Chuck Berry News

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the 101 greatest scenes in cinema from 1901 to 2020. See if your favorite movie moments made the list!

Music has always had a sweet home in Chicago. It's where Louis Armstrong cut his first big records in the 1920s. It's where Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf made the blues electric, building the foundation of rock & roll. And it's where genres are invented; from gospel, house, and footwork to whatever comes next, Chicago's influence can be felt around the world.

Asbury Park, NJ quartet The Weeklings announced one of the nation's first drive-in performances during these social distancing times, May 31 at the legendary Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, New Hampshire – details/tickets here.

The Beatles! Rihanna! Michael Jackson! Johnny Cash! Kanye West! The Rolling Stones! Aretha Franklin! Bob Dylan! Miles Davis! Nirvana! BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the greatest albums from the rock and rap era (1950-2020); see if your favorites made the grade!

Asbury Park, NJ foursome The Weeklings has shared three new videos for the title track of their new (and third) studio album 3 out now on JEM Records – three wildly different takes on what it's like to have your heart broken in three.

Chuck Berry's 60th birthday concert and the drama surrounding it were captured in Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, but until now, Berry's life has never before been covered on screen. With CHUCK BERRY, Award-winning filmmaker Jon Brewer (BB King: The Life of Riley, Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark), lends new insight to the man known as the bedrock of Rock n Roll. Several rock & roll legends reflect on what Berry meant to them, with exclusive access to Mrs. Berry and the Berry family.

Bass legend Tony Newton is releasing a timely new single “Stop That Sh*t” from his newly released acclaimed new album “White Light Collection.” Says Brett David Stewart of JukeboxPodcast, “Lyrically, the single takes aim at those who only want to benefit themselves, often at the cost of those around them and future generations. 'Stop That Sh*t,' Newton croons funkily as he points the finger at a 'bad cancer' of society - those with endless greed.”

Incredible ensembles, global superstars, legendary instrumentalists and genre-bending up-and-comers make up the first wave of artists announced today for the 66th edition of Newport Jazz. Curated by Artistic Director Christian McBride and founder George Wein, the Festival takes place August 7-9 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino.

Incredible ensembles, global superstars, legendary instrumentalists and genre-bending up-and-comers make up the first wave of artists announced today for the 66th edition of Newport Jazz. Curated by Artistic Director Christian McBride and founder George Wein, the Festival takes place August 7-9 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. 

I don't remember a show moving with such energy, grace, Moe-mentum, musicality and sheer fun. From the moment the Moes materialize until the moment they Moe-sey off stage, this musical is magical, with just the right mix of mayhem, mugging and music.

CHUCK BERRY: BROWN EYED HANDSOME MAN is a collection of performances by the greatest rock icons in history performing favorite songs by their self-proclaimed hero Chuck Berry. A historic record of the decades-long and continuing impact of the father of rock-'n'-roll, the program presents — for the first and possibly only time ever — full performances from the legends of rock music honoring the man they agree started it all. Artists include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Petty, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Lynne and more, filmed at the heights of their own careers, performing the work of Chuck Berry. Berry himself is also featured in a number of solos and duets. Narrated by Danny Glover, CHUCK BERRY: BROWN EYED HANDSOME MAN is part of special programming premiering on PBS stations beginning Saturday, February 29, 2020 (check local listings).

Blues-folk singer-songwriter Chris Smither returns to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, May 8, at 9pm, to perform his impassioned blend of original and classic blues-influenced American roots music.

Acclaimed blues-rock guitarist Mike Zito embarks on his 'Rock N' Roll World Tour 2020' (named for his recently-released Ruf Records album) with a local performance as the Mike Zito & Friends: A Tribute To Chuck Berry at Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., Saturday, February 8. Showtime: 8:00pm. Tickets: $25. Info: (314) 726-6161 or visit https://www.delmarhall.com. Joining Zito for this show onstage: Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, Joanna Connor, and Charles Berry III, all who performed on Zito's Chuck Berry Tribute album.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is offering Broadway's biggest hit, plus amazing concerts and memorable special events for every entertainment preference, from classical music to razzle dazzle dancers, from international performing artists to musical favorites from the Great American Songbook, along with several fascinating talks and lectures throughout the month of February.

Raue Center For The Arts invites you to come onboard! Raue Center has announced a special fundraising event perfect for Valentine's Day! Stargazers Ball: The Love Boat will leave port at 6 p.m. on February 15, 2020.

Kat Riggins brings her Blues Revival tent to Gulf Coast Records. Happy to join the team with Guy Hale and Mike Zito in their hurricane of a journey with the new label. Mike Zito will be at the helm as producer in an undisclosed Memphis studio this week.

The time is 1946, the place a showroom in a modest funeral home. Let me reitterate; the time is 1946, a time where Racism is alive and well. 2 actresses take the stage and for the next 95 uninterrupted minutes we are strapped in for a ride unlike any other through faith, Gospel, love, family, and coming to grips with who you are, 1946 feels a lot like today in a show so resonating and moving if you blinked you'd miss everything. A modest funeral home amongst the casket sits an upright piano, a guitar case, an amplifier, a podium adorned with sheet music and numerous suitcases with clothes strewn about. This sets the scene for the pivotal and moving story laid before us. Eric Davis Artistic Director of freeFall in his opening curtain speech informed the audience that an immediate replacement was needed for the role of Rosetta Tharpe and within 4 rehearsals the replacement took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd on opening night. Now in times like these you sit and wonder about the forthcoming endeavor, but all worry subsided when the ladies playing Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight graced us with their presence and incapsulating beautiful vocals that rendered the room speechless with every note.

In a place somewhere between Frog Level and Smyrna, NC, lies the Double Cupp Diner and Pump Boys Filling Station. Go on in and grab yourself a piece of pie! Rhetta and Prudie will take good care of you while Jim, L.M., Jackson, and Eddie top off your car. If you're lucky, you may even bear witness to some of the toe-tapping tunes they belt out. Though it's a lesser-known show, Pump Boys and Dinettes was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical and four Drama Desk Awards in 1982. It's more concert than musical, but the country/rock/blues score promises to give you a surprisingly entertaining hour and a half full of corny jokes and energetic performances.

Don't let The Weeklings fool you, spawned in Asbury Park, NJ, the foursome have become an impressive rock 'n' roll ensemble, at once classic but thoroughly up to the moment. The Weeklings will release the new studio album, 3 on January 17 via Marty Scott's legendary indie Jem Records. Today, they share the video for “I Want You Again”, evoking the 60's era of jangling guitars, winsome harmonies, and indelible melodies. Watch below!

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.