The GRAMMY Museum announces new programs: Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Janiva Magness, Dierks Bentley, more

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. is coming to the
GRAMMY Museum on May 17, 2018.
Photo credit: Tim Manning

If you live or will be visiting Southern California, plan to visit and attend one of the amazing programs at The GRAMMY Museum. I am particularly excited by several programs including "The Drop" night with celebrated singer-songwriter/keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr. coming on Thursday, May 17. 

The events at The GRAMMY Museum combine great interviews with mini-concerts in the Clive Davis Theater, which is one of the best sounding venues I have ever been in. I've caught the celebrated likes of John Mellencamp, Ron Sexsmith and Cheap Trick at the museum and each of the programs was incredible. Most recently, I caught songstress Lindi Ortega (you can read my coverage of that event here).

Check out the update I just received about upcoming programs...

UPCOMING GRAMMY MUSEUM PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Just announced!

Spotlight: Alice Merton
Presented by American Express

Thursday, May 10 at 8 p.m. / Tickets: $15

Member Pre-sale: April 12 at 10:30 a.m.
General On sale: April 19 at noon

In the middle of her worldwide tour, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes pop singer/songwriter Alice Merton to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance, hosted by Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman. Her single "No Roots" has already captured an immense amount of attention with millions of global plays on Spotify and YouTube, top positions on iTunes, Shazam, and Hype Machine, and a platinum status in Germany, having been No. 2 on the official single charts. Raised in Canada, finishing high school in Germany, then moving on to England with her family, Merton has gotten quite used to packing and unpacking boxes. With her debut single “No Roots,” she describes the life of having had many different homes, but comes to the realization that her home was never in one place. Creating a very analog and organic pop sound, Merton has worked with producer Nicolas Rebscher, combining individual styles to develop a style of their own, while maintaining her own creative freedom as an independent artist under her own record label.

The Drop: Janiva Magness
Presented by American Express

Tuesday, May 22 at 8 p.m. / Tickets: $20

Member Pre-sale: April 12 at 10:30 a.m.
General On sale: April 19 at noon

Straight off the release of her new album Love Is An Army, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes GRAMMY-nominated and seven-time Blues Music Award winner Janiva Magness to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance, moderated by veteran music journalist Steve Hochman. Magness’ 14th album, Love Is an Army, is a brilliantly crafted bridge between the past and present, blending the echoes of classic soul and Americana music with timeless themes of love and the very contemporary sound of protest. Guests on this Americana/soul album include Americana pillars Courtney Hartman of Della Mae, Delbert McClinton, and Rusty Young of Poco, as well as prolific blues artists Cedric Burnside and Charlie Musselwhite. This album has spent over four weeks on the Americana radio chart and made it her first debut on the Billboard Americana/Folk chart, while debuting at No. 2 on both the Living Blues radio chart and Billboard Blues chart, her seventh Top 10. Meanwhile, her seven Blues Music Awards include the highly coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award. She is only the second woman, following blues giant Koko Taylor, to receive that honor, which was given to her by King himself and Bonnie Raitt.

An Evening With Jules Shear
Presented by American Express

Wednesday, May 23 at 8 p.m. / Tickets: $20

Member Pre-sale: April 12 at 10:30 a.m.
General On sale: April 19 at noon

The GRAMMY Museum will welcome singer/songwriter Jules Shear to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate performance and conversation, hosted by music journalist Roy Trakin. With 40-plus years in the music business, Shear first began with the Funky Kings, before moving on to Jules and the Polar Bears and then an impressive solo career, with hits like Cyndi Lauper’s “All Through the Night,” The Bangles’ “If She Knew What She Wants,” and his own “Steady,” a co-write with Lauper. Shear also had catalog mainstays such as Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ “If We Never Meet Again”, Til Tuesday’s “[I Believed You Were] Lucky” and Alison Moyer’s Top 20 UK hit, “Whispering Your Name.” Not to mention, Shear was also the host (and co-creator) of the influential MTV Unplugged. In November 2017, Shear released his 13th studio album. With just piano, vocals and the occasional harmonica interspersed, the 13 personal songs on One More Crooked Dance—its title a sly, Leonard Cohen play on man’s favorite sport—evoke the likes of Bob Dylan, Elton John, Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, Neil Young. Shear will admit One More Crooked Dance is not a young man’s album, but is from someone who has lasted over two decades with wife and creative partner Pal Shazar, and is now examining that relationship in terms of his own mortality.

