Boston’s local gospel scene will be represented by LeRoy Streat with Grace. The group specializes in the Christian worship music that Streat has been writing, playing, and producing for more than fifteen years, in addition to his work leading music ministries both in the United States and abroad. The local presence is increased by Major Choirboy, a native of Houston, Texas, and recent graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Headlining the event is Israel Houghton & New Breed, led by award winner Houghton, who, like Streat, is a full-service musician. His experience and talent writing, performing, and producing Christian and Gospel music resulted in a Grammy for his 2007 album Alive in South Africa (pictured above left), which was recorded in Capetown.

City Hall Plaza is conveniently located right next to the Government Center Station on the MBTA subway’s Green Line. Take a look at the video after the jump for Israel Houghton & New Breed’s track “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to get in the mood before heading to GospelFest 2008.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art does much more than beautify Bean Town’s surroundings with displays of gorgeous visual art. In conjunction with Berklee College of Music, it also enhances the aesthetic appeal of the area by offering HarborWalk Sounds, a series of free outdoor concerts performed by Berklee students and alumni, each Thursday evening.

To enjoy the diverse musical styles that lean heavily toward jazz, just head over to Putnam Investments Plaza (100 Northern Avenue, Boston Waterfront, 617-478-3100) from 6pm to 8:30pm. The lineup for the series, which runs until September 11, follows. Visit the ICA website for additional details about the musicians and their work.

• July 17: Juan Chavez — Classical, Jazz, Afro-Cuban
• July 24: Tantanakuy — Argentinean, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Peruvian, Uruguayan, Jazz
• July 31: Sol Melodiq — Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, Funk, Classic Soul, World Music
• August 7: Zach Hillyard Band — Pop, Funk, Soul, R&B
• August 14: Cole Degenova — Funk, Neo-Soul, Blues, Jazz
• August 21: Pat Carroll — Jazz
• August 28: Monterey Quartet — Jazz
• September 4: Manami Morita — Jazz
• September 11: Katie Thiroux — Jazz

Post from: The Boston Traveler

As most residents know, the annual Independence Day festivities featuring the Boston Pops occurs over two days in the city, the actual holiday and the day before it. As a result, the Boston Pops will perform an 8:30pm concert on both Thursday, July 3, and Friday, July 4.

There is a difference between the shows, however. The first concert will end a half-hour earlier, at 10pm, and will not include the eye-popping 30-minute fireworks display set to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, special country music guests Rascal Flatts, host Craig Ferguson of the CBS program The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, or the 8:36pm flyover by the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing and the Air Force’s 131st Fighter Squadron.

Those who can’t make it to the Esplanade and surrounding areas on July 4th have a couple of alternative options to still reap the benefits of the production. Television station WBZ will broadcast it locally starting at 8pm, while the network CBS will do the same nationwide at 10pm.

Visit the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular website for more information.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

EdgeFest, now in its fourth year, is a Boston Pops concert series that pairs the orchestra with contemporary bands and artists. Not surprisingly, the different musical focus attracts a significant number of 30-something attendees, in contrast to the customary Boston Pops audience, which has an average age of over 50.

Merchant’s last studio release was 2003’s The House Carpenter’s Daughter. According to a recent Boston Globe interview, she’s been focusing much of her time since on her daughter Lucia, who was born the same year.

The music artist is not only looking forward to her upcoming appearances, her first ever with an orchestra, but she actually approached the Boston Pops about the possibility of participating in EdgeFest after hearing about the series from the alternative country group Cowboy Junkies, who took part in the third annual concert last June, and an editor at Paste Magazine. Wisely, the Pops were more than interested in working with Merchant, leading to next week’s dates.

Fans can anticipate significant input from Merchant, too. She wrote two of the arrangements, for new songs “Autumn Lullaby” and “The Man in the Wilderness,” included in the EdgeFest concert and will perform a number of additional old, new, and unreleased songs, as well. Also on the schedule are Boston’s own indie-rock band The Everyday Visuals.

Natalie Merchant performs with the Boston Pops for EdgeFest 2008 on Tuesday, May 27, and Wednesday, May 28. Both 8pm dates take place at Boston Symphony Hall (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, 617-266-1492), with tickets ranging in price from $25 to $100. [More Information]

Learning about Merchant’s visit made me remember how much I love her hit single “Carnival” from the 1995 album Tigerlily. Take a look at the original video and a smokin’ live performance of the tune after the jump. I’ve been playing the concert version on a continuous loop while composing this post — there’s nothing better than rediscovering forgotten favorite songs.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Warm weather and outdoor concerts go together so well, the only thing that makes them better is when the latter are free. People who realize this and share an appreciation of the planet we call home are in luck, then, because Saturday, May 24th, marks the 15th Annual EarthFest hosted by WBOS Radio 92.9.

Performing this year for free in honor of Earth are alternative rockers Cake, the headliners, as well as The BoDeans, Cracker, The English Beat, and various Boston-based groups. The event will also offer environment-friendly activities, including many targeted specifically towards family and children.

EarthFest has been a local tradition for well over a decade, so if you’re in the area, it’s highly recommended. Gather the entire family and head over to the DCR Hatch Shell along the Charles River (100 David Mugar Way/Storrow Drive, Boston) to make the celebration a daylong outing filled with live music. The good times start at noon.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

As promised, check out high-quality videos of the New Kids’ performance on NBC’s Today earlier today. Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, and brothers Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight sang and danced through a medley of their older hits, as well as the 1990 throwback “Tonight,” and they sang one new tune, a very mellow track called “Summertime.” The last is available for purchase on iTunes right now.

