Dan Bruce is a recent transplant to Ohio after spending a decade as an important member of Chicago’s jazz community. He is active throughout the Midwest and nationally as a performer, recording artist, composer and educator. He has performed on more than twenty albums as a sideman, and is releasing his second album as a leader this summer. As a performer and recording artist, Bruce has had the opportunity to work with a number of eminent musicians including Seamus Blake, Ali Jackson, Dan Wall, Lynn Seaton, and The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
"...without a doubt one of the finest of today's young jazz guitarists. He plays with great creativity, soul, and intelligence." -William Piburn, Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine.

Tickets are $20 at the door, or online.
Half price for Students with valid ID
Doors open at 7pm, and recording will begin at 8pm.

On Monday, November 3rd, 2025, Bop Shop Records welcomes the return of visionary jazz pianist Keigo Hirakawa, leading a powerhouse quartet featuring acclaimed tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard. The concert marks a rare upstate New York appearance for pianist and composer Keigo Hirakawa,whose deeply personal voice on the instrument reflects his musical upbringing in the Midwest and his current life in New York City.

Hirakawa, a long-standing fixture of the Midwest jazz scene and now an active member of New York’s vibrant creative community, brings together a formidable quartet for this special performance. His critically praised 2023 album, "Pixel" on Origin Records showcases his inventive vision and sophisticated interplay through original compositions, and the harmonic and rhythmic complexity of his collaborators, affirming his place among today’s leading voices in contemporary jazz piano.  

For this special engagement, Hirakawa expands his ensemble with the addition of Stacy Dillard, a New York-based saxophonist hailed as “ A young saxophonist of serious promise" (New York Times). Known for his fiery sound with an original voice who has appeared on stage with Roy Hargrove, Mulgrew Miller, Clark Terry, Wycliffe Gordon and Johnny O'neal, Dillard’s presence promises to ignite fresh dimensions in the group’s performance.

Joining Hirakawa and Dillard will be frequent collaborators Diallo House on bass and Hamir Atwal on drums—veterans of the New York jazz circuit whose rhythmic drive and improvisational prowess form the quartet’s dynamic foundation. House leads House of Sextet, an in-demand group that explores creative voices of Brooklyn. Known for seamlessly shifting between the creative music circuit and the modern jazz scene, Atwal is a versatile drummer who blends many influences in every performance.

Listen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGpfGXOAhQV/?hl=en

Tickets are $20 in advance or at the door.
Doors at 7, show begins at 8pm

Half price for students with ID

Einstein's Dreams: Flight Manifest, album release show
With chamber orchestra and special guests, including Benny Bleu and Tony Padilla

Eric Heveron-Smith (lead vocals, bass, guitar)
Wade McClung (electric guitar, vocals)
Noah DeRosier (acoustic guitar, keyboard, vocals)
Chris Palace (drums)
Julia Weatherholtz (vocals)

The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Eric Heveron-Smith, Einstein’s Dreams blends chamber folk textures with jazz-infused improvisation. Weaving Alan Watts references into stories about migratory birds, Heveron-Smith’s voice soars as he alternates between soulful bass lines and shimmery, fingerpicked chords on his six string bass. 

In 2025, Einstein’s Dreams will be releasing their debut album Flight Manifest (funded in part by a grant from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts). The album plays with themes of space travel, birds, and evolution, acting as a launch pad for flocks of woodwinds, stacks of brass, and entire landscapes full of stringed instruments. Eric’s own multi-instrumental tendencies are augmented by special guests including Benny Bleu on banjo, Tony Padilla (Mambo Kings) on congas, and hammered dulcimer player Max ZT (House of Waters, a jazz fusion group on Snarky Puppy’s groundUP label). 

 With a career that ranges from opening for BB King and Tower of power, to recording live broadcasts of Earth, Wind & Fire and the Newport Jazz Festival, to playing trombone and bass with the genre bending YouTube supergroup Postmodern Jukebox, to one beautiful show with pop legend Michael McDonald, Eric has been some places (quite literally, touring 45 states, 6 Canadian provinces, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean).