Previously announced:

Reel to Reel: Elvis Presley: The SearcherFeaturing a post-screening Q&A with Priscilla Presley, Jerry Schilling, and Thom Zimny

Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. / Tickets: $20

Join the GRAMMY Museum for a special screening of HBO’s two-part music documentary, Elvis Presley: The Searcher. The film takes the audience on a comprehensive creative journey from Elvis’ childhood in Tupelo, Miss.—where he absorbed the inspirations of black and white gospel music—through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions at his iconic Graceland home in Memphis. It includes stunning atmospherics shot inside and around Graceland and features new interviews with session players, producers, engineers, directors, and other artists who knew him or were profoundly influenced by him, including Priscilla Presley, Emmylou Harris, Robbie Robertson, Bruce Springsteen, Stax Records Producer David Porter, and, in interviews conducted before their passing, Scotty Moore, Red West, and Tom Petty. Following the screening, GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman will moderate a panel discussion with Priscilla Presley, film producer/director Thom Zimny, and Jerry Schilling, the former personal aid to Elvis. Note: Both parts of the documentary will be screened, for a total run time of three hours.

The Drop: Bea Miller
Presented by American Express

Wednesday, May 9 at 8 p.m. / Tickets: $15

General On Sale: April 12 at noon

The GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to welcome Jersey-born singer/songwriter Bea Miller to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation on her rising career and recently released sophomore album, aurora, moderated by Executive Director Scott Goldman. The conversation will be followed by a performance.

Miller signed to Hollywood Records in 2013 after she wowed the world as a finalist on “The X Factor.” Her first album, Not An Apology, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the iTunes pop chart in 2015. Hit singles and accolades from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and others soon followed. Miller showcased her edgy, anthemic pop sound with hits such as “Young Blood” and the empowering, gold selling “Fire N Gold.” Tours with Fifth Harmony, Demi Lovato, and an opening spot along with DNCE on Selena Gomez’s 2016 Revival tour showed audiences a live presence that matched the urgency and indomitability of Miller’s voice. In 2017 she went into the studio with Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Sir Nolan, Jesse Shatkin, Pop & Oak, and Ilsey to create her dream project: an anthology of EP releases featuring themes tied to a different primary color: chapter one: blue evoked sadness; chapter two: red represented redemption; and chapter three: yellow, featuring “S.L.U.T.” (sweet little unforgettable thing), explored the journey of self-discovery. Each release represented a chapter of her life over the course of that year and together were the precursor to the final chapter, five final songs that make up aurora, her full-length sophomore album that was released Feb. 23, 2018, and hit No. 3 on the iTunes Pop Album chart. Bea is passionate about creating music that resonates with her fans.  “If you want to stay relevant in other people’s lives, you should always be bringing them along on your journey,” she says.

The Drop: Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

Presented by American Express

Thursday, May 17 at 8 p.m. / Tickets: $15

General On sale: April 12 at noon

Ahead of the release of his new solo EP, Glamping, out May 18 via PledgeMusic, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes acclaimed musician Roger Joseph Manning Jr. to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance, hosted by Executive Director Scott Goldman. Manning has enjoyed a long and fruitful career as a songwriter, touring keyboardist, session player, arranger, producer, and remixer. His debut in the music business began as co-founder/co-writer for such seminal bands as Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook, and TV Eyes. In 1997, he began his almost 20-year and still-active relationship as Beck’s sideman, which has included touring the world and recording upward of five critically acclaimed albums. The 2014 album, Morning Phase, on which Manning both played keyboards and sang, won GRAMMY Awards in both the Best Rock Album and Album Of The Year categories. Over the past decade, in addition to releasing three solo albums of post-Jellyfish sing-a-long original pop material, Manning has been involved with many large-scale orchestral arranging projects, including Nate Ruess' band fun., as well as Ruess’ duet with P!nk for the 2012 smash, “Learn to Love Again,” produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Jeff Bhasker. Later that year, Manning was invited by producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen to arrange on Paramore’s double-Platinum-selling 2012 self-titled release. Most recently, he contributed orchestral arrangements to Morrissey’s latest offering, Low In High School. As a remixer, under the alias Malibu, Manning has reworked the songs of The Doobie Brothers, Henry Mancini, Beck, Air, and Melissa Etheridge. In the past, Manning has contributed either keyboards and/or vocals to albums by Adele, Eric Clapton, HAIM, The Killers, Johnny Cash, Roger Waters, Diana Ross, Marilyn Manson, Lana Del Rey, Glen Campbell, Fitz & The Tantrums, Neil Diamond, Interpol, Blink-182, and Cheap Trick. 10 years after his last solo album, Manning says he’s been “excited about jumping back into doing more original music” and is thrilled to be working with PledgeMusic on his new release, Glamping, and the possibilities this Internet forum provides for artists like himself.

Reel To Reel: We Are X

Featuring a post-screening conversation with Yoshiki

Presented by American Express

Wednesday, April 18 at 7:30p / SOLD OUT

X Japan is the most successful rock group in Japanese history. Led by composer, drummer, and pianist Yoshiki, the band has sold more than 30 million albums, singles, and videos combined, sold out Japan’s 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome 18 times, and played to millions of fans around the world. The documentary film We Are X chronicles the band’s exhilarating, tumultuous and unimaginable history over the past three decades––persevering through personal, physical and spiritual heartache––the film culminates with preparations for their breathtaking reunion concert at New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden. We Are X premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016 and won the award for Best Editing. The film then won an award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, followed by a worldwide release in over 20 countries and 27 international film festivals. The GRAMMY Museum will present a special screening of this film, followed by an intimate conversation with Yoshiki moderated by Lyndsey Parker, Music Editor at Yahoo Entertainment.

