JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys

Featuring Chrissie Hynde

Fidelity!

Special Guest Amy Correia (see below)

Sunday October 3 8:00p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40, $50

Chrissie Hynde - Vocals, Guitar / JP Jones - Vocals, Guitar, Bass / Patrick Murdoch – Guitar / Sam Swallow – Piano, Keyboards / Vezio Bacci – Bass / Geoff Holroyde - Drums

Fidelity!, the gutsy, raw debut album from JP, Chrissie, & The Fairground Boys, is an epic love story, albeit not a conventional one. Everything you need to know about the heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting and fruitful relationship between The Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde and Welsh singer-songwriter JP Jones is contained within Fidelity!’s 11 songs — from passion and desire, to sadness and acceptance. As Hynde sings in the wrenchingly candid opening track “Perfect Lover”: “I found my perfect lover but he's only half my age / He was learning how to stand when I was wearing my first wedding band / I found my perfect lover but I have to turn the page / But I want him in my kitchen and standing on my stage.” Of course Hynde, a fiercely truthful songwriter, and committed animal-rights activist, has never been one to mince words. She has been beloved for decades by fans around the world for what one critic has called her “steely exterior and disarming emotional vulnerability.” Hynde has met her match in JP Jones. The 31-year-old musician hails from Porthcawl, a holiday resort in Wales that is home to seven beaches and a large caravan park near where his mother settled after growing up on a traveling fairground. Jones’ father, a member of the Royal Air Force, met his mother while on leave, and opened an arcade on the fairground when Jones was a child. “I worked at a neighboring arcade on the beach every holiday and summer vacation,” Jones says. “I didn’t write a song until I was 20 and a friend encouraged me to stop noodling about on the guitar and actually do something.”

Gregarious by nature, Jones approached Hynde at a party in London in November 2008 without any trepidation. “I’m good like that,” he says. “I can speak to anyone. I just wanted to tell her I thought she was awesome. I said, ‘Lechyd da,’ which means ‘Cheers’ in Welsh.” Propping up the bar and five screwdrivers in, Hynde remembers being approached by “some scruffy-looking guy,” she says. “He was pretty hammered too, but we managed enough of a conversation for me to ascertain that he was a musician who had recently gone solo after his band split, and that he grew up on a fairground in Wales.” Anyone who knows Hynde is familiar with her connection to all things “fairground.” (Remember The Pretenders’ “Kid” video?) “I’ve always associated them with freedom and fun,” she says, “so when JP said he grew up near one, something in me lit up.” The party was too noisy for the two to talk properly, so Hynde gave Jones her number, told him to call her sometime, then promptly left for a U.S. tour supporting The Pretenders’ 2008 album Break Up The Concrete. Jones texted her within a few days wishing her “All the fairground luck for your show tonight.” She replied: “Write a song called ‘Fairground Luck.’” So he did (“Fairground Luck” appears on Fidelity!) and sent it to her the next day. “His voice stopped me in my tracks — what a voice!” Hynde says. “And the song was like something I’d never heard before — I was totally seduced.” When Hynde returned to London, the two went to see Jones’ friends’ band Big Linda, three of whom are now The Fairground Boys. When Hynde embarked on another Pretenders tour, Jones continued to send her song ideas and texts. “One of them said, ‘I don’t know why, but I think we could make a great album together,’” Hynde recalls. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”

After winding up The Pretenders final tour, Hynde returned to the U.K. in need of a “coming-down-from-tour-break,” as she puts it. She and Jones met up for coffee and Hynde surprised herself by impulsively suggesting a trip to Cuba. Two weeks later — in a big suite atop the famous Hotel Nacional de Cuba overlooking Havana, surrounded by notebooks, empty rum bottles, and cigar butts — the pair wrote the bulk of Fidelity! The album tells the story of two people who fall in love but realize their future is doomed by a 30-year age gap. “We laughed a lot about the idea of riding around Wales in a caravan amongst kids and dogs — our kids and dogs — but, of course, that could never happen, so we put all of our irrational emotions of disappointment into a tale of woe, heartbreak, and ultimately, redemption,” Hynde says. On Fidelity!, amid a backdrop of acoustic guitar-driven rock and folk with blues and country underpinnings (Moby Grape’s first album providing a great deal of textural inspiration), Hynde and Jones unfurl their story, both singing lead, trading verses, and wrapping their contrasting voices around one another so naturally, it’s as if they’ve been singing together for much longer than a year. “Australia” tells the tale of how they met, while the fiery “If You Let Me” conveys all the urgency of an unworkable but co-dependant relationship inspired by the Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In. The gritty “Courage” builds to its emotional climax with both singers repeating the refrain: “They got it wrong when they said that we were done.”