Finding his voice as a songwriter took a little more exploration, but some lessons with the jazz/folk singer-songwriter Becca Stevens helped him channel his awe and wonder at the natural world into the richly layered sonic textures that had been living in his head since he first heard Sufjan Stevens in music school. Einstein’s Dreams (named after the poetic science fiction book by Alan Lightman) debuted in 2021, with a handful of originals, some live looping electric bass, and covers of Bruce Hornsby and Peter Gabriel. Since then, the band has transformed from a pickup group of gigging jazz musicians to an ensemble that blends myriad influences with soaring vocal harmonies. 

The live experience is elevated by the occasional inclusion of a 6-piece chamber orchestra (modeled after the group yMusic, recent collaborators of Paul Simon). On their album release concert, the orchestra will be joined by the RPO’s own Herb Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, alongside Jess Breen (flute), Dean Keller (bass clarinet), Esther Rogers (cello), Sean Mulligan (viola), and Carolyn Cronauer (violin). 

Stereo Field Recordings and Bop Shop Records are thrilled to host and record this epic event!

About Stereo Field Recordings
Stereo Field Recordings was founded in 2024 by audio and video engineer Dan Gross to consolidate his recording business. The mission of SFR is to offer capture services at affordable rates, made through community connections. At SFR's home base at Bop Shop Records and in the field, SFR looks to produce, capture, and release unique music recordings: from EPKs, to field recordings, to concert videos, to live EPs and albums, to semi-studio projects.

8pm show, doors at 7pm

$20 advance/$25 day of the show 

Tickets available online and at the door

STEW CUTLER - GUITAR
BILL McCLELLAN - DRUMS
ETIENNE LYTLE - KEYS

In a career spanning over 4 decades, jazz/blues/gospel guitarist/composer Stew Cutler has established himself as a bandleader and composer . With 8 record releases to his credit as a  leader and playing on countless recordings as a sideman, Cutler’s prolific career is a walk through musical history. 

Over the years Cutler honed his craft through collaborations with an illustrious  array  of artists including; Percy Sledge, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, Fontella Bass (featured on Bass' Grammy nominated album No Ways Tired), Lester Chambers, Earl King, Jimmy Castor and many more. Cutler has also worked with jazz greats David Sanborn, Bill Frisell, Lester Bowie, Charlie Hunter, and Wayne Horvitz to name a few, as well as artists as diverse as Meatloaf, Jeb Loy Nichols, David Fanshawe, Sweet Georgia Brown, and Jimmy Dale Gilmore.

Cutler was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. His father was a classical violinist but his parents divorced when he was quite young.  Cutler had no contact from his father for many years but he still found muisc, the guitar.  In his early teens Cutler dove  into his instrument and at just 19 years old  he landed his first touring  job with blues legend Z.Z. Hill.   Cutler immersed himself in studying music and was mentored by master guitarist James Clark. Soon thereafter, he began calloborating  with instrumental  artists such as  Bobby Previte and Eliott Sharp. Not long after that Cutler moved to Woodstock, NY and began working with bassist Harvey Brooks { Bob Dylan, Miles Davis etc.} along with many well-known artists that were  part of that musical kaleidoscope. 

 In more recent years Cutler has been keeping himself busy playing his own music in and around New York City and going on tour regularly with his own group.   He has also found time to work with Alexis P Suter, John Lloyd Young  Garland Jefferies, and Tina Fabrique. Cutler also has also been going to Europe fairly regularly with The Harlem Gospel Singers .

Cutler can be found on the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's film "The Irishman''. he is performing the standard "How High The Moon".  Cutler was also cast as part of the soundtrack for the streaming Amazon TV series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an American comedy/drama set in the late 1950's.  You can hear Cutler's playing on the soundtrack of the series over the years. In season 4  Cutler was on camera as well as the soundtrack, featured in the  bulesque club house band, “The Wolford Band."

Cutlers  last recording, "*The Blues From Another Angle*." is a critically acclaimed eclectic mix of originals and a few covers featuring legendary guitarist Mike Stern and master harmonica player, James Montgomery. *The Blues From Another Angle* showcases a room full of top-notch musicians including drummer Bill McClellan, keyboardist Tom Wilson, bassists Booker King and Chulo Gatewood, saxophonist Steve Elson plus vocalists Bobby Harden and Mary Jean Cutler.   Showcasing their prowess on the album  guest artists Mike Stern, blazing through a guitar solo on “Blews” and James Montgomery making the harmonic sing on “Say What You Mean.”

