FALL RIVER — Narrows Center for the Arts continues to bring high-quality music and art to the SouthCoast, hosting a unique gallery show and a variety of shows in June. From comedy benefits and internationally acclaimed jazz acts, to local favorites, there is something that everyone will enjoy.
The lineup of June concerts is as follows:
June 3 – Colby James and the Ramblers
Accomplished singer/songwriter Colby James has consistently earned an outstanding reputation as one of the area’s hardest working, multi-talented vocalists/guitarists to appear on the live stage. He learned to play guitar at a young age, then developed his singing voice, and for the past 17 years he has delivered his searing and soulful style at many popular regional venues, both as a solo artist and fronting his own band.
June 4 – Crack up Cancer ft. Lenny Clarke, Mike McCarthy and Christine Hurley
Crack up Cancer comedy benefit was established 15 years ago in Tampa, Florida by a Southeastern MA native. This “R” rated comedy show will benefit the Looney Legacy Foundation who will distribute 50% of the net profits to the Melanoma Research Foundation and 50% net profits to the family of Superhero Alex to assist with travel plans. This comedy show to benefit cancer patients and their families has enjoyed a successful and precipitous following and brings its own style to the Narrows. The first annual Southeastern Massachusetts show features three prominent comics from the area, including Mike McCarthy, Christine Hurley, and headliner and star of “Rescue Me,” Lenny Clarke.
June 9 – Nduduzo Makhathini Group
Nduduzo Makhathini grew up in the lush and rugged hillscapes of umGungundlovu in South Africa, a peri-urban landscape in which music and ritual practices were symbiotically linked. The area is significant historically as the site of the Zulu king Dingane kingdom between 1828 and 1840. It is important to note that the Zulu, in fact the African warrior code, is deeply reliant on music for motivation and healing. This deeply embedded symbiosis is key to understanding Makhathini’s vision.
June 10 – Steve Forbert
Years before Americana music earned its own category at the Grammy Awards, Steve Forbert helped pioneer the genre’s mix of folk, roots-rock, and richly delivered storytelling. He’s been a torchbearer of that sound for more than four decades since, navigating the twists and turns of an acclaimed career that’s taken him from gold records to Grammy nominations, from New York City’s CBGB to Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, from his 1978 debut album to 2022’s vital and versatile “Moving Through America.”
June 11 – Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters
Legendary Blues guitarist Ronnie Earl is a four-time Blues Music Award winner as Guitar Player of the Year (1997, 1999, 2014, 2018), most recently receiving the award on May 10, 2018 in Memphis. He has served as an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music and has taught at the National Guitar summer workshop in Connecticut. Known for his clean clear tone Ronnie has been called more than once “The John Coltrane of the guitar.”
June 17 – Steve Kimock and Friends
Steve Kimock is regarded as one of the great guitar improvisers of his generation inspiring music fans with his signature sound voiced through electric, acoustic, lap and pedal steel guitars for over four decades. His ability to articulate crystal-clear tone, melody and emotion into intricately woven music crafted with technical brilliance is matchless, and his unparalleled ability to embrace and capture his audiences musically is the stuff of legend.
June 23 – Jesse Cook
Canadian rhumba flamenco artist Jesse Cook has blended the exotic Spanish music form with elements of new age, jazz, and easy listening on his releases for Narada Records.
June 24 – The Zappa Band
Frank Zappa alumni play Frank Zappa’s music live. The Zappa Band is Mike Keneally (1987-1988), Ray White (1976-1984), Robert Martin (1981-1988) and Scott Thunes (1981-1988). Each musician played in the studio and on the road with Zappa during his career. Three of these alums played on “ZAPPA 88: The Last U.S. Show”, one of the most recent offerings from Zappa Records & Universal Music. The Zappa alums are joined by Joe Travers and Jamie Kime, who are no strangers to FZ’s music, to round out the ensemble.
June 25 – Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue Starring Los Straitjackets
Nick Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, The Pretenders, The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, short-lived career as a pop star, and a lengthy term as a musicians’ musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.
Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world.
ART GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
Geometric Incidents
This three-person exhibition of paintings, works-on-paper and sculpture focuses on and illustrates the artists’ interests in geometric compositional strategies. The work exemplifies the influences that are fundamental in nature, science and architecture.
Featured artists: Michael Cochran, Lloyd Martin, Jason Travers
Runs through July 9
Here and There: Sacred Objects, Spirit Animals, and Symbols for Manifesting
Creative Visualizations from Massachusetts to Malawi –Drawings by Kristen Palana runs June 18 to July 30
The Narrows Center for the Arts, located at 16 Anawan Street in Fall River. Visit: narrowscenter.org