“It wasn’t an easy album to make emotionally, but writing and singing together was like falling off a log — the music was pouring out of us,” Hynde says. “We wrote to each other, about each other, with each other, and for each other.” But don’t think Hynde and Jones are crying into their pints. Fidelity! (a title paying tribute to Cuba’s abundance of signs celebrating Fidel Castro) is a joyful, rock and roll album. Their obvious affection for each other bleeds through every track, a sentiment conveyed in the organic instrumentation, live feel of the recording (two weeks in November 2009 at a studio in Oxford, England, then another two spent tidying it up in London), and the pair’s crisp, uncluttered production. They are releasing Fidelity! on their own label, La Mina, through a partnership with Rocket Science.

“We don’t have a middleman,” Jones says. “Anything we want to do, we’re doing, and it feels incredible. Especially considering the experience I had with my band.” Jones’ previous band, Grace, was signed to EMI, released an album in 2007 called Detours, and toured the U.K. for two years. “The label splashed out all this money and we were going to be the next big thing, like every other band,” Jones says. But with record sales at an all-time low, the label’s plans for a quick-cash chart success failed. The label dropped Grace and the band split. Jones’ management company began to connect him with hit songwriters, in an effort to send him down an even poppier path, but Jones wasn’t feeling it. “While I was going through all of this, I met Chrissie,” he says. “I never knew who I was as a musician. It’s so easy to get pushed and pulled in different directions, but for the first time in my musical career, I’m saying exactly what I want to say and speaking the truth to people. That’s rock and roll, it’s real. Meeting Chrissie has made me discover who I am.”

The relationship has been equally rewarding for Hynde. She has collaborated with many musicians over the course of her long career, including Mick Ronson, INXS, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Marr, The Specials, Moodswings, Incubus, Elvis Costello, Jeff Beck, Tom Jones, Cher, UB40, Neneh Cherry, U2, Ray Davies, Frank Sinatra, Sheryl Crow, Ringo Starr, Morrissey, and Brazil’s Moreno Veloso (a pairing she calls “one of the great musical experiences of my life”), but has never released an album under another band moniker until now. “For me, it's always been clear that music is a vehicle to encourage selfdiscovery,” Hynde says. “That's my higher goal. And I think truthful music makes you feel joyful; it elevates your spirit. When your spirit is elevated, you’re more open and attracted to things that are correct. So we’ve been truthful on this album. We’ve proven that two people can love each other, override their base desires, and distill the love into something musical, something elevated, something rock and roll.”

JP, Chrissie, & The Fairground Boys will release Fidelity! through La Mina/Rocket Science Ventures on August 24th, 2010.

JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys Website »

Special Guest Amy Correia

Amy Correia delivers her third album You Go Your Way with a raw power that’s both vulnerable and fierce. That musical honesty draws comparisons to Tom Waits and Michelle Shocked and The New York Times calls her a “singular talent.”

Her fans agree, pitching in to raise more than 35k to make Correia’s new record. The energy and urgency of this leap of faith is palpable. You Go Your Way is a spirited ride, covering broad emotional and musical territory. Each song is strikingly individual with Amy’s convincing voice at the center: full of feeling, spontaneity and gravelly soul.

Since her last record, Amy has been living what she describes as a ‘nomadic life,’ and some of her own stories seep into songs that relate people and places with poetic flair.

Written in various locales including several Brooklyn apartments, a Carolina coastal town, a Wyoming cabin, rural Connecticut and Southern Ohio, the new album finds finds its footing not in any specific place, but an immediacy of experience: An unsentimental boy who’s father goes to war in Took Him Away. A determined old soul in O Lord. A sexually frustrated woman “sucking on a Tic Tac” in Powder Blue Trans Am. Correia explores the darkness — and shines a transformative light with pathos and humor.

Some songs are reveries on old blues and gospel while others veer off into unexpected new ground. Lyrical spareness and mysticism suggest Nick Drake on Broken/Open and the lushly arranged Rock, Tree, River. The waltzy Old Habits is one part Mary Poppins and one part Ogden’s Nutgone Flake by the Small Faces. A five-piece horn section enlivens Carolina Rail, bringing New Orleans panache to a rollicking narrative that could be Flannery O’Connor meets Chuck Berry.