As a guitarist composer and storyteller, Stew Cutler's journey is a testament to the tranformative power of music, bridging genres with his unmistakable soulful sound.

stewcutler.com

Charlie Ballantine - guitar
Quinn Sternberg - Bass
Brendan Brady - Drums

Named as one of the top 200 living guitarists by All About Jazz Magazine and a Rising Star in the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll, Charlie Ballantine is acclaimed as one of the finest and most versatile  young guitarists on the scene today. JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE hails his playing as “teeming with intricate grooves and maniacal precision his guitar work is both beautiful and complex” and VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE described his style by stating “Jazz, rock, and folk music peacefully coexist in Charlie Ballantine’s world”. 

   Equipped with an impressive body of original compositions on albums like “Vonnegut” and “Cold Coffee”, Ballantine also displays a great reverence for the jazz tradition through the inclusion of standards like ‘My One and Only Love’, ‘East of the Sun’ and an entire double album dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk released September 2021.  “In the vein of fellow guitarists like John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, Ballantine reconciles his educational background in jazz with the stylistic background of his instrument. He approaches the gratifying tonal and harmonic language of rock/roots with the groove, ambition and improvisational focus of a jazz musician” - (JAZZIZ MAGAZINE)

   After graduating from the Jacobs School of Music under the direction of David Baker, Ballantine relocated to Indianapolis and quickly developed a name for himself with a string of high energy performances at clubs like the Jazz Kitchen and Chatterbox Jazz Club. After releasing two solo albums Ballantine was able to attain global recognition with his award winning third album “Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan” which ALL ABOUT JAZZ named in their top ten jazz albums of the year. “From the opening bars of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" it is clear that something special is happening” - (ALL ABOUT JAZZ) 

   Although primarily a front man for his own projects with tours and frequent appearances throughout the US and Canada at venues and festivals such as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Indianapolis Jazz Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, The Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and The Elkhart Jazz Festival, Ballantine also has an extensive list of side man credits having performed with names like Rob Dixon, Emmett Cohen, and Amanda Gardier helping to further solidify him as a creative force and  put him in the highest of ranks as a performer.  

Watch the last time charlie was here, awesome show. This tour will focus on his Bob Dylan recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bneyxW44R_k

From now on, we are pleased to announce that we will be offering a 10% discount on everything in our store every Sunday. Yes, you heard that right—everything is included in this special promotion. This is a fantastic opportunity to snag some of our rarest and most sought-after records at a reduced price. Be sure to take advantage of this awesome oppertunity!

Joe Policastro, bass
Dave Miller, guitar
Mikel Avery, drums

Hailed by Downbeat for its “deft analysis of choice repertoire,” and by the Chicago Reader for its “diversity of approaches to all kinds of source material,” the JOE POLICASTRO TRIO is a forward-thinking, Chicago-based jazz trio led by bassist Joe Policastro featuring guitarist Dave Miller and drummer Mikel Avery. While firmly rooted in jazz, the band’s open-minded, inclusive nature draws upon a wide array of musical styles and sources while still keeping the aesthetic of an acoustic trio intact.  

The band is releasing its seventh album, Mending Wall, this fall. Through highly personal readings of music from Italy and Hong Kong, movie scores and symphonic themes, pop tunes, and even a cowboy song written by a Russian classical composer, the trio explores the nature of identity, boundaries, and borders. Their diverse catalog - Ceremony (2023), Sounds Unheard (2022), Nothing Here Belongs (2019), Screen Sounds (2017), POPS! (2016), and West Side Story Suite (2013) - captures the band’s progressive, forward-thinking, non-hierarchical approach whether showcasing their original music or their ability to remake unlikely songs in a characteristically raw, idiosyncratic fashion. 

True bands are a rarity in jazz these days, especially ones hone their craft as consistently as this one does. The band held court thrice-weekly at Pops for Champagne in downtown Chicago for over a decade. Beyond Chicago, the trio has been extensively playing together at clubs and festivals throughout the US and Canada having even performed for President Barack Obama.