An Evening With Dierks Bentley

Presented by American Express

Thursday, April 19 at 8p / SOLD OUT

Multi-Platinum entertainer Dierks Bentley is “notorious for his spectacular, high-energy live performances loaded with lots of fan interaction” (Creative Loafing) with 17 No. 1 hits, more than 1 billion digital streams, countless GRAMMY nominations, and he’s been a Grand Ole Opry member for over a decade. Bentley "continues to challenge himself" (Billboard), which is evident through his upcoming ninth studio album, The Mountain, due out later this year. Its lead single “Woman, Amen” gives a taste of the record's "themes of questing and self-actualization across a wide-open terrain of arid deserts and rugged ridgelines, cactus flowers and tumbleweeds" (NPR). After his 2017 World Tour claimed the top spot on Billboard's Hot Tours, selling over 750,000 tickets, Bentley will fuel arenas and amphitheaters throughout the summer with his 2018 Mountain High Tour, launching May 18 in Columbia, MD. Ahead of the release of his new album and kickoff of his tour, the GRAMMY Museum will welcome Dierks Bentley to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and special performance, hosted by GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman.

Memphis Rent Party: The Blues, Rock & Soul In Music’s Hometown

Featuring a Q&A with author Robert Gordon

Thursday, April 26 at 8p / FREE

In conjunction with the recent release of his new book, Memphis Rent Party: The Blues, Rock & Soul in Music’s Hometown, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes celebrated writer and documentary filmmaker Robert Gordon to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation on the major role Memphis has played in American music history. The conversation will be moderated by GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman. In Memphis Rent Party, Gordon taps into the lesser-known characters of Memphis who have inspired and influenced popular music, from the 1970s to the present. With interwoven stories and profiles, the book begins where the greatest hits end. Gordon charts his own musical coming-of-age as he befriends blues legend Furry Lewis, Rolling Stones accompanist Jim Dickinson, and the high priest of indie rock, Alex Chilton. He mulls the tragedy of Jeff Buckley’s fatal swim, chronicles the power struggle to profit off singer/songwriter Robert Johnson’s legacy after his mysterious early death, and sips homemade whiskey at revolutionary blues guitarist Junior Kimbrough’s churning house parties. Gordon’s march through the city’s famed recording studios and juke joints captures the spirit of Memphis and illuminates its musical legacy that lives on today.

The Drop: Beth Nielsen Chapman

Presented by American Express

Monday, April 30 at 8p / $20

In conjunction with the release of her 13th solo album, Hearts Of Glass, singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman will visit the GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance, hosted by Executive Director Scott Goldman. Produced by Sam Ashworth, Hearts of Glass is a collection of songs about vulnerability and strength, and includes several new compositions and a few striking versions of rediscovered songs. Chapman also includes on the record a pair of early songs recorded by Waylon Jennings (“Old Church Hymns & Nursery Rhymes”) and Willie Nelson (“If My World Didn’t Have You”). Rodney Crowell provides vocals on “If My World Didn’t Have You,” and Ruby Amanfu sings on five of the album’s 11 tracks. Although Chapman has been making records since 1980 with many top producers, Hearts of Glass marks the first time in a long time she has not been at least a co-producer. As a songwriter, Chapman has placed hit songs with country artists such as Alabama, Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, and Trisha Yearwood. She earned her first GRAMMY nomination in 1998 for Best Country Song for “This Kiss,” which was recorded by Faith Hill. She earned her second GRAMMY nomination in 2013 for her children’s album The Mighty Sky. In 2016, she teamed with friends Olivia Newton-John and Amy Sky for an album titled LIV ON, focusing on music that would bring comfort to those experiencing grief and loss. Chapman’s songs have been cut by an eclectic list of artists such as Neil Diamond, Amy Grant, The Indigo Girls, Waylon Jennings, Elton John, Kenny Loggins, Patti LuPone, Michael McDonald, Bette Midler, Keb’ Mo’, Olivia Newton-John, and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.

