Joey's Confession Returns to Cleveland

Michael is back in Cleveland with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and percussionists Jamey Haddad, Keita Ogawa and Marcus Santos for another Friday's at Seven on May 11 at the glorious Severance Hall.  An interview with Mike Telin is -here-, and info about another Cleveland gig earlier in the day at the Happy Dog is -here-.

Calling All Cultural Entrepreneurs

On an average day at noon, Spangler Center at the Harvard Business School draws small groups for lunch and quiet study. But on Monday, September 26, a surprise performance by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma packed the lounge. The sounds of bird whistles and the gaita drifting through the hallways drew such an overflow crowd that even HBS Dean Nitin Nohria had to find space sitting on the floor.

The audience had gathered for more than a concert. The message behind the music was an invitation for the arts and business communities to collaborate.

In town to workshop a new piece with the Silk Road Ensemble, Michael Ward-Bergeman (interviewed in our September issue) joined in the flash concert at HBS on his accordion. This video above appeared on his Gig 365 blog.

Read the rest at the October 2011 Silk Road Ensemble Newsletter - here -

GIG 365 in The Concord Journal

Concord — When Susan Ehrreich-Sisak went to Verrill Farm in Concord last week to pick up some corn for her grandchildren, she didn’t imagine she would be dancing the polka on the farm’s patio, too.

Read more: Accordion player brings year long gig tour to Concord - Concord, MA - The Concord Journal

New Release from Groanbox

Groanbox, the North American world roots trio, are releasing their fifth album on October 31, 2011, to be launched at King's Place, London on October 28th.
The band wrote, rehearsed, and recorded all of the material for their latest release, Guts, Lungs & Bones in a cottage perched at the bottom of a green, sheep-flecked and brook-bordered hill in the Scottish Lowlands over a period of ten days in August 2011.
Recorded live with producer/engineer Oscar Cainer at the helm, the album features ten original compositions and one traditional number, Death Don’t Have No Mercy.

Supporting the King's Place gig is John Ellis, mostly known for his work as a guitarist with major UK acts such as Peter Gabriel, The Stranglers, Peter Hammill and many more. He is also a songwriter and composer of electronic music. He has released 6 albums of instrumental music written for installations. His current song-based project is called THE PINCH. It consists of songs and instrumentals mostly played on acoustic guitar.

Big Old Big One

Videos and pics from MJWB's GIG 365 GIG #263 on September 20th, 2011 w/Eran Shaysh posted here: BIG OLD BIG ONE

Silk Road Project Commission : "Damagomi"

The Silk Road Project September 2011 Newsletter:
New Commission from MJWB : "Damagomi"

Column of Lasting Insignificance : GIG 365

Click -here- for a feature on GIG 365 from the legendary John Wilcock, co-founder of the Village Voice. Wilcock's weekly "Column of Lasting Insignificance" has been running for over 50 years.