TRURO — First, Bart Weisman and his group played George Gershwin’s 1934 tune “Summertime” slow and easy — just like it was in the original production of the musical Porgy […]
Music
JAZZ
Wellfleet’s Ella Mae Dixon Makes Her Birdland Debut
A young ‘old-fashioned’ singer pursues her dream in New York
NEW YORK CITY — Ella Mae Dixon took the stage at Birdland on West 44th Street in Manhattan’s theater district on Tuesday night, March 21. The legendary jazz club, which […]
BENEFIT CONCERT
Music to Help Heal a Broken Land
Providing ‘a sonic environment for reflection and action’ in the wake of disaster
It’s difficult to grasp the massive scale of the earthquakes that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria last month. More than 53,500 deaths have been confirmed as of this week, […]
ALBUM REVIEW
‘Terror’ Heralds a Towering Talent
Cape Cod’s Tianna Esperanza’s new album is a stunner
Anyone who was lucky enough to be at the Mews in Provincetown on March 9, 2020 may have witnessed the early stages of a supernova. When Tianna Esperanza performed at […]
INDIE PLAYLIST
Songs for International Women’s Day
Our staff picks to celebrate the vision and power of women in music
For International Women’s Day this year, members of the Independent staff sat down with Denya LeVine of WOMR for a roundtable discussion about women and music. You can tune in […]
MUSIC
An Indie Playlist for New Beginnings
Picks by staff and contributors to get your New Year off to a smashing start
We begin every January thinking about resolutions, but we never hear anything about what music to listen to while we’re trying to accomplish them. So, we asked Independent staff and […]
STAR POWER
Christine Ebersole, With Love From Easy Street
The two-time Tony-winning star comes to Provincetown to ring in the New Year
PROVINCETOWN — Christine Ebersole’s résumé includes notable roles in films like Amadeus, Tootsie, and The Wolf of Wall Street, and her television credits require a deep scroll on IMDb: from […]
MUSIC
Celebrating 50 Years of Sweet Honey in the Rock
Voices and musical styles come together in an ensemble’s dedication to song and social justice
“Music does everything for me,” says Aisha Kahlil. “It heals me. It uplifts me. It has brought me back from the brink of despair.” Kahlil is a vocalist in the […]
LOCAL LEGENDS
Lights On at First Encounter
Celebrating nearly 50 years of music at a beloved Eastham coffee house that ‘rings with goodness’
EASTHAM — After two and a half years, the lights at the First Encounter Coffee House in Eastham’s Chapel in the Pines will finally be on again — at least […]
MUSIC
James Montgomery Returns to a Place He Loves
The music legend and his band bring the blues to Eastham this weekend
James Montgomery is inspired by something he heard bassist Gordon Edwards say decades ago: “I don’t score many touchdowns, but my team always wins.” It’s the kind of modesty that […]
LEGENDS
Taj Mahal Comes to Truro
Going strong at 80, the blues legend performs this weekend at Payomet
In May, Taj Mahal turned 80 — and everybody knows the blues only get better with age. One of the last of a generation from the later heyday of American […]
GOSPEL TRUTH
The Blind Boys of Alabama Have a Vision
The celebrated gospel singers believe you can be what you want to be
Eric McKinnie, who is known as Ricky, has been a member of the Blind Boys of Alabama since 1989. But the renowned gospel group launched 50 years before that. Clarence […]
CHAMBER MUSIC
The eGALitarians Make Brass Better
A quintet challenges the jazz world’s lack of gender diversity
Kate Amrine is a professional trumpeter and co-leader of the eGALitarian Brass Quintet, which will be presenting a free concert at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham on Tuesday, […]
THE BEAT
Provincetown Jazz Festival Pairs Professionals With Newcomers
Festival founder Bart Weisman finds freedom in the swing of things
When Bart Weisman arrived in Provincetown in 1980 to pick up the woman who would become his wife and take her home to Washington, D.C., where they both grew up, […]
ANTI-IMPERIALISM
Mali Obomsawin Questions ‘Good Old American Values’
The activist, bassist, and songwriter creates music and community
The systems of the colonized Western world tend to put things in boxes. We categorize and separate music by genre. We separate politics from emotion from community from art. Mali […]