The Drop: Rita Coolidge

Presented by American Express

Wednesday, May 2 at 8p / $20

Ahead of the release of her new album, Safe in the Arms of Time, two-time GRAMMY winner Rita Coolidge will visit the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance, hosted by Executive Director Scott Goldman. Over the span of five decades, Coolidge has sold millions of records, captivating audiences with her signature hits “We’re All Alone,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “All Time High,” and “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher.” And in a remarkable eight-year romantic and artistic marriage for the ages, she and former husband Kris Kristofferson earned multiple GRAMMY Awards. Now, with Safe in the Arms of Time, Coolidge reaffirms her indomitable spirit and unquenchable creative thirst. Her 18th solo record, the luminous new album features the songwriting talents of Graham Nash, Chris Stapleton, Stan Lynch, Keb’ Mo’, and Coolidge herself. Produced by GRAMMY winner Ross Hogarth, Safe in the Arms of Time is also colored by Coolidge’s pivotal role in the Los Angeles singer/songwriter scene of the ‘70s, where she honed her chops as a top backup singer featured on the refrains of Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” and Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight,” after going out on the groundbreaking Mad Dogs and Englishman tour with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, and before embarking on a platinum-selling solo career. “The idea was making an album that had the same appeal of my early records—to make a roots record about my own roots,” Coolidge says. “This is the best record I’ve ever done. I’m extremely proud of it.”

An Evening With Eric Andersen

Presented by American Express

Thrusday, May 3 at 8p / $20

On March 30 songwriting icon Eric Andersen will mark his 75th birthday with the release of The Essential Eric Andersen, which was recorded between 1964–2006 and features guest artists Joan Baez, David Bromberg, Rick Danko, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, Leon Russell, and Richard Thompson. In conjunction with the release of his new project, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes Andersen to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation and performance spotlighting his illustrious five-decade-long career, hosted by Executive Director Scott Goldman. Having first come to prominence in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, Andersen immediately became part of the Village folk and songwriter scene along with Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and Dave Van Ronk, and was at the epicenter of the American Greenwich Village singer/songwriter explosion. Aside from his own classics, he’s co-written songs with Danko, Reed, Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead), and Townes Van Zandt, and his songs have been covered by artists including Bob Dylan, who covered his song "Thirsty Boots" on the former's album Another Self Portrait; The Blues Project; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Judy Collins; John Denver; Fairport Convention; the Grateful Dead; Rick Nelson; Peter, Paul & Mary; Linda Ronstadt; Linda Thompson; and Gillian Welch. Over the past 50 years, Andersen has toured the world and released over 30 albums of original music, including Blue Rain (Appleseed Recordings), his first live concert recording in Oslo with the band Spoonful of Blues, released in 2007

Lindi Ortega celebrates 'Liberty' at the GRAMMY Museum

Lindi Ortega, left, discussing new album 'Liberty' with Scott
Goldman at the GRAMMY Museum on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

On March 27, photographer Bob Steshetz and yours truly were invited to the GRAMMY Museum to catch an intimate performance and conversation featuring Americana songstress Lindi Ortega. The special event was held in the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live's Clive Davis Theater in conjunction with the Americana

Music Association.

With the release of her terrific new three-part Spaghetti Western-infused concept album Liberty later this week (which will be available on Friday, March 30), there was plenty of interesting conversation between GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman and Ortega during the beginning of the program leading up to a performance featuring Ortega and several talented players (drummer-backing vocalist Ryan Brewer and guitarist Champagne James Robertson).

Ortega was first asked about the genesis of recording her first-ever concept LP (Liberty was recorded in Nashville and was produced by Skylar Wilson). She noted that every time she performs, audience members will talk to her about how "certain songs help them get through the dark times in their lives. So why not make a whole record to help them get through their struggles?"

Ortega is expert at writing and singing about the darker corners of our existence, as evidenced by some of her previous masterworks (2012's Cigarettes & Truckstops and 2015's Faded Gloryville immediately come to mind), but the beauty and depth of her songs as well as her emotive vocals makes it easy to find comfort in her recordings. The musical influence of famed composer Ennio Morricone can be heard on the tracks.

"For me, whenever I hear a sad song it makes me feel less alone," said Ortega, noting she finds it much more difficult to write a happy song than darker tales.

A few years ago, Ortega's life – consumed by music (including non-stop touring and the simple fact that she missed loved ones' birthdays) without necessarily achieving more widespread attention – almost led her to give up her career.

"I went back and read all the messages from supporters...the real reward is if I can have a song that helps someone; what better reason is there to make music."

Ortega also discussed how while growing up in Canada, she was strongly influenced by the a wide range of artists and styles, particularly the songwriting of fellow-Canadian Leonard Cohen.

"My mom was Northern Irish and was a fan of classic country (including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson). I grew up with her record collection; my (Mexican) dad liked the Gypsy Kings and Latin music."

The highlight of the night was getting to see Ortega perform in such an intimate and top-tier concert setting. Focusing on Liberty, she performed a handful of the selections she had discussed earlier.

The beautiful Americana-styled "Lovers In Love" served as a great opener. She then strapped on her acoustic guitar and used her hushed soprano to lead the musicians through "The Comeback Kid," bolstered by textured guitar work from Robertson.

"In The Clear," a strikingly beautiful ballad, blends traditional country and Celtic sounds. 

