t Break,” immerses you in their dense socio-econo-politico-enviro motifs. Good for ABC for bringing in some underground rap.
River City Extension, FedLive, Nov. 23, doors @ 8:30 p.m.
This band from Toms River, a stone’s throw from Asbury Park, the mini-mecca of rock ‘n’ roll, is so many things, but above all, they’re just an excellent band. Joe Michelini, the frontman, can croon like Conor Oberst in “Standing Outside a Southern Riot,” blend in with a sweet-sounding duet in “If You Need Me Back in Brooklyn,” and provide lush vocals in “The Ballad of Oregon,” a song about losing oneself in more expansive lands. River City is exactly that, expansive and dynamic. They have received praise from Paste and NPR for many reasons.
Mentionables:
Rebecca Miller, Appalachian Brewing Company, Nov. 7, doors @ 8 p.m.
Here Come the Mummies, FedLive, Nov. 15, doors @ 8 p.m.
John Gorka, Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Nov. 14, doors @ 7 p.m.
The Clarks, Appalachian Brewing Company, Nov. 30, doors @ 8 p.m.