Up first, the old-school medley, followed by “Tonight” (preceded by a little chit chat with show hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, who I bet were screaming somewhere offstage, too — Ha ha!) and the new single “Summertime” after the jump.

The extravaganza ends with yet another video of the group dishing with Lauer and Vieira about their forthcoming tour. There may be more footage later because MSNBC added videos as I was writing this post. I’ll check the site again later today for additional clips to publish.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

To prove it, the group’s website nkotb.com is currently chock full of supporting extras, including a blog, image downloads, and a brand-spanking-new track called “Summertime,” the last of which is located at the New Kids on the Block MySpace site.

As of this writing, the following tour dates are listed, so start snapping up those tickets now if you’ve got NKOTB fever. And, if you won’t be able to make any of the dates or locations, I’ll have video clips of NKOTB’s May 16th performance on NBC’s Today that very same day.

Current New Kids on the Block Tour Dates

• May 16, 2008: The Today Show (New York, NY)
• May 17, 2008: Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ)
• May 18, 2008: Tweeter Center (Boston, MA)
• Sep 20, 2008: Bell Centre (Montreal, Canada)
• Sep 21, 2008: Air Canada Center (Toronto, Canada)
• Sep 23, 2008: Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ)
• Sep 24, 2008: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Uniondale, NY)
• Sep 26, 2008: TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, MA)
• Sep 27, 2008: Borgata Hotel and Casino Event Center (Atlantic City, NJ)
• Oct 04, 2008: Allstate Arena (Chicago, IL)

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Armed with the provocative motto “The Future of Jazz Is Here and Now,” JazzBoston will take over Boston from April 25 to May 4 to offer residents and visitors a variety of affordable events focused on the music genre, such as workshops, concerts, and tributes to pioneers.

Highlights include a series of free seminars at the Boston Public Library’s main branch in Copley Square (700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston, 617-536-5400), ranging from The Worlds of Duke Ellington to From Jazz to Hip-Hop and Beyond: Why Jazz Matters in the 21st Century. Especially notable is the How Jazz Happens family event, scheduled for 6pm on Monday, April 28, at the Regattabar (1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, 617-661-5099).

The benefit concert A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston will take place on Saturday, May 3, at Berklee Performance Center (136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, 617-747-2261), where legendary drummer Rakalam Bob Moses will accompany former U.S. Poet Laureate and current Boston University faculty member Robert Pinsky as he recites his work. To round out the entertainment and raise donations for public school jazz outreach programs, musicians from Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, and the John Coltrane Memorial Concert Ensemble will also perform.

Enthusiasts with slim wallets will definitely appreciate the part of the festival unfolding at the Back Bay branch of Borders Book Store (511 Boylston Street, Boston, 617-236-1444), as well. Starting next Monday, April 28, until the following Friday, May 2, JazzWeek Borders will present the general public with regular jazz concerts after business hours. The best part is that each and every one is completely free of charge.

Those are just a few of the things happening during JazzBoston in coming days. To learn more about the numerous events planned, simply review the lengthy and detailed Schedule of Events.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The guys — Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, and brothers Jonathan Knight and Jordan Knight — were in New York to make their first public appearance together in 14 years, and aside from Mother Nature’s refusal to play along, the reunion went off without a hitch.

Each member of the band looked pretty good given the passage of time, and as co-host Hoda Kotb noted at one point, even they seemed overwhelmed by the rapturous reaction of the crowd. If anyone thinks today was something, just wait until the group returns exactly six weeks from now, on May 16, to perform live with one another again for the first time in nearly 15 years.

Like many people, I assumed that would happen this morning. But, it didn’t. Instead, at precisely 9:39am EST (a little clock keeps time throughout the show in a corner of the screen), NKOTB participated in a brief interview with enthusiastic co-host Natalie Morales and then answered a couple of fan emails. The first asked if the group will continue to dance during their performances and the second wondered if they plan to remove “Kids” from their name since they’re not exactly young’uns anymore.

Take a look at the four-and-a-half minute clip of the Today show appearance after the jump. If you listen closely, you’ll also get a quick preview of NKOTB’s new track “Summertime,” which is on the forthcoming album it sounds like they group has already completed.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video player by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

When I think of Cambridge’s renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a lot of things instantly come to mind, first and foremost the treasure trove of brain power the university has among its students and professors.

This weekend, however, the 35+-year-old campus gospel choir will give the public something else to associate with the school, namely a love of gospel music. That’s because on Saturday, April 5, the first-ever Gospel Fest celebration will bring eight Boston-based college gospel groups to MIT to perform in a massive concert. Participants include:

• MIT Gospel Choir
• Boston College Voices of Imani
• Boston University Inner Strength Gospel Choir
• Brandeis Voices of Praise
• Kuumba Singers of Harvard College
• Northeastern University JDOAAI Unity Gospel Ensemble
• Tufts University Third Day Gospel Choir
• Wheaton Colleges Voices United To Jam

If you appreciate gospel music, Gospel Fest 2008 seems like a sure way to celebrate your faith in the company of fellow believers while also enjoying an evening of lively, spirited music.

Tickets for the general public are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and organizers make it easy to purchase them online. Then, just show up on Saturday before 7pm at MIT’s La Sala de Puerto Rico (MIT Student Center, 2nd Floor, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge) for a wonderful time. [More Information]

Take a look at the video clip after the jump for a sample of the MIT Gospel Choir in action. The song is “I Will Sing,” which the group performed during their Fall 2007 Concert on December 9, 2007.

Post from: The Boston Traveler