"I'm trying to remember all the words; they're all new songs," Ortega admitted in introducing the title track off Liberty. "Liberty" proved to be more upbeat than the previous selections, and was enhanced by Brewer's effective use of brushes (rather than sticks) to deliver a marching beat on his snare drum; he also added some sublime harmonies to Ortega's vocals on the Spaghetti-Western-styled original.

Ortega closed her regular set with "Gracias A La Vida" (which translates to "Thank You To Life"), which is the ending cut on Liberty. The song, composed by Chilean composer Violetta Parra, marks the first Spanish language track Ortega has recorded.

The crowd stood and cheered after the fast-moving set, and were rewarded when Ortega and her band performed the older song "Cigarettes & Truckstops." The descriptive lyrics were enveloped in a lush and evocative soundscape enhanced by her stunning voice and ability to connect with the audience.

Those of you in Southern California can catch Ortega at The Moroccan Lounge, 901 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, at 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2018. For more information on Ortega, visit her official website here.


A special thank you to Bob Steshetz for the use of his photographs taken at the special event!

Article written by Robert Kinsler

Sights and Sounds: dada to release new music; GRAMMY MUSEUM® exhibit; Cindy Lee Berryhill to tour

I've been on heavy concert duty (Coachella, The Zombies, Kiefer Sutherland, etc.) and before I immerse myself prepping for the upcoming Doheny Blues Festival, I wanted to catch up and post some notable items here of interest...I am super excited to hear one of my favorite artists of all time, dada, is set to release new music too!

Rock Band dada Readies First New Single in Over a Decade
dadaforever U.S. Tour is Set, as Band Celebrates 25th Anniversary

dada, from left, Joie Calio, Phil Leavitt and Michael Gurley.

Rock band dada has recorded its first new single in over a decade. The track, entitled ‘The Bluebird’, will be released this summer, and coincides with a summer/fall ‘dadaforever’ U.S. tour celebrating the band’s 25th Anniversary. 
 
In the years since their debut album ‘Puzzle’ and its smash single ‘Dizz Knee Land,’ dada -- singer-guitarist Michael Gurley, singer-bassist Joie Calio and drummer Phil Leavitt -- has established itself as a live act to be reckoned with…a trio known for its extraordinary musicianship, ear for atmospheric songwriting, melodic hooks and tight harmonies (delivered via Gurley and Calio’s overlapping vocals). At times described as pop, alternative, progressive or experimental, dada is at its core a kick-ass three-piece rock band, ready to play anywhere, anytime, and to deliver epic shows for its fans. 
 
The trio’s bond with their audience is forged by mutual respect and in an elemental sense of connectedness. Leavitt commented, “We called the tour dadaforever because we wanted our fans to know we still believe and will always be there.”
dada’s new single was recorded during April 2017 at The Waystation in Los Angeles, and was engineered and co-produced by multiple Grammy Award-winner David Way (Pink, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, more). A collector’s edition vinyl 45 pressing will be available, in limited edition and signed by the band, with details to be announced soon. 
 
 
dadaforever Tour Dates:
Jul 11    Viper Room               West Hollywood, CA          
Jul 12    Slim's                        San Francisco, CA          
Jul 13    Harlow's                   Sacramento, CA          
Jul 15    Dante's                     Portland, OR          
Jul 16    The Triple Door       Seattle, WA          
Jul 18    Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Lake Tahoe    Stateline, NV
Sept 2    Globe Hall               Denver, CO
Sept 5    Schubas                   Chicago, IL
Sept 6    Southgate House Revival              Newport, KY
Sept 7    Diesel                      Pittsburgh, PA
Sept 9    Café Nine                New Haven, CT
Sept 10   Once Ballroom       Somerville, MA
Sept 12   The Met                 Pawtucket, RI
Sept 13   Mercury Lounge     New York City
Sept 14   The Wonder Bar     Asbury Park, NJ
Sept 15   World Café Live     Philadelphia, PA
Sept 16   Rams Head Live     Baltimore, MD
Sept 17   State Theatre        Falls Church, VA
Sept 19   The Norva              Norfolk, VA
Sept 20   Pour House Music Hall                  Raleigh, NC
Sept 21   Smith’s Olde Bar    Atlanta, GA
Sept 23   House of Blues Parish Room        New Orleans, LA
Sept 24   White Oak Music Hall Upstairs     Houston, TX
Sept 26   Rockhouse Live Memphis Memphis, TN
Sept 27   High Watt               Nashville, TN
Oct 1      Rogue Bar                Scottsdale, AZ


Stay up-to-date as more dada concerts are added: http://dadaforever.com/

More about dada: Since the release of dada’s groundbreaking 1992 debut Puzzle, the trio has created an array of songs boasting progressive rock musicianship, dazzling vocal harmonies and melodic power pop layered with inspired psychedelic and experimental rock impulses. Adding to the trio’s groundbreaking line of attack are the marathon-length shows that deliver on the promise that every performance is the only one of its kind.
Two decades after the Los Angeles outfit embarked on its singular journey, singer-guitarist Michael Gurley, singer-bassist Joie Calio and drummer Phil Leavitt are celebrating dada’s 25th anniversary.