“…a cohesive unit with an extraordinarily flexible mindset…at every step of the way, this band breathes and bends as one.” (Dan Billawsky, All About Jazz)

“Unpredictable and sometimes eccentric…each listen…reveals more surprises.” (Scott Yanow, JAZZIZ)

“The trio have refined their layered blend of the familiar and faintly far out, playing three nights a week at Chicago’s Pops For Champagne and through extensive roadwork. Their deep understanding of each other and deft analysis of choice repertoire repays repeat and close listening.” (Michael Jackson, Downbeat)

The Joe Policastro Trio is a band that can turn “pop tart into Jazz art” (Travis Rogers, Jazz Owl) and one that “should have wide appeal among both jazz fans and listeners of other genres.” (Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine)

Official Website:
http://www.thejptrio.com

Tickets $20 in advance on-line or at the door.
SHOWS START AT 8PM, DOORS AT 7PM
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MUSIC CAN BE FOUND ON https://bopshop.com/events

Amy Rigby has established herself as one of America’s enduring underground/cult/indie artists, combining the insight and humor of country and folk songwriting with classic rock craftsmanship and punk DIY spirit. Raised in Pittsburgh, schooled in late 70s lower Manhattan, she formed pre-Americana country band Last Roundup and Richard Hell’s favorite girl group the Shams in NYC's East Village before launching a solo career with 90s classic album Diary Of A Mod Housewife. 

Amy’s honest, kinetic songwriting has earned her praise from critics (“pithy wisdom, acerbic pen and sterling American guitar classicism” MOJO) and other artists: “Think Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright, at their best,” says Steve Earle. Her songs have been covered by Laura Cantrell, Ronnie Spector and John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. Her 2019 memoir GIRL TO CITY was called “an instant classic” by The Big Takeover. “You can smell the damp, see the clothes, hear the guitars!” says Goldmine. The follow up, GIRL TO COUNTRY, comes out later this year.

New album Hang In There With Me (2024), eleven up to the minute songs written by Amy and recorded by husband Wreckless Eric, is a bracing look at mortality, aging and youthful missteps, refracted through Amy’s insightful lyricism. Some people turn to the moon and stars for inspiration while Amy Rigby looks to creative heroes like Bob Dylan and Mike Leigh. She finds poetry in haircuts and live chat boxes. Her music is the sound of everyday people getting by, just like the classic country artists she loved and learned to write songs from.

Amy performs solo in the US and UK Autumn 2025, with stories/songs from Girl To Country + new and old classics. New book is out september 23rd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW5PavtxGKQ

Dylan In Dubuque https://youtu.be/D9iTxYcrB5A?si=hoKTWFY8FpepjvZZ

The Farewell Tour https://youtu.be/wEYeOUdSZIU?si=FoOLIiplKTnTh_0_

Bricks https://youtu.be/nUSYvN9TYa0?si=J9KCb9NBdAbQIyAt

Tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford studied at the New England Conservatory, with, among others, Gunther Schuller and Ran Blake; while still in his early 20s, he toured with both the Duke Ellington Orchestra (under Mercer Ellington's leadership) and Charles Mingus. By the 1980s, he was considered one of the leading tenor saxophonists of his generation. He worked with Dannie Richmond's Quintet, Lionel Hampton, Mal Waldron, Beaver Harris and Abdullah Ibrahim’s Ekaya, and also more than a dozen albums as a leader. He has lived in France since the 1990s.

Thurman Barker Grew up in Chicago in the 1950s, Thurman Barker was exposed to the city’s rich musical heritage, regularly hearing R&B, doo-wop, soul, jazz, and blues. Accordingly, he began his professional career at age 17 by anchoring the rhythm section for blues legend Mighty Joe Young. He then attended the American Conservatory of Music and later Roosevelt University, where he received classical training. While serving as percussionist for the city’s Shubert Theatre throughout much of the 1960s, Barker played for numerous national touring productions, including Hair, The Wiz, Grease, One Mo’ Time, and Ain’t Misbehavin’. A versatile drummer and percussionist, he also performed with singers Billy Eckstine, Marvin Gaye, Bette Midler, and Vicki Carr, and worked with classical groups like the Chicago Chamber Players and the New York City Opera. Perhaps Barker’s most notable musical experience has been with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), an organization founded in the 1960s to promote innovative music and its players. A charter member of the group, Barker first appeared in AACM productions with Joseph Jarman’s pioneering ensemble. He then went on to play with many other members, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Meyers, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell, and Henry Threadgill. In the 1970s and ’80s, after moving to New York, Barker worked with jazz giants Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers and Billy Bang, touring with their groups and recording numerous albums with them. Most recently, he has performed with trombonist and composer George Lewis at the Festival International Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville, Quebec. Since creating Uptee Records in the late 1980s, Barker has released five recordings as a leader, including Voyage (1987), The Way I Hear It (1999), Time Factor (2001), Strike Force (2004), and Rediscovered (2008). In 1994, his work “Dialogue,” commissioned by Mutable Music, premiered at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra premiered Barker’s chamber piece “Expansions” in May 1999, and that same year he became a lecturer at Smolny University in St. Petersburg, Russia. Barker has taught jazz history and performance at Bard College since 1993. Through his efforts to develop the program, he was appointed professor of jazz studies in June 2016.

