Bobby McFerrin News

AVENUE Q - the Tony Award-winning Best Musical that features a cast comprised of people and puppets - will celebrate WORLD PUPPETRY DAY on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 with what is to be an unprecedented large gathering of professional and amateur puppeteers and their puppets for a special performance and post-show soiree at New World Stages (Off-Broadway, 340 West 50th Street), starting at 8:00PM.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts announces three more critically-acclaimed acts to its 2018 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). They are Toshi Reagon -- a talented singer, composer, and producer with roots in folk, blues and rock; Nobuntu - an all-female a capella group from Zimbabwe; and Inventive Mothers: A Tribute to Frank Zappa performed by Studio Dan from Austria. Each will enhance the stellar lineup of artists already planned for PIFA 2018. The 11-day festival is packed with more than 50 performances ranging from music and dance to 360-degree immersive spectacle experiences, and will attract regional visitors to Philadelphia from Thursday, May 31 through Sunday, June 10.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents the final event of the National Geographic Live series during The Broad Stage's 2017-18 Season - Between River and Rim: Hiking the Grand Canyon with photographer/filmmaker Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedarko.  The event includes a post-show Q&A with McBride and Fedarko.

TheTrenton Children's Chorus (TCC) will host a special Starlight Evening with Metropolitan Opera star, Ryan Speedo Green on Thursday, February 22, 2018. The book Sing for Your Life, by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner, was written about Mr. Green's personal and artistic journey from a trailer park in southeastern Virginia and time spent in Virginia's juvenile facility of last resort, to the Met stage. The event will benefit Trenton Children's Chorus.

 Innovator, music pioneer, composer and pianist Chick Corea pairs with the incomparable king of American jazz orchestras, Jazz at Lincoln Center Or chestra in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for a powerhouse concert on March 25, 2018. Since embarking on a solo career in 1966, Corea has been at the forefront of jazz, both as a renowned pianist forging new ground as an innovative electric ke yboardist with his acoustic jazz bands Return to Forever, the Elektric Band, and now, the electro / acoustic Vigil.

Bulgarian singer-songwriter Ruth Koleva announces her sophomore album Confidence. Truth set for release on March 30th. Featuring Ron Avant (Anderson .Paak) on keys,Jameel Bruuner (The Internet) on synths, and Gene Coye (Flying Lotus) on drums, the album features the work of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and was produced byGueorgiu Linev (Kan Wakan). A deeply personal collection of songs rooted in soul and jazz, the album effortlessly shifts from melancholic studio confessions to epic, euphoric anthems.

Acclaimed multidisciplinary Iranian-American vocalist and artist Sussan Deyhim will perform the New York premiere of The House Is Black Media Project, a years-in-the-making work that marshals various facets of her dauntless career-opera, cinema, poetry, theater, video and performance art-to manifest the world of Iranian modernist Forough Farrokhzad's poetry and film, March 10 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The World Science Festival and Con Edison are pleased to announce that City of Science, the touring mini-metropolis of mind-expanding demonstrations and hands-on activities for families, comes to the Bronx on Sunday, March 11.

SOKOLOW THEATRE/DANCE ENSEMBLE, in its first season under the artistic direction of Samantha Geracht, will appear in rarely seen works by legendary American modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow, including her Moods, which has not been performed since the late 1970's, along with Dreams and Preludes.   The Company will be joined by guests Jennifer Conley, former soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing Sokolow's solo Poem, and Clarence Brooks, former Company member, in ?Sweet in the Morning, ?by choreographer Leni Wylliams.   Four performances, March 8-11 at the Mark O'Donnell Theater at the Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn.

Continuing its commitment to transformation, possibilities, and the community, The Marsh Berkeley announces monthly Open Mic Nights with Ellen Hoffman for 2018. Furthering The Marsh's mission of supporting new voices, Bay Area pianist, composer, and music arranger Ellen Hoffman will host a two-hour set offering five-minute slots to a variety of performers. Experienced singers, instrumentalists, poets, comics, actors, as well as novices will join Hoffman in an evening that presents eclectic entertainment for the adventurous. Those interested in performing will sign up at the door, and are welcome to provide sheet music or their own accompaniment for this celebration of the artistic community in the East Bay. Open Mic Nights with Ellen Hoffman will begin at 7:30pm on the third Tuesday of each month January 16-March 20 at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For tickets ($8-$15 pre-sale, $10-$15 at the door), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 between 1-4pm, Monday through Friday.

For the New Year, The Marsh Berkeley extends Bay Area's beloved Clown Prince of Fools, Unique Derique, in his zany extravaganza Fool La La! Over the Rainbow. Featuring a sweet new bag of tricks and side-splitting physical comedy, this all-ages show will leave audiences laughing and dancing through 2018. Fool La La! Over the Rainbow will perform three additional dates, 2pm January 14-21, 2018 at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For tickets ($15-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 (open 1pm-4pm, Monday through Friday).

Birdland Jazz Club lays out schedule for January 15-January 21

Keola Beamer & Henry Kapono are two legends of Hawaiian music, continuing to lead the way for over four decades. They join forces at The Broad Stage on Thursday, February 1. Beamer & Kapono will each perform a set, then come together onstage to celebrate their original songs that have become beloved classics of contemporary Hawaiian music. The evening will also feature a performance from Moanalani Beamer, Kumu Hula (Hula Master).

Acclaimed multidisciplinary Iranian-American vocalist and artist Sussan Deyhim will perform The House Is Black Media Project, a years-in-the-making work that marshals various facets of her dauntless career opera, cinema, poetry, theater, video and performance art to manifest the world of Iranian modernist Forough Farrokhzad's poetry and film, February 1-3, 2018, at Los Angeles' Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and March 10, 2018, at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Surrounding The Wallis performances will be an exhibit, Dawn of the Cold Season, on view from January 15-February 4, 2018.

San Francisco-based ODC/Dance brings its groundbreaking technique and approach to movement to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture will launch their 2018 Winter/Spring season with two live music events featuring contemporary singer-songwriter and jazz vocalist Lauren Kinhan and folk and indie singer-songwriter mother-and-daughter duo Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche. Tickets are $35 and available online at SheenCenter.org, by phone at 212-925-2812, or in-person at The Sheen Center box office.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with an exciting series of acts

Many performers are children of famous musicians but it is not always easy to carve an independent path in entertainment world. One can think of Frank Sinatra, Jr. or Natalie Cole as examples. But on January 20, the Bickford Theatre will present the son of a jazz legend who has become a musical star in his own right. Dave Brubeck's son Chris Brubeck will perform with his group Triple Play whose good-time music draws on folk, blues, and jazz. Triple Play delivers an epic sojourn through American music unlike any other band today.

Israel's iconic singer-songwriter, guitarist and UNICEF goodwill ambassador David Broza returns to perform his The Not Exactly Xmas Show at The Broad Stage today, December 21 at 7:30pm. This is Broza's second consecutive December at The Broad Stage with his signature concert, which he has been performing in New York City for over 20 years.

This holiday season, The Marsh Berkeley celebrates the return of the Bay Area's beloved Clown Prince of Fools, Unique Derique, in his zany holiday and New Year extravaganza Fool La La! Over the Rainbow. Featuring a sweet new bag of tricks and side-splitting physical comedy, this all-ages show will leave audiences laughing and dancing through the holidays and beyond. Fool La La! Over the Rainbow will perform at various times (see schedule below) from December 20, 2017 to January 7, 2018 at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For tickets ($15-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 (open 1pm-4pm, Monday through Friday).