“dada is about digging into our roots, examining and celebrating it,”  says Calio.
Puzzle was released on September 8, 1992, and it didn’t take long for the band’s sonic imprint to find an audience. The album’s first single “Dizz Knee Land” found widespread airplay on alternative and mainstream rock outlets cracking the Top 5 on the Modern Rock Single’s chart and pushing the album’s sales to over 1,000,000 worldwide. The band was soon touring around the globe, opening for the celebrated likes of Crowded House, Depeche Mode and Sting.

“People always ask, ‘Do you still talk to each other after all these years?’ So that’s really why I wanted to commemorate it because no matter the size of the career if you can stick together and still have a desire to play music together you have accomplished something” explains Leavitt.

Dada was founded when Gurley and Calio began writing songs and performing as an acoustic duo in the late ‘80s. But from the beginning, their approach was unique amidst the onslaught of ‘90s bands featuring lead singers and mostly generic backing bands.
“Joie and I were both lead singers. But we really found quickly that harmonies were going to be a big strength for us,” recalled Gurley, noting both he and Calio are fans of Simon & Garfunkel’s pioneering harmonies.

Gurley noted that once they recruited Leavitt, they were able to blend the thunderous power of trios such as Cream with the artful harmony-minded songcraft of Simon & Garfunkel.
The success of Puzzle was followed in 1994 by American Highway Flower, featuring the ambitious “Ask the Dust” and astounding “Feet to the Sun,” dada has gone on to create a magnificent discography featuring a half-dozen full-length albums and an EP. The trio has also issued a number of solo efforts and offshoot projects along the way exploring a range of styles including folk, blues, jazz and rock. Gurley and Leavitt were both members of Butterfly Jones while dada was on hiatus in the early ‘00s; Calio has released several solo discs and with X Levitation Cult.  Mike Gurley and the Nightcaps are a popular jazz group in Southern California.

Additionally, Leavitt has stepped out from behind the drum set as lead singer and Calio is playing guitar in 7Horse, a psychedelic blues project that has released 3 albums to date. Bringing a stripped-down approach, 7Horse cuts to the bone and identifies core feelings and phrases in their music. Their latest effort Livin’ In A Bitch of A World was released earlier this year. Their debut album Let The 7Horse Run spawned the hit song Meth Lab Zoso Sticker, which was chosen by Martin Scorsese for his film The Wolf of Wall Street. Since then, it’s had over 1.2 million views, 5.5 million streams and over 100,000 downloads.
Long-time and new fans of dada all have one thing in common; they are passionate about the band and have a deep connection with its three members.

For more information, visit the band's official website here.

THE GRAMMY MUSEUM^® PRESENTS

Marty Stuart's Way Out West:

A Country Music Odyssey

Opening Thursday, May 25

Featuring Artifacts from Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and More, from the Private Collection of Marty Stuart, New Exhibit Explores the West Coast Influence on Country Music

Marty Stuart Returns To the Museum May 25 For Intimate Opening Event

LOS ANGELES (May 4, 2017) — The GRAMMY Museum^® at L.A. LIVE will explore the history of country music from the unique West Coast perspective featuring artifacts from the many iconic artists who spent their time there, including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. The exhibit, inspired by the title of GRAMMY winner Marty Stuart's recent release Way Out West, is co-curated by GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman and Curator Nwaka Onwusa. All artifacts come from the private collection of Stuart, who also serves as guest curator.

"The West Coast, and California in particular, had a huge impact on country music and artists like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard," said Goldman. "Through Marty Stuart's impressive collection of one-of-a-kind artifacts, we have the opportunity to teach Museum visitors about the vast history of country music through the unique West Coast/California perspective. For many West Coast natives who visit the exhibit, they'll learn how their Golden State inspired some of our favorite country music and artists of yesterday and today."

"I consider everything associated with the GRAMMY Awards^® or the extended Recording Academy^® family to be par excellence," said Stuart. "The GRAMMY Museum in particular is special to me. Their exhibits represent the best of the best from all musical walks of life. It is indeed an honor for Marty Stuart's Way Out West: A Country Music Odyssey to be the first exhibit shown at the GRAMMY Museum pertaining to the culture of country music. I hope people walk away from the experience enlightened and entertained with a whole new appreciation for the genre and the people who've created it."

On display in the Museum's Special Exhibits Gallery on the second floor through September 2017, the exhibit will feature artifacts such as:

- Items from Marty Stuart's childhood, including his beloved mandolin

- Handwritten lyrics to Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Man in Black"

- Cash's Gibson J-200 guitar

- Buck Owens' "Pledge to Country Music"

- Unique wardrobe items from America's "most colorful hillbilly band" Maddox Brothers and Rose

- Instruments and wardrobe items from Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives

- Photographs captured by Stuart

- Handwritten lyrics and two incredible guitars from Merle Haggard

- Rare performances, interviews, and much more!