Jerome Harris Electric guitarist and bassist Jerome Harris is best known for his work as a sideman with Sonny Rollins, and for his later work in groups led by drummer Bobby Previte and by trombonist Ray Anderson, among others. Harris was already a skilled musician when he went to Harvard with the intent of becoming a psychiatrist. During his college years, he became known as a guitarist on campus who played in a variety of bands, from R&B to free jazz, including a fusion band with fellow student, drummer Akira Tana. After graduation, Harris decided to focus on music full-time and first began appearing on recordings during the late '70s, such as Sonny Rollins' Don't Stop the Carnival (Milestone, 1978). In addition to continuing his work with Rollins throughout the 1980s, Harris worked with Oliver Lake and Bill Frisell, among others. The second half of the decade also found him playing with Bob Moses and Marty Ehrlich, while much of his work during the 1990s was with Bobby Previte and Ray Anderson. Harris has toured internationally in various ensembles, including trips to Japan with Rollins, tours of the Middle East and India with Jay Hoggard, of Africa with Oliver Lake, the U.S. with Previte's Latin for Travelers, and more. Some of the other renowned musicians that he has worked with include Don Byron, Ned Rothenberg (Sync on Intuition, 1999), Mark Helias, Pheeroan AkLaff and Kenny Werner. In addition to his work as a sideman, Jerome Harris has led several recording dates of his own, including Algorithms (Minor Music, 1986), Hidden in Plain View (New World, 1995) and Rendezvous (Stereophile, 1999). In 1999, Harris also played a large role in a July concert in New York City that was a tribute to Joni Mitchell, in which he wrote many of the transcriptions and arrangements, in addition to performing. As of the late '90s, Harris was based out of Brooklyn.

John Kordalewski is the leader, arranger and pianist for the Makanda Project, a 13-piece group performing previously unrecorded Makanda Ken McIntyre compositions. He has performed with musicians such as Charlie Rouse, Cab Calloway, Julius Hemphill, Odean Pope, Ricky Ford, Carl Grubbs, Webster Young, Byard Lancaster and Oliver Lake. For many years, he led a trio featuring Boston drummer Bobby Ward. He has conducted clinics and workshops at many colleges and universities, most recently at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa, where his arrangements of compositions by pianist Ndikho Xaba and trumpeter Feya Faku have been performed. He is also currently collaborating with saxophonist Chico Freeman, writing first-ever big band arrangements of Freeman’s compositions.

Tickets: $30

With a career spanning over 50 years, Hank Roberts has performed at prestigious venues worldwide alongside celebrated artists such as Bill Frisell, Petra Haden, Rudy Royston, Aurora Nealand, Tim Berne, Gordon Grdina, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, as well as with the Hank Roberts Sextet and the Italian-based group "Pipe Dream." His extensive discography includes more than a dozen albums as a leader, and his album Green (featuring Jim Black and Marc Ducret) won the 2008 German Recording Critics’ Award in the Jazz category. Roberts was also named “Rising Star” in the Miscellaneous Instrument (cello) category in Downbeat Magazine’s 2022 Critics' Awards.

Drummer Ashley Ickes brings a highly developed sense of rhythmic complexity, stylistic diversity, and excitement to every group she performs with, including regional favorites like the funk band The Comb Down and the hip hop group Felix Free & the Rxcketeers. Since her arrival in 2016, she has been a vibrant central figure in the Ithaca music scene.

