No amount of rain can dampen this lineup! Here, in order of appearance, are the performers scheduled to play on Sunday, April 22, at the MorristownGreen.com Music & Arts Showcase.
We’re throwing this party atop the DeHart Street Parking Garage (down one level if it rains) with our friends from Sustainable Morristown and WDHA Radio. The fun starts at noon, it’s FREE, and it’s part of Earth Day Experience 2012–which includes a giant garage sale and expos on green living and healthy eats.
Note: Start times are approximate.
NOON: Hanna Neil‘s performance at Morristown’s Got Talent! in February would have been impressive even if she weren’t a 6th-grader. She sang Adele’s One and Only with poise and style before nearly 1,300 people. The best advice she received? “Make the song about you, not Adele herself,” Hanna said.
12: 15 pm: Lauren Smith, most likely is one of the rising stars at the Original Music School in Morristown, where young singer-songwriters hone their skills. She reminds us a little bit of Taylor Swift as a kid. Wait– Taylor Swift is a kid. Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll be saying Taylor reminds us of Lauren.
1 PM: Morristown High School alum Ben Rhodes has played in a few bands in recent years, and we have found something to like at each stop. First, it was Charlie and the Vanilla Faces–at our first parking deck extravaganza. Next, Electric Blue Sunrise at Festival Earth. Then, Nick Dickey for tornado relief. At December’s First Night Battle of the Bands, Ben fronted a group called Untitled. And that’s the combo we’ll hear on Earth Day: Ben on guitar with his Montclair State University pals Ethan Fria (guitar), Jordan Nanglona (bass) and Mike Deering (drums).
1:45 pm: Hub Hollow has built a Morristown following thanks to garden gigs at the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum and jam sessions at the Dark Horse Lounge. It doesn’t hurt that most of them are Morristown-Beard grads, either. The band consists of twins Jill (vocals) and John Turpin (guitar), Rick Chance (bass), Jason Frigerio (mandolin) and Tim Ryan (dobro). Collectively, their musical journey began with the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead, detoured through Dylan, and finally arrived at bluegrass. Behold the alchemy!
2:30 pm: You don’t usually think of eighth-graders as perfectionists. But Art of Play studies pop music and strives to make every performance unique and memorable. Domenico Randazzo (guitar), Ricky Webber (keyboard), T.J. Coon (bass) and Tyler Volk (drums) together are competing for top amateur honors at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater, and it’s easy to see why they have a good shot at winning.
3:15 pm: 1st Ave showed lots of promise last year on Earth Day at the EcoCenter. We can’t wait to hear this group again, after another year with ace tutor Vic Ruiz. 1st Ave is Julia Draper, Dorothea Miller, Kathryn Rejaei, and Ryan Rejaei.
3:45 pm: No wonder Brian Cunningham is so good. He works for God! The new music director of Morristown’s Bethel A.M.E. Church coaxes some heavenly sounds from his saxophone. Brian has toured in bands backing the comedian Sinbad and the singer Ginuwine. But he’s all ours this Sunday. Hallelujah!
4:30 pm: They’re too young to be jaded by life on the road. But Amor is one of those rare teen bands that has experienced it. Twins Jaylon and Jevon Jorge, Ryan Skoletsky and Arminda Flores played seven states, from Connecticut to Florida, during last summer’s “No Bully Tour” sponsored by the F.Y.E. entertainment chain. We’re betting they will conquer the remaining 43 states before they hang up their microphones.
5:15 pm: We wanted Captain Lung to close the show to celebrate the trio’s recent prizewinning performance at Morristown’s Got Talent! Morristown High School students Travis Fielding (drums), Johannes Burger (vocals, keyboard) and Andy McNally (guitar) have been jamming together since elementary school. Clearly, they push each other to surpass themselves on stage…maybe like Cream? (Google them, kids.) They already have played the famed Stone Pony. Now, the roof of Morristown. Who knows what heights they will scale next.
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