In conjunction with the opening of the exhibit, Stuart will return to the Museum's Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation hosted by Goldman on Thursday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at AXS.com beginning Thursday, May 4 at 10:30 a.m.

About The GRAMMY MuseumEstablished in 2008 as a partnership between the Recording Academy and AEG, the GRAMMY Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum explores and celebrates all aspects of the art form—from the technology of the recording process to the legends who've made lasting marks on our cultural identity. In 2017, the Museum integrated with its sister organization, the GRAMMY Foundation, to broaden the reach of its music education and preservation initiatives. As a unified organization, today, the GRAMMY Museum fulfills its mission of making music a valued and indelible part of our society through exhibits, education, grants and public programming.

Cindy Lee Berryhill Hits the Road for Summer Tour - New Album The Adventurist Out Now on Omnivore Records

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Cindy Lee Berryhill marks an affecting, intimate, and dazzling return to record-making with The Adventurist, an ambitious song cycle set for release by Omnivore Recordings. To celebrate The Adventurist, Berryhill is embarking on a summer tour throughout the U.S, first w/ David Lindley followed by dates with 1000 Maniacs and before embarking on Roots on the Rails w/Dave Alvin, Jon Langford and others.

Written and recorded over the course of the last five years and funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign, The Adventurist was co-produced by Berryhill with David Schwartz, Sheldon Gomberg, Ben Moore, and Lee Ray. Contributing musicians include singer-songwriter Syd Straw, Probyn Gregory and Nelson Bragg of Brian Wilson’s band, DJ Bonebrake of X, and David J Carpenter of Dead Rock West.

While it eschews biographical detail or a confessional tone, the album was inspired by Berryhill’s life with her late husband Paul Williams. Founder of the first modern American rock magazine Crawdaddy in 1966 and a prolific writer and critic, Williams married Berryhill in 1997. Two years earlier, Williams suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycling accident. Following the early onset of dementia in 2004 and deepening medical challenges, he was placed in full-time care in 2009; he died in March 2013.

Berryhill says, “I vowed to write Paul a song cycle. Not songs of sadness or the despair I’d felt, but songs that reflected the love I had for him, and a remembering back to the enormous flood of feelings we’d had on meeting and courting. I wanted to write songs that felt like they’d come from that muse-driven place we feel when we fall in love.

Berryhill began writing the songs that were later recorded for The Adventurist in 2011. From the first sessions for the record with David Schwartz in the summer of 2013, Berryhill harkened back to the sound of her widely admired 1994 release Garage Orchestra, which found the onetime “anti-folk” performer delving into a denser, more orchestrated style. Two players from that record, cellist Renata Bratt and percussionist Randy Hoffman, returned for the new collection.

“In some ways you could say that Garage Orchestra, with its orchestral experiments and themes, is directly related to the new album,” she says. “I would offer that they are bookends — Garage Orchestra signifying the beginning of my time with Paul, and The Adventurist being the end of that time.”

Further recording dates followed with Schwartz in Santa Monica, Moore in San Diego, and Gomberg in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake district. The sessions all drew a degree of inspiration from the unusual instrumentation and arrangements and the live-in-the-studio approach heard on Brian Wilson’s groundbreaking ’60s productions for Pet Sounds and the abortive Smile.

“I guess I want things to be more immediate,” Berryhill says. “I really get that old idea, that way of doing it. Something I learned from Brian is that you can have a lot of instruments, but you don’t have to go big. Phil Spector went big with the Wall of Sound. But you can still be intimate and have 14 instruments going.”

Berryhill views her highly personal new release as a response to the challenges life handed her. “My family would say, ‘When the going gets rough, play music.’ I dove really far and really deep into the playing of music, and let the music carry me away. It was my happy place to go to while I went through my daily chores of caring for my husband and my son. It brought me a lot of joy. And it’s an escape — music is the place I go to. It’s the Enchanted Forest.”

Cindy Lee Berryhill Summer 2017 Tour Dates

5/28 Sweetwater Music Hall Mill Valley, CA (w/ David Lindley) 
5/29 Yoshi's Jazz Club Oakland, CA (w/ D Lindley) 
6/4 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR (w/ D Lindley) 
6/5 The Triple Door Seattle, WA (w/ D Lindley) 
6/6 The Triple Door Seattle, WA (w/ D Lindley) 
6/7 Chateau Rive at Flour Mill Spokane, WA (w/ D Lindley) 
6/24 New Britain, CT (invitational concert) 
6/25 O Street Museum Washington, D.C. (w/ Bill Kelly) 
7/28 The Triple Door Seattle, WA (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
7/29 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
7/30 Rogue Theatre Grants Pass, OR (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
8/1 Crest Theater Sacramento, CA (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
8/2 Rio Theatre Santa Cruz, CA (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
8/3 Yoshi's Jazz Club Oakland, CA (w/ 10,000 Maniacs) 
8/18-24 Roots on The Rails in St. Louis, Kansas City & Albuquerque 
(w Dave Alvin, Jon Langford, Jo Harvey Allen, Rick Shea, Christy McWilson)

Sights and Sounds: GRAMMY Museum To Open Bob Dylan Photo Exhibit February 29

Anyone who hasn't yet been to the fantastic music-centered GRAMMY Museum will have an even greater incentive to get there with the arrival on an exciting new exhibit centered on images of a young Bob Dylan captured by photographer Daniel Kramer...