Pianist Chad Lieberman, influenced by traditional Cuban music and the University of Miami’s renowned Jazz program, studied music composition and electronic music at Ithaca College. He has performed both locally and internationally and is a founding member of the MAQ ensemble and the Strong Maybe experimental music trio.

What the writers are saying

“Roberts’s approach to the cello is a treasure to be cherished… ‘has long been a master at shaping the envelope of his sound to tell organic stories”

— Gary Chapin - Free Jazz Collective

Cornetist Kirk Knuffke aims to make beautiful, emotionally resonant music—even in avant-garde settings. A prolific artist, he’s released about 20 albums as leader/co-leader. His 2022 album Gravity Without Airs, with Matthew Shipp and Michael Bisio, earned 4½ stars from DownBeat and praise from The New York Times. A sought-after sideman, he’s worked with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Mary Halvorson, Matt Wilson, and James Brandon Lewis. All About Jazz hails him as a master of balancing freedom and swing.

Harold Danko is a distinguished jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader whose career spans over 50 years. He has collaborated with iconic artists such as Chet Baker, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and James Moody, performing at major jazz venues around the world. Danko’s artistry is well documented across numerous acclaimed recordings, television appearances, and popular video clips—including Baker’s 1987 Tokyo concert, which has garnered over five million views on YouTube. His legacy reflects both depth and versatility in jazz.

What happens when the 13-member Dave Rivello Ensemble plugs in? DRE I RED! Sharp angles contrasted with smooth textures and combined with dynamic solos make for an evening of continuous color. This is an extension of the Dave Rivello Ensemble, and continues to be Dave Rivello's vehicle for his original work, and his main orchestral voice. From the beginning, this ensemble has blurred lines, and crossed genres - come get lost in DRE|RED!

A Stereo Field Recordings event

Guitarist Jim Yanda creates music at the nexus of Jazz, New Music, Free Improvisation, Blues, Country and Folk traditions.

He grew up the youngest son of a dairy farming family near Anamosa, Iowa. His earliest professional experience included performing western swing music in regional dance halls. In high school, gigging garage Rock bands added to his stylistic influences, as Yanda fell in love with guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page.

He attended Coe College where he was introduced to jazz and avant garde 20th Century music by maverick trumpeter & university mentor, Paul Smoker. Yanda then spent several years on Chicago’s jazz scene before moving to New York to work with longtime collaborator Phil Haynes. Since then, Yanda has recorded his own music on Regional Cookin’ and Home Road and released recordings with Phil Haynes & Free Country, Damon Short, and Herb Robertson.

Tickets $20 in advance on-line or at the door. A $20 tickets will get you into both shows too!
Free for students with valid ID

A Stereo Field Recordings event

Guitarist Jim Yanda creates music at the nexus of Jazz, New Music, Free Improvisation, Blues, Country and Folk traditions.

He grew up the youngest son of a dairy farming family near Anamosa, Iowa. His earliest professional experience included performing western swing music in regional dance halls. In high school, gigging garage Rock bands added to his stylistic influences, as Yanda fell in love with guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page.

He attended Coe College where he was introduced to jazz and avant garde 20th Century music by maverick trumpeter & university mentor, Paul Smoker. Yanda then spent several years on Chicago’s jazz scene before moving to New York to work with longtime collaborator Phil Haynes. Since then, Yanda has recorded his own music on Regional Cookin’ and Home Road and released recordings with Phil Haynes & Free Country, Damon Short, and Herb Robertson.

Tickets $20 in advance on-line or at the door. A $20 tickets will get you into both shows too!
Free for students with valid ID

I’ll be spinning some of my favorite 45s at the Skylark Lounge (40 North Union St., Rochester) on July 25th and August 22nd 6-9pm. I’ll be digging deep into the crates and pulling out gems from my stash — think funk, punk, twang, garage, and the just plain weird. Expect the unexpected — and come hang out!

Aaron Lipp is from Naples, NY and has been a professional musician since age 16. From performing on stage, recording in the studio and teaching lessons, he has found his place in music . Throughout a multitude of different genre adventures and instrumentation, he has found home in songwriting with genre-defying sounds and lyrics.

Aaron is releasing his new album, "We Must Build Fire" at the store. He'll have vinyl records for sale, naturally!

