Homer’s Center for the Arts gears up for a busy week, with two blues acts and a hard-touring favorite coming to the intimate theater. Plus, there are a few cool shows in and around Ithaca in the coming days.
Please be sure to check with each show’s event page for various venue protocols, as well as potential postponement or cancellation information due to the weather. Stay safe, and enjoy as much live music as you can in the coming days!
Future Blues
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will bring his “662: Juke Joint Live,” tour to Homer to celebrate the release of his Alligator Records album, “662,” which takes its name from his native northern Mississippi’s area code. The 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter recently won the 2021 Living Blues Award for Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) and two 2021 Blues Music Awards (for Guitarist of the Year and Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year) in addition to the five he won last year. Rolling Stone declared, “Kingfish is one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.” Find out more about him here. The Cerny Brothers will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: $30-$35
Fishin’ Blues
Known for her powerful vocals and deft guitar style, Samantha Fish returns to Central New York for a sold-out show. Her latest album, “Kill or Be Kind,” finds her taking her blues-based sound in new directions, both musically and lyrically. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for,” Fish said of the album, adding “This is me coming through, my personality.”
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: SOLD OUT!!
On the Organ
Cornell’s Midday Music for Organ series continues with DMA keyboardist Nathan Mondry, who will perform his own compositions alongside those of Ceuleers, Bull, Howells, Gibbons, and Sweelinck on the Italian organ.
When: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Sage Chapel, Cornell University
Cost: free and open to the public; see Cornell’s covid policies here.
Words and Music
The Midday Music series continues with “With My Thirst and My Hunger,” as select students from the Cornell Vocal Program present a program of Margaret Bonds’ art songs, exploring her nuanced settings of poetry by Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, and Edna St. Vincent Millay.
When: 12:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Lincoln B20, Cornell University
Cost: free and open to the public; see Cornell’s covid policies here.
Trio Grande
Local stalwarts Michael Stark (Wingnut), Mary Lorson (Madder Rose, Saint Low) and Venissa Santi (Cuban jazz recording artist) will be playing solo and duo sets throughout the evening.
When: 4-7 p.m. Thursday
Where: South Hill Cider
Cost: free; donations welcome
Songs to Sing
Dan Forsyth of Driftwood will host Singer/Songwriter Night, a new series taking place every first Thursday of the month at Hopshire: “This is an opportunity for songwriters to share their craft with each other. Bring a song you are working on, it doesn’t have to be complete, to get input from your peers. All are welcome to come listen respectfully.”
When: 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Hopshire Farm and Brewing, Dryden
Cost: free
One-Man Band
Keller Williams returns to Homer, bringing with him his dazzling ability to create complex soundscapes by looping a variety of instrumentals along with his vocals. His blend of rock, jazz, funk and bluegrass has led Williams to describe his style as “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” Beside his solo work, Williams has also been part of Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass, KWahtro, Keller and the Travelin’ McCourys, Grateful Gospel and More Than A Little over the years.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: $30
Feel the Funk
Led by Sophistafunk drummer Emmanuel Washington and guitarist Chris Eves, Syracuse funk ensemble Skunk City comes to downtown Ithaca to lay down some solid grooves.
When: 10:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Upstairs
Cost: small cover