The album “basics” were recorded in only three days by three musicians in Los Angeles: Jay Bellerose on drums, Paul Bryan on electric bass and Correia singing and playing rhythm guitar, baritone uke or piano. Up-and-coming gospel singers Alethea Mills and Chavonne Morris added vocal harmonies a few days later. Producer, Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann), wrote and conducted string quartet arrangements, giving a graceful counterpoint to the album’s lean and driving foundation.

“Every since I heard Amy years ago,” explains producer Paul Bryan, “This is the kind of album I wanted to make with her: Rugged, but elegant.” The combination of songs, performances, arrangement and production point to the fulfillment of that vision.

Visit Amy Correia's website.

Bass Guitar Power House

Victor Wooten & J.D. Blair

Friday October 8th 9p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40

He is an innovator, composer, arranger, lecturer, producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He is a skilled naturalist and teacher, a published author, a magician, husband and father of four, and a five-time Grammy award winner. But those gifts only begin to tell the tale of this Tennessee titan.
Victor, known for his solo recordings and tours, and as a member of the Grammy-winning super group, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, has won most every major award given to a bass guitarist. He was voted Bassist of the year by Bass Player Magazine three times and is the only person to have won the award more than once.

Victor Wooten Website »

Sunsplash Reggae Fest Featuring Carlos Jones

With Out from Under and Umojah Nation

Friday October 15th 9p.m.

Tickets: $10 presale, $15 at the door

Will Hoge

Tickets must be ordered at 91.3 The Summit (see below)

Saturday October 16th

Order tickets by phone Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm at 330-761-3099. Our fax number is 330-761-3103.

Frankie Avalon

Two Shows - Friday October 22 7:00p.m. & 9:00p.m.

Tickets: $40, $50, $65

Frankie loves making movies, but his soul is fed by live audiences. Because of this, his nightclub career has taken him around the world, headlining the finest supper clubs and niteries. Frankie has played to sold out houses in the best rooms in every major city in America including The Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Hotels in Miami Beach, Rainbow Grill and Copacabana in New York. Frankie has become one of the few international entertainers that is loved world wide and he has toured where other artists might not be immediately accepted.

Frankie Avalon Website »

Akron's Favorite Son

“David Allan Coe” & Special Guest

Saturday October 23 9:00p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40

His devotion to the fans, and the music, has created a spiral that now has its own momentum. At David's shows there's a chemical reaction that transforms the songs when the audience is in the house. For it's the people that set David on fire. When they start whooping and hollering, it feeds an already burning love of music and stokes the flames higher.

David Allan Coe Website »

The Woovs

With Special Guest Heymonea

Friday October 29th 9p.m.

Tickets: $10 presale, $15 at the door

The birth of The Woovs began in the summer of 2006, on back decks and garages in Barberton, Ohio. Life long friends Adam Lengyel (vocals/guitar) and Bryan Delauder (keys) teamed up with guitarist Kevin Hamric, also a Barberton native, to explore their musical possibilities. The Woovs were formed, an original spelling of a name derived from tagging each other as wolves. After garnering heavy attention in the area's open mic circuit they began playing their own gigs. People were interested. Songwriting is their specialty, a duty still shared between Delauder, Hamric and Lengyel. At first, everything remained acoustic but the band was open to fill out the sound, and they did by adding bassist Brant Novak and drummer Dave Dibello. The Woovs branched out from their acoustic roots and began playing for audiences across Northeastern Ohio. Their blend of "soul-tinged rock, pop and R&B requires attention to detail," says Cleveland Scene Magazine writer E. Fleisher. They are a young, energetic, and hard working band influenced by a plethora of artists, musicians and, of course, herb. The Woovs plan to tour more extensively this year behind their second full-length album, No Entertaining In The City. Jay Price has replaced Novak on bass, but the rest remains the same. They have a bright future and you can expect them to do great things.

The Woovs Website »

The Tubes Featuring Fee Waybil

Saturday October 30th 9p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40

See The Tubes in Concert.

The Tubes Website »

Eddie Money

Saturday November 6th Two Shows: 7:30p.m. & 9:30p.m.

Tickets: $30, $40

American Rock icon and multi-platinum recording artist Eddie Money’s stellar career has spanned over three decades and his story is one of survival. Eddie has survived because of perseverance, love of his art, tremendous humor, and gratitude to the many fans he calls “friends”.