This is a rare Rochester appearance for Aaron; don't miss the chance to see this incredible musician in a solo setting!

Tickets are $20 at the door, or online.

Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 8pm.

I’ll be spinning some of my favorite 45s at the Skylark Lounge (40 North Union St., Rochester) on July 25th and August 22nd 6-9pm. I’ll be digging deep into the crates and pulling out gems from my stash — think funk, punk, twang, garage, and the just plain weird. Expect the unexpected — and come hang out!

 In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create. The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working-class upbringing—including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie—imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.” 

With a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.

Parr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition of which Parr has dedicated his practice The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father. Parr strives to listen to everything: “I don’t see that I’d ever be capable of creating anything if it weren’t for these inspirations and influences, books and music as well as the weather and random interactions with strangers and animals. So, the well never runs dry as long as my eyes and ears are open,” Parr said in a 2020 interview. Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection—sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves—and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog. When Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, and Dock Boggs. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired. 

Parr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of Better Days Head (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr's sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet. 

Get a little taste of Charlie Parr here from the last time he was here, enjoy!

 In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create. The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working-class upbringing—including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie—imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.” 

With a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.

Parr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition of which Parr has dedicated his practice The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father. Parr strives to listen to everything: “I don’t see that I’d ever be capable of creating anything if it weren’t for these inspirations and influences, books and music as well as the weather and random interactions with strangers and animals. So, the well never runs dry as long as my eyes and ears are open,” Parr said in a 2020 interview. Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection—sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves—and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog. When Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, and Dock Boggs. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired. 

Parr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of Better Days Head (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr's sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet. 

Get a little taste of Charlie Parr here from the last time he was here, enjoy!

PAKT
with
PERCY JONES - bass
ALEX SKOLNICK - guitar
KENNY GROHOWSKI - drums
TIM MOTZER - guitars, electronics

It's the PAKT time with four extraordinary musicians: Percy Jones (Brand X, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Suzanne Vega), Alex Skolnick (Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio, Metal Allegiance, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Kenny Grohowski (John Zorn, Brand X, Imperial Triumphant, Hipster Assassins), Tim Motzer (Bandit65, Jaki Liebezeit, David Sylvian, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, ORION TANGO).

PAKT recalls the fearless attitude and daring approach that originally defined progressive music: where the magic of the moment always triumphed over preconception. Templates be damned ... this music blazes its own path! This is truly exquisite fare, serving as a reminder to aficionados of what initially drew them to this most creative, visionary of genres.

"This is not simply a group of virtuosos flexing their chops — it is a collective, its members deeply attuned to one another, creating music that is alive and electric in the moment. The album is an invitation to throw out the rulebook and embrace the unknown, with PAKT as a fearless guide. In a world of predictability, No Steps Left to Trace is a refreshing reminder of what happens when musicians abandon the script and simply play. It is challenging, adventurous and thrillingly free. In addition, this is a production that affords the listener more discoveries on subsequent listens.” - All About Jazz

“..an authentic powerhouse of virtuoso musicians blending and intersecting innovative sounds within the realms of avant-garde rock, electrifying jazz, experimental, atmospheric, psychedelic, and more, is an immersive encounter as much as a musical endeavor.” - Hi-Res Edition

Discography:

• PAKT (2021, MoonJune Records)

• No Steps Left To Trace (2024, MoonJune Records)

https://pakt-moonjune.bandcamp.com

Video links:

https://youtu.be/ErSSbGrle9E

https://youtu.be/zJQExCrCvrUT

tickets: $25 advance / $30 at door
Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm
Tickets on sale now!

The debut of “Remedy” on the Polish label FSR was voted among the “Best Releases of 2021” in New York City Jazz Record’s annual poll. The trio includes trumpeter Thomas Heberer, bassist Joe Fonda, and drummer Joe Hertenstein, who all contribute compositions to the repertoire.

The band was founded during the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020 in Brooklyn and is currently in the process of finalizing their second album. The trio draws on influences from World music, jazz, and contemporary classical music.

Tickets: $20

Joshua Smith, sax/electronics
Joe Tomino, drums/electronics
Jeremy Bleich, bass/electronics

Formed in 1998, BIRTH, the Cleveland-bred saxophone, electric bass, drums trio, carved a musical niche with the sound of their no-holds-barred creative music. Bringing together elements of free jazz, electro-acoustic improvisation, rock and melodic balladeering, this group defies convention, and executes its music with precision, and emotive mastery.

