It was the 17th century playwright William Congreve who wrote that “Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast, to soften rocks or bend the knotted oak.”
It’s also a way to soften the impact of the post-holiday blues, when the next major American celebration is Super Bowl Sunday in early February. Meanwhile, there are plenty of Long Island concert venues to choose from with a diverse range of musical genres to offering opportunities to shake those blues.
Versatile young pop vocalist Diane Birch will perform at The Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington on Jan. 22. The singer-songwriter, who was raised in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia and Oregon, has toured with Joan Armatrading and performed at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Texas. Her vocals on her debut solo album “Bible Belt” demonstrate an expressive range in a mix of song styles that make her make her approach to song-writing difficult to define. She’ll be backed by a band of veteran musicians in the Saturday night concert where WFUV’s John Platt will preside as host.
Tickets can be purchase on The Landmark’s Web site at www.landmarkonmainstreet.org or by calling the box office at 516-767-6444.
The NYCB Theatre at Westbury – formerly the Westbury Theatre – has a slate of age-defying rock and pop groups over the next two months tailored to the tastes of baby boomers.
On Jan. 29, headbangers will welcome the appearance of the Edgar Winter Band, a hard blues rock band that still keeps kicking after all these years. Edgar Winter actually has a new album release called “Rebel Road,” evoking the territory it staked out as one of many rock groups that claimed the blues as its roots and fused that genre into the rock format.
On Feb. 12, the Temptations – a contemporary incarnation of the classic Motown vocal quintet – rolls into Westbury. You won’t see any of the original members of the group onstage. But the current generation of The Temptations still hearkens back to the hit tunes that put the group at the top of the charts with classics such as “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Cloud Nine,” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.”
Blood, Sweat & Tears, a ground-breaking jazz/rock fusion group from the late ‘60s will open a double bill for Dave Mason, a rock veteran of that era, on Feb. 19.
Blood, Sweat & Tears was renowned for its exceptional horn section, which gave the band a unique sound at the time it started making its mark in Greenwich Village clubs before the band made it to the concert circuit playing larger venues. It borrowed material from the American jazz songbook, recording a fine rendition of “God Bless the Child,” a tune that had been popularized by the late jazz vocal legend Billie Holiday.
Dave Mason fits into the category of contemplative rock, with tunes like “We Just Disagree” and “Sad and Deep as You.” His also built his reputation during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, when he typically toured college campuses and larger concert halls.
Aaron Lewis, whose anguished vocals have defined the country rock band Staind, makes a solo appearance in Westbury on Feb. 20. Lewis projects the musical persona of a latter day Hank Williams and fans of the band will probably find an acoustic performance by him an intriguing variation on his musical themes.
Pop singer Clay Aiken of American Idol fame brings his “Tried and True” tour into town on Feb. 26, promoting his recent album release of the same name. It includes en eclectic mix of pop songs, from “It’s Impossible,” a ballad first recorded by the late Perry Como, to the Four Seasons’ hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and pop standards “Misty” and “What Kind of Fool Am I?”.
For those planning beyond the bleak edge of winter, Irish tenors Ronan Tynan and Andy Cooney will be in Westbury for a St. Patrick’s Day concert.
Tickets for the NYCB Theatre at Westbury can be purchase online at LiveNation.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
Fans of contemporary country music fans can catch Rascal Flatts with special guests Luke Brian and Chris Young at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 25. Cranking out hits like “These Days,” “Bless the Broken Road,” “What Hurts the Most” and “Take Me There” over the past decade, the trio is pumping up the volume for its latest release, “Nothing Like This,” featuring the country harmonies that have vaulted them to the top of the country charts.
Elvis Presley fans can belatedly observe the early January anniversary of his birth by attending the 17th annual iteration of “The Elvis Show” at the YMCA Boulton Center on Main Street in Bay Shore on Jan. 29. This celebration of the rock ‘n roll king’s repertoire will feature 40 performers, including Caroline Doctorow, The Lone Sharks, Bossa Nova Beatnicks and Joe Rock.
Information about the show is available at boultoncenter.org or by calling 631-969-1101.