The GRAMMY Museum^® Presents

Bob Dylan: Photographs by Daniel Kramer

Traveling Photographic Exhibit Featuring Iconic Images Made By Renowned Photographer Daniel Kramer To Open Monday, Feb. 29, 2016

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 19, 2016) — The GRAMMY Museum^® has announced its popular traveling photo exhibit, Bob Dylan: Photographs by Daniel Kramer, will get its Los Angeles premiere at the Museum on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. The exhibit documents Bob Dylan's metamorphosis from folk musician to rock & roll icon through more than 50 photographs taken by New York-based photographer and film director Daniel Kramer for a year and a day during 1964 and 1965.

"The unique photographs Daniel Kramer captured while working with Bob Dylan during one of the most pivotal moments of his career sheds a never-before-seen light on one of America's greatest songwriters," said GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli. "We first opened this exhibit in Dylan's hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. Now, we are thrilled to showcase the incredible work of Daniel Kramer at our home in Los Angeles just in time for Dylan's 75th birthday."

On display on the Museum's second floor through May 15, 2016, Bob Dylan: Photographs by Daniel  Kramer offers viewers a striking intimate account of the folk singer's transition into a rock superstar. This photographic "backstage view" of the singer/songwriter showcases key moments in Dylan's musical career during one of the most dynamic periods of American history.

Daniel Kramer
Daniel Kramer is one of America's most noted music and portrait photographers. His seminal pictures of Dylan in 1964 and 1965 not only revealed the rising young star to international audiences, but set a standard by which all other rock portraits would be judged. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and self-educated in photography, Kramer worked as an assistant to Philippe Halsman and Allan and Diane Arbus before gaining an international reputation of his own. His 1967 book, Bob Dylan, was critically acclaimed, as were the three Dylan album covers Kramer created — Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Biograph. Rolling Stone magazine called Kramer "the photographer most closely associated with Bob Dylan."

Kramer's photographs have been shown or collected by the national Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; the International Center of Photography; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Folkwang Museum in Germany; the George Eastman Museum; and many other prestigious institutions.

Bob Dylan
In the 1960s Bob Dylan revolutionized popular music. Writing with the passion of a poet, the lyrical reach of a philosopher, Dylan, just in his 20s, changed the way we heard music and what we demanded from it. By blending elements of American folk music, blues, and rock, Dylan stitched together these influences to become one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. He wrote songs of serious social, political, and cultural consequence and in the process gave rock music the conscience it never had in its early years. Later in the decade he broke from folk music, found his own voice and created a unique body of work full of musical masterpieces.

"Very often a photographer is an historian with a camera," said Kramer. "So, if I was successful, then, yes, there are a lot of pictures. But, that's not the only thing you come away with. What you come away with is information, and something about Bob Dylan, and something about the time. You can see the change in the music, from the one microphone and acoustical guitar in a simple setting to a vast stadium, hundreds of feet of cable, huge speakers that are bigger than a person. So I think all of that, if you get that out of it, then the pictures did their job."

                           

The exhibit will be on display in the Museum's Special Exhibits Gallery on the second floor through May 24, 2016.

About The GRAMMY Museum^®

Paying tribute to music's rich cultural history, this one-of-a-kind, 21st-century museum explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process, and the history of the premier recognition of excellence in recorded music — the GRAMMY® Award. The GRAMMY Museum features 30,000 square feet of interactive and multimedia exhibits located within L.A. LIVE, the downtown Los Angeles sports, entertainment and residential district. Through thought-provoking and dynamic public and educational programs and exhibits, guests will experience music from a never-before-seen insider perspective that only the GRAMMY Museum can deliver. For more information, please call 213-765-6800 or visit www.grammymuseum.org. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYMuseum on Twitter and Instagram, and like "The GRAMMY Museum" on Facebook.

The GRAMMY Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Museum admission is $12.95 for adults; $11.95 for senior citizens (65+) and college students (18 years and older, valid ID required); and $10.95 for youth (ages 6–17) and members of the military. GRAMMY Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. Located at 800 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite A245, Los Angeles, CA 90015, with an entrance off of Figueroa Street, the Museum resides within the L.A. LIVE campus, at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.