“So good that it's scary." - Harvey Pekar

Tickets are $20 in advance or at the door
doors at 7pm, show at 8pm

Featuring:
Joe Fonda - bass & compositions
Harvey Sorgen - drums
Jeff Lederer - clarinet
Michael Rabinowitz - bassoon

How we found this sound?

I hired this group of musicians to do a weeklong tour in the USA in 2022. I had written and organized the music months prior to the tour and sent it to everyone so they could check it out and look it over before the first rehearsal. So, when we got together for the first rehearsal everyone had had a chance to work on the music.

I had thought that it would be Tenor Saxophone and Bassoon as the front line, but at the first rehearsal, Jeff Lederer who I had hired to play Saxophone said, Joe do really want saxophone and he went on to explain how when he was practicing the music he was not hearing it played on saxophone but on clarinet and Flute and on one piece piccolo. I was not so sure, but Jeff was persistent. He said that to him the written material sounded like Stravinsky or something more classical.

So, we tried it and we all really liked the sound of the Bassoon with Jeff's clarinets and flutes. The sound became less jazz and more like a chamber Ensemble.

Jeff was right, it sounded great.

While we were on tour playing 7 nights in a row the sound of the quartet developed into something quite unique.

So sit back and enjoy the sound of something you most likely have never heard before.

Tickets are $20 at the door, or online.
Half price for students with valid ID!
Doors open at 7pm, and concert will begin at 8pm.

Rhett Miller - Acoustic!

Special Show featuring..
RHETT MILLER - ACOUSTIC!
Saturday, June 14, 2025...Doors 7pm, Music 8:30pm
Abilene Bar and Lounge
153 Liberty Pole Way, Rochester, NY 14604
Tickets: $35 advance, $40 day of show

Buy Tickets

SELWYN BIRCHWOOD-SUMMER 2025!

SELWYN BIRCHWOOD-SUMMER 2025!

Friday, June 13, 20259:15 PM

Abilene Bar & Lounge Rochester, NY

Buy Tickets

“Where It All Began!...One Night Only!
SELWYN BIRCHWOOD
Friday, June 13, 2025….Doors 4pm, Music 9:15pm
Abilene Bar and Lounge
153 Liberty Pole Way, Rochester, NY 14604
Tickets: $25 advance, $30 day of show

From now on, we are pleased to announce that we will be offering a 10% discount on everything in our store every Sunday. Yes, you heard that right—everything is included in this special promotion. This is a fantastic opportunity to snag some of our rarest and most sought-after records at a reduced price. Be sure to take advantage of this awesome oppertunity!

A Stereo Field Recordings event:

Please join us for a special recording event; a live and intimate live set featuring local favorites The P.V. Nunes Band.

The P. V. Nunes Band is just different.  “Think Harry Chapin meets the Grateful Dead” said one club owner. The songs (written by Paul Vincent Nunes) are smart, funny, passionate, personal…  and way too true.  They are driven by a jamming North Coast Americana groove of dobro and electric guitar (Bernie Heveron), acoustic guitar (Paul), washboard (Dave Paprocki) and bass (Greg Franklin).

 Band members have an esoteric history of playing in (or with) The Color Blind James Experience, Bat McGrath (Bernie),  The Chesterfield Kings, The Occasional Saints (Paul),  Chanka-Chank, The Crawdiddies (Dave), Marjorie Thompson, and The Dave North Trio (Greg).

 Fan favorites include, “New Guitar”, “Drive All Night”, “My Daughter’s Diary”, “I’m Gonna Walk”, “The Diner”,  “Mama Loves the Reverb”, and “Some of Us Rise, But We Don’t Shine”. 

 Their new EP, “The P.V. Nunes Band “ was released on the independent label Lighthouse Records, and is available on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and YouTube. Also, you can listen at https://pvnunes.hearnow.com/the-p-v-nunes-band 

 “We’re a cover band,” says Paul, “that covers ourselves really well. We even look like us.”

 FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/PVNunesBand/

 tickets are $10 in advance and at the door. Free for students
Doors are ay 7pm, show starts at 8pm