Eddie Money Website »

Marion Meadows

Sunday November 7th 8p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40

Soprano/tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Marion Meadows comes from the smooth jazz sax tradition paved by Grover Washington, Jr. and George Howard.

Smooth jazz-styled soprano saxophonist Marion Meadows was born in West Virginia and raised primarily in Connecticut; after adopting the classical clarinet at age nine, he moved to the saxophone as a teen, later studying composition and arranging at Boston's Berklee College of Music. A protege of Joe Henderson and Eddie Daniels, Meadows later served a long stint as a member of Norman Connors' Starship Orchestra; after a series of session dates and sideman gigs, he made his solo debut in 1990 with the RCA release For Lovers Only.

Marion Meadows Website »

Tangier Favorite Party Band

The Easy Street Band with Special Guests The Rats

Saturday November 13th 8:30p.m.

Tickets: starting at $25

Easy Street’s show is an NE Ohio tradition . . . part concert (they play for over 4 hours!), part reunion, but mostly . . . it’s a huge party! A special seating arrangement allows plenty of room for dancing and enjoying the band up close & personal! This legendary Akron band will once again be playing signature favorites by Southside Johnny, Springsteen, Eddie Money, Bob Seger, Tom Petty & Alex Harvey as well as all of their original tunes from their 1982 EP and 2002 CD.

Easy Street has sold out every reunion show they have played at Tangier for a reason . . . so you might want to buy tickets now – before they are gone!

The Easy Street Band Website »

Get On UP

Friday November 26th 8:30p.m.

Tickets: $5 at the door

The Whispers

Sunday November 28th Two Shows: 7p.m. & 9p.m.

Tickets: $40, $45

One of R&B music's most beloved and consistently popular vocal groups, The Whispers, began their legendary and timeless career in 1963. Twin brothers Walter and Wallace Scott joined with friends Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson, and Gordy Harmon to form a local singing group. They perfected their tight harmonies on the street corners in the Watts section of Los Angeles and in nightclubs in the in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area.

The Whispers Website »

The Scintas Christmas Show

Friday December 10 9:00p.m.

Saturday December 11 7p.m. & 9:30pm

Sunday December 12 8:00p.m.

Tickets: starting at $35

With their tremendous capacity to entertain and surprise, the typical Scintas show is — in reality — not typical at all. You might think you’re just buying a ticket to see The Scintas (and you will hear great music and hilarious comedy) but you’re also going to see Dino and Jerry, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and a slew of other people, singing songs you love.

The Scintas Website »

1964 The Tribute

Saturday December 18th 8:30p.m.

Tickets: $35, $40

“Paper Back Writer”, “Rain” and the best sing-along in the world “Yellow Submarine”, were followed by “Yesterday”, “Help”, “Day Tripper” and “She Loves You”. The crowd went wild, the applause was deafening and a standing ovation left little doubt that this band remains the undisputed “Number 1 Beatles Show in the World!”

1964 The Tribute Website »

Ekoostik Hookah

Sunday December 26th 9p.m.

Tickets: $20

One of the most original and energetic acts around today, ekoostik hookah is the nucleus of a family drawn to its lucid, improvisational treatment of psychedelic rock ’n’ roll, blues, funk, jazz and bluegrass layered with rich harmonies. Born early in 1991 in a smoky basement bar, the band has been continually evolving, cultivating a sound that has perked the ears of contemporaries and attracted fans who travel miles to hear them play.

Ekoostik Hookah Website »

Pure Prairie League With Buffalo Rose Band

Friday February 11th 9p.m.

Tickets: $30, $35

Pure Prairie League in the new millenium may be a curious prospect to band members, but the bands longevity is a testament of the timelessness of the music. As they write for a new project, they've returned to their roots--no sax, but peddle steel--and it's no suprise that after all these years their sound is what Country Radio is about, proving good music is good music no matter when it's made or played

The Buffalo Rose Trio is an acoustic / electric 3-piece band playing classic rock, country rock, and all other ‘70’s music in between. There is some real talent in this group with over 70 years of combined music experience. Members of the Buffalo Rose Trio (a scaled down acoustic version of the 5-piece Buffalo Rose Band), were the opening act for the legendary country-rock band “POCO” at the Tangier Cabaret in Akron, Ohio.

Pure Prairie League website »

Buffalo Rose Band website »