Submitted by Anne-Marie Cannata McEwen, Executive Director, The Buttonwood Tree
(September 1, 2022) — The Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main Street in Middletown announces the following musical events coming up in October and November:
Dust Devil Heart on Friday, October 21st, 2022. Show starts at 8 PM. Admission is $15. Dust Devil Heart is an indie folk singer-songwriter duo based in Branford, consisting of two women (Holley Anderson and Elise Morrison) who sing close vocal harmonies and play acoustic guitar and electric bass. They are often joined by pedal steel player Spencer Luckey and other collaborators on strings and percussion. They have just released their first album of original songs called Dwell Time, produced by Steve Rodgers in Hamden. It is available on Spotify and all streaming platforms.
Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue on Friday, October 28, 2022. Show starts at 8:00 p.m.. Admission is $20. Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue is one of the UK’s premier, Big Band Blues sounds. Hailing from Bristol UK and led by Gretsch-endorsed guitarist Ruzz Guitar. Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue brings together the multiple influences in Ruzz’s musical journey and combines them into one project to create the sound that he’s always heard in his head and wanted to capture live. Bring together the Big Band Swing of The Brian Setzer Orchestra, blend it with the Texas Blues of Jimmie Vaughan and throw in a few other influences from artists such as B.B.King, Ray Charles, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and you’ll get an idea of the sound that Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue put out!
Washboard Slim & The Bluelights on Saturday, October 29, 2022. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. After 40 years of playing together, Washboard Slim and the Bluelights has evolved into one of the country’s most versatile and original of jug bands. Incorporating pure Americana instruments like tub bass, washboard, jug, banjo, harmonica and fiddle, adding drums and powerful vocal harmonies, this band rocks sold-out concerts, dance halls and family shows. Playing their own compositions as well as original arrangements of traditional gospel and blues tunes, their music is by turns playful and haunted. It’s no wonder legendary blues/folk artist Eric Von Schmidt described Washboard Slim and the Bluelights as “traditional music on overdrive.”
The Lavender Social Club on Friday, November 4, 2022. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $25. Chris Daly & the Lavender Social Club is a Connecticut-based band pulling from influences across the musical spectrum. Chris’s showmanship, combined with the proficiency of the band, allows them to perform their unique stylings of pop, jazz, singer-songwriter, funk, hip-hop, soul and R&B. Their vision is one shared with all artists: to express. The combination of expression, interaction, and improvisation makes performances genre-bending, charismatic and memorable.
Jazz Event on Saturday, November 5, 2022. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. This musical showcase features powerhouse jazz drummer Ken Serio and his Trio. Preceding theTrio set will be two solo sets by guitarist Sinan Bakir and bassist Jedd Chlebowski. Ken Serio has been playing drums since the age of 11 years old when he joined the Junior High School Band. Seeing Ringo Starr on TV at a very early age influenced Ken and he began banging on pots, pans, boxes anything he could hit! At age 5 his parents bought him a toy “Cowsills” drumset and he loved it until he broke all the drumheads! Ken grew up on Pawcatuck/Westerly border and he was exposed to great deal of good music from The Beatles, Herb Alpert, Aretha Franklin, Vanilla Fudge and Deep Purple which would end up being one of Ken’s all time favorite bands.
Sinan Bakir is a highly polished guitarist, too diverse for a single label. His guitar work ranges from subtle, soothing shades of minimalist melodies to blistering, finessed and impossibly fast runs. Jedd Chlebowski is a bassist with a career spanning more than 30 years. He has played in rock and jazz bands, and in orchestras and musicals. He plays 4, 5, 6, string electric fretted and fretless basses as well as upright bass. Jedd has performed in multiple genres throughout the northeast as well as on tour in the Midwest and Europe. His bass playing has been recorded on four separate songs with all four members of Living Colour.
Jazz Vocalist and Trumpeter Leala Cyr on Saturday, November 12, 2022. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20. Leala Cyr is fast becoming one of the most sought-after jazz vocalists of her generation. A rare “double threat,” Cyr complements her impeccable vocals with a warm, golden tone on the trumpet. As a member of Esperanza Spalding’s “Radio Music and Chamber Music Societies,” she has performed around the world and has appeared on The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The View, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and more. In February 2019, Cyr released her debut album, First Instinct. A blend of originals and standards, the album showcases her unique talent for vocal improvisation, as well as her ingenuity as a songwriter and arranger.
“Free At Last Players” Theater Group on Saturday, November 25th, 2022. Show starts at 8 PM. Admission is in the form of a donation of $10 or more. “Free at Last Players” is a not-for-profit theater group dedicated to dispelling myths and misconceptions that surround mental illness. Founded in 1989, the group has performed all over Connecticut and the United States with shows consisting of songs, poems and skits created by the group’s members. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of dealing with mental illness is the stigma that is associated with the malady. By showcasing their first-hand perspectives via performance art, the Free at Last Players combat this stigma. The group consists of members who – whether they are mentally ill or not – recognize that every person deserves to be seen as just that: a person with strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else. This season’s show consists of skits, songs, poems, raps and monologues that shed light on the lived experience of mental illness and the promise and possibility of recovery.
See www.Buttonwood.org for all show details or call (860) 347-4957
Email: TheButtonwoodTree@gmail.com
