Coming from all genres of music Thirty for Sixty met at open mic at the Chit Chat in Haverhill. Thirty for Sixty are Jamie Pigeon, vocals, guitar & harmonica; Becca Russo, lead guitar & vocals; Alex Wagner on drums; and Adam Mattei on bass & vocals. Each member brings their own style to the band and makes for a very, high energy eclectic sound. Their influences range from Tool and Grateful Dead to My Morning Jacket and The Flaming Lips. Check out Thirty For Sixty for sixty-minutes in Crocker Park!

J.T. and the HOUNDS are five guys who got together to rock the North Shore (and anywhere else the pack roams). Those Hounds are: Ronnie Deschenes, lead vocals, acoustic guitar & harmonica; Mike Mac Iver, lead guitar & vocals; Frank Germano, guitar, congas & vocals; Dana Finnemore on bass; and Eric Peacock, drums & vocals. All members have many years experience in venues of all kinds and their varied styles and talents have melted together to form a unique form of blues, rock, funk, and FUN! It’s “Howlin’ Time” with JT & The Hounds!

Erinn Brown is a soulful singer/songwriter.  For the past decade, Brown has been performing in the Boston/Cambridge scene and has a strong hold in the North Shore. In the summer of '07, Erinn Brown performed for the Salem Jazz And Soul Festival in Salem, Massachusetts. Today, Brown will be performing with her band including  Steve Peabody on drums, Dave Walker on bass and Ric St. Germaine on lead guitar, to promote the release of her new CD, Don't Forget About It. 

The Whose Muddy Shoes acoustic quartet emphasizes high energy arrangements with full bodied vocal harmony, playing traditional blues, folk, and other classic Americana along with original tunes. The quartet format features acoustic guitar, bass, clarinet and saxophone, with three and four part vocal harmony. Whose Muddy Shoes has been together for over seven years in its present format, and has played in too many Boston and New England venues to count. Members of the Quartet have had previous music careers in various folk, jazz, blues, and rock acts: The band consists of lead vocalist Robin Winter who has been singing, humming, whistling and otherwise making music since her childhood in Maryland. Here in Boston, she is a former member of the blues band Roll With It. Songwriter and rhythm guitarist Mark Dix is a veteran of the solo acoustic guitar scene. In the late seventies he recorded and performed original pieces and was an opening act for such well-known players as John Fahey, Pierre Bensusan (MFA ’08), and Chris Smither. Bassist and guitarist Jack Esher was a songwriting member of two San Francisco rock bands before returning to his senses in New England as one-half of the legendary duo BudMusic. A veteran of the late sixties folk scene in Boston and Cambridge, Jack studied classical guitar and lute before settling in with his six string and bass in the Quartet. Bill Mantone began performing on clarinet and sax before he was old enough to drive. His youth was misspent playing in bars and clubs, where he gained valuable experience, musical and otherwise, as well as some great stories, all of which he brings to Whose Muddy Shoes to the delight of fans and the other band members alike.

The internationally acclaimed Compaq Big Band has kept New England swingin’ since 1975, with a big band repertoire that begins with honoring the classics from the ‘30s and 40’s, from the bands of Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and other greats. But standards are merely a terrific base for a truly complete big band. The Compaq Big Band complements those with exciting vocal and instrumental arrangements from the roaring big bands of the ‘50s right up through the hottest big bands in recent and current history such as Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Tom Kubis, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.

The Compaq Big Band showcases the power of 15 horns, a cookin’ rhythm section, a great feature vocalist, and terrific instrumental soloists. They keep up a busy performance schedule averaging several times a month for a diverse range of clients and events across the Greater Boston, Greater Worcester, Rhode Island, and Southern New Hampshire regions.  Highlights of the band’s recent resume include a 10-day tour of Great Britain in 2006, and hosting Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band from Los Angeles in concert in ’07 and ’08.  Their first professional CD, Bandwidth, now on its second pressing, is played on jazz radio stations in New England, and across the United Kingdom on BBC2. 

So there you have it…13 acts over three nights and two days. Thanks to the MFoA Board of Directors for sharing our vision and for your support to once again make it a reality!

BSW/June ‘08

”And some call on inner vision, Some call on the divine, No matter what the inspiration, There's always something on the line. So don't squander what you're given, Make the most of precious time, Life's not only for the living, It's what you leave behind.”

Delp/Goudreau

Thanks, Marblehead, for giving us a forum to present 43 years of great performances!