Let's get readdddy to RAMBLE!

[Steve]

This week Brewer & Shipley kick off their 2010 show schedule. They play Thursday in Newtown Connecticut. The show is a fundraiser for WPKN in Bridgeport. Kevin Gallagher will probably introduce the guys. Kevin is the guy who did such a great job interviewing Michael and Tom last July in his “One More Toke, The Words and Music of Brewer & Shipley” broadcast. It is a great interview. We have it linked from our Interviews page.

Then Friday night the guys play at the Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. By the pictures on their web site, it looks like a perfect place to see a Brewer & Shipley concert.

Those two shows would be a great start to the 2010 season.... but wait there’s more. Brewer and Shipley are honored to play anywhere a grateful audience shows up, but Saturday night they honored in a different way. They are the special guests at Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, New York. The list of artists that Levon has invited to open for him at his “barn” in Woodstock, is a list that Brewer & Shipley deserve to be included with. Some of the artists who have Rambled are: John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Leon Russell, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, John Sebastian, Donald Fagen, Allison Krauss, Delbert McClinton, Phoebe Snow, Sheryl Crow, Rickie Lee Jones, Bruce Hornsby, John Haitt, & The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Like Brewer & Shipley these artists have put out quality music for years and years.

What a wonderful way to open the 2010 schedule. Have a blast Michael & Tom.

[Steve]

Does anyone else think that since they are going to be in the hometown of Big Pink, that Michael & Tom need to dust off "Lady Like You" for Levon?

Big Pink’s on the stereo set
Pickin’ for fun

[sngwrtr525]

I second that, Steve! Maybe some of the old songs the guys thought they couldn't sing any longer are still a possibility for performance!

Sure would like to see some comments from the fans on this page who will be seeing Michael and Tom this weekend. Please feel free to keep the rest of us informed! Many thanks in advance.

[wedance3]

Tom and Michael's show in Newtown, CT last night was a real treat! After seeing them in Natick, MA last August after more than 35 years, I was afraid it might be another long stretch before seeing them again, since their trips to the East coast are so limited. But here we were, 7 months later, sharing music again. Mark Naftalin's appearance was a special addition and it was great to see the look on Tom's face when he looked over at Mark mid- song and broke into a grin. The harmonies continue to amaze me - voices and guitars alike. Tom and Michael, thanks for every note and for doing the traveling necessary to make the shows happen!
Blessings,
Debra

[Michael]

I've known Levon Helm for awhile now and have always wanted to do one of his Rambles. All I can say is it was a total honor and privilege to finally get to do that. What a blast! We've done a lot of shows over the past 40 something years and it's like comparing apples & oranges, but The Ramble was perhaps, the coolest gig we've ever been a part of. Levon's band is simply as good as it gets, and being invited to join them for "The Weight" was an all time high for me. I'm also happy to say Levon's health is good and he's getting better all the time. What an American music icon he is, and most deserved of the Grammys he's won the past two years. Levon rocks!

We also had an old friend and extremely talented musician, Mark Naftalin, who played all the keyboard on "Weeds", Tarkio", and "Shake Off The Demon" join us for some songs at a show in CT. Also, a total hoot.

We were right in the middle of the horrible storm that pounded the Eastern seaboard and it was a miracle that we actually made it home the day we were supposed to. "Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't". "Bringin 'em Back Alive" is still ringing in my ears.