Submitted by The Buttonwood Tree
(November 26, 2024) — The following programs and events will take place at The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street in Middletown during the month of December, 2024.
Friday, December 6, 2024/Story City Troupe. Program begins at 7:30 p.m. This night features a variety of themes. Admission is $10. Michael Isko tells stories about his foibles and family. He recently retired from a 34 year career as a Public Defender, and accepted Sue Huggan’s request to keep the Story City Troupe together, and bring shows to The Buttonwood Tree. He has told at a number of SpeakUp Storytelling events at Saul Fussiner Songs and Stories and at the Next Door, New Haven, at Jezrie Marcano’s Speak Easy at The Ordinary in New Haven, and at the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas. Admission link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/77809-story-city-troupe
Saturday, December 7, 2024/Lilac Diesel, Singer-Songwriter Sarah Dunn, and Artist Lila Rebel. Show begins at 7:00 p.m. Join us for a special night of original music where 100% of ticket sales will be donated directly to The Buttonwood Tree. Headlined by Lilac Diesel, a band led by Bryan Winoski, this powerful trio is already creating a buzz with their original material and energy. Bryan, vocals and guitar, is joined by Mark Gineo, drums, and Chris Anander, bass.
Sarah Dunn is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and mom to children and chickens. Releasing their EPK, Thank You, in 2022 and a full-length album, Too Much, in 2023, Sarah’s music has been described as “a charming Southern verve,” while navigating a unique collection of genres, from classic bluegrass fiddle to ethereal folk-pop. Sarah started playing the piano at age three and violin at age nine. In high school she started bass and guitar. She went to college for violin and dropped out of music school but kept playing. A lifelong singer-songwriter, she brings elements of life, depression, relationships, and family into her songs. With hardcore soccer mom energy, she is punchy, charming, and encompasses a breadth of emotions.
Lila Rebel is a super-cool musician from Hamden and will be joined by some special guests on stage during this wonderful evening.
Event link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/78205-lilac-diesel-lila-rebel-co-sarah-dunn
Sunday, December 8, 2024/Artist Reception for Paul Giovanni’s “Space to the 7th Power.” 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free, with all donations going to The Buttonwood Tree.
Friday, December 13, 2024/Hall Monitors Jazz Quintet. Show begins at 8:00 p.m. The group features Steve Bulmer on bass, Jen Allen on piano, Matt Parker on saxes and flute, Nathan Edwards on saxes and Ben Bilello on drums. Admission is $20. The Hall Monitors is a group of top-notch jazz musicians brought together through their love of playing, composing, arranging, and teaching. They are honored to be jazz coaches at the prestigious Hall High School in West Hartford, which has brought them together to form this quintet. The group performs a variety of intense jazz styles and includes innovative originals in their programs along with original treatments of not-so-standard jazz classics. It features a classic piano-bass-drums rhythm section with two innovative and complementary saxophonists.
After pushing many failed pun-names around trying to play on the word “Hall,” the Hall Monitors‘ moniker was adopted. (Some rejected names included Hall and Notes, and Jazz Fame of Hallers, thankfully!)
Event link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/75740-hall-monitors-jazz-quintet
Saturday, December 14, 2024/The Evan Wood Jazz Quartet. Show begins at 7:00 p.m. The group features Matthew Pearl on tenor sax, Anthony Carabello on guitar, Johnny Santini on upright bass, and Evan Wood on drums. Admission is $20. Event link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/75766-evan-wood-jazz-quartet
Friday, December 20, 2024/Soul Songstress Waberi Jordan and Friends. Show begins at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20. Waberi Jordan is a vocalist and songwriter whose signature is rooted in the Leimert Park Jazz Community of Los Angeles. Raised on a steady diet of straight-ahead jazz, at a time when R&B dominated the airwaves, Waberi’s sound bridges two pivotal eras of artistic expression.
Waberi studied and played with Horace Tapscott along with The Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra and The Great Voice of UGMAA (Union of God’s Musicians and Artists’ Ascension), many notable performers and scholars like Dr. Art Hillary, McCoy Tyner, Azar Lawrence, and more. In 2009 Waberi released her debut album, The Trajectory of Starah. The accompanying video, Sunflowers in my Garden, premiered the same year, to critical acclaim. The song has become beloved worldwide. Her second video release, Put it Right There was released in 2014, and as an added bonus, was co-directed and shot by Tim Russ, noted for his role as Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.
Event link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/79299-waberi-jordan-friends
The concerts and programs listed above, and other TBT events, are brought to you by our generous donors and patrons, as well as the following organizations: Middletown Commission on the Arts, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
