Stevie Wonder News

Electric Youth (EY), the international touring ensemble of singer-dancers trained at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA), debuts in England and France this summer. EY departs August 5 for two weeks abroad, marking the group's 10th European concert tour. Performance venues include Disneyland Paris and Barfleur's Courtyard Les Amuseurs, along the coast of Normandy, as well as theatres in Bristol, London, Wimborne and Windsor. The group also will enjoy guided historical tours in many of the regions visited.

Just back from a tour of Europe with James 'Blood' Ulmer's Odyssey band, industry veteran drummer Warren Benbow releases HARMOLODIC ADVENTURE. Benbow created the album using Alessis electronic drums with a series of one take overdubs. Does this sound like a machine or a real drumset? Take a listen and decide!

EVOLUTION OF LOVE tells a traditional love story with some of music's most loved songs. Bret Shuford and Missy Schmotzer use popular songs from all genres, including songs from Carrie Underwood, 'Footloose,' Shania Twain, 'Dirty Dancing,' Cole Porter, Stevie Wonder, Sheena Easton and more, to explore the ups and downs of falling (and staying) in love! This one night only musical evening will be performed tonight, July 30 at 7:00 pm at Stage72 (formerly The Triad), 158 West 72nd Street.

MUSE/IQUE, known for its counter-conventional performances that feel more like parties than formal concerts, wraps 'Summer of Sound' 2013 with 'Lose Your Senses with Ellis Hall' featuring Hall, Tower of Power's lead singer and keyboardist who electrifies with his five octave range and tears it up with the Selah Gospel Choir to unchain the soul sounds of great musicians like Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and even Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi on Saturday, August 17, 2013, 7:30 pm, outdoors at Caltech's Beckman Mall in Pasadena. They join Caltech physicist Sean Carroll and MUSE/IQUE Artistic Director Rachael Worby, who conducts the MUSE/IQUE Orchestra for a pure out-of the-box adventure that also celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Maurice Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are' with a world premiere of a dance set to the score of Spike Jonze' critically acclaimed film adaptation of the beloved children's book. Gates open at 5:30 pm for dinner (ordered in advance) or bring-your-own picnics, with table seating and plentiful free parking.

Barbarossa, (aka James Mathé), releases his new album Bloodlines on August 5th(UK) and August 6th (US).

Theatre Aspen is presenting a staged reading of the new musical Cross That River today, July 28th, at the Hurst Theatre in Aspen, Colorado. The musical is subtitled 'a new musical about the black west' with a book by Allan & Pat Harris and music and lyrics by Allan Harris (based on an original story by Allan & Pat Harris). Regge Life is the director.

Summer Guitar Fest will be presented tonight, July 28, 2013 at 7:00 pm.

With the International Al Jolson Society's 17th Annual Long Island Festival just three weeks away (On August 17, from 9am to 4:30pm, at Oceanside Knights of Columbus, 2985 Kenneth Place, Oceanside, NY 11572.), BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Review/Columnist and passionate Al Jolson fan Stephen Hanks fantasizes about what it might be like to have a conversation with 'The World's Greatest Entertainer,' 53 years after he died. You ain't read nothin' yet.

MUSE/IQUE, known for its counter-conventional performances that feel more like parties than formal concerts, continues 'Summer of Sound' 2013 with 'Moving Pictures' featuring groundbreaking cellist Matt Haimovitz and Emmy Award-winning actress Wendie Malick ('Hot in Cleveland') in a fresh take on motion picture scores by Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Vangelis, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Erich Korngold as well as the world premiere of Sleepwalking, a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra with images by Peter Golub, prolific composer and director of Sundance's Film Music Program, tonight, July 27, 2013, 7:30 pm, outdoors at Caltech's Beckman Mall in Pasadena.

Tonight, July 27, 2013, SummerStage will present LIANNE LA HAVAS, LP, QUADRON and DJ sets by DJ CENTER in a FREE SHOW at Central Park, Manhattan. Recommended Arrival Time: 5:30pm. Showtime: 7:00 PM - 10:00PM.

The Alden in McLean, Virginia, announces its 2013-2014 season of international touring artists. Season highlights will include the return of the Alden's silent film with live music series, performances by the American Shakespeare Center on Tour, Theatre Unspeakable's 'Superman 2050,' and a rare chance to hear Broadway baritone Brian Stokes Mitchell in the intimate, 383-seat performing arts venue.

THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW reintroduces one of the signature elements of the original late-night series, The Posse, with an all new hand-picked group of musicians who have collectively played with legends spanning pop, soul, funk, hip hop, rock and R&B.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was proud to present Broadway's Lindsay Mendez (currently Elphaba in Wicked) and pianist Marco Paguia on the historic stage on Sunday, July 21. The event celebrated the release of their new recording, 'This Time.' Check out a look back at their performance below!

Perennial Los Angeles favorites Sasha's Bloc are set to release their new CD, Melancholy, September 17th via AG Entertainment . With a big-band sound that recalls the vibe of New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band infused with the Blues, a hint of Gypsy Jazz, contemporary jazz and swing, Sasha's Bloc have been playing to sold-out shows across Southern California for the past two years and have developed a loyal following across the country.

Devin Bing's show last Thursday night (the fourth of five dates at the Metropolitan Room over this spring and summer, with the next one on August 15) may have been performed in a cabaret club, but it was more a contemporary jazz/pop concert than it was a 'cabaret show.' The story theme on this occasion was 'Devin Bing,' as the ambitious young crooner strives to establish himself as the second coming of his musical hero Harry Connick, Jr., but with Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and Michael Buble colors in his cooly-delivered vocals of original tunes and covers of jazz and Great American Songbook classics. On stage, Bing conveys a confidence that verges on cockiness, but he sprinkles just enough self-deprecation on his swagger to avoid a flavor of smarminess.

Take a stroll down memory lane to relive the incredible harmonies and smooth moves made famous by such legendary recording artists as The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and The Supremes and many more. Centenary Stage Company's Jammin' in July Summer Concert Series welcomes the Masters of Motown to the Sitnik Theatre tonight, July 20th at 8 pm in the David and Carol Lackland Center at 715 Grand Avenue in Hackettstown.

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is geared up and ready for its second Friday Fest of the summer, tonight, July 19, from 5-9pm.

Theatre Aspen is presenting a staged reading of the new musical Cross That River on Sunday, July 28th, at the Hurst Theatre in Aspen, Colorado. The musical is subtitled 'a new musical about the black west' with a book by Allan & Pat Harris and music and lyrics by Allan Harris (based on an original story by Allan & Pat Harris). Regge Life is the director.

Multi Grammy winning singer/songwriter India.Arie has announced dates for her highly anticipated Soulbird Presents A SongVersation with India.Arie 2013 North American tour, set to kick off Saturday, September 21st in Seattle, WA. The multi-city trek will include a stop in Memphis, TN at the Orpheum Theatre on Sunday, October 27th. The tour comes in support of India's acclaimed fifth studio album SongVersation (Soulbird/ Motown Records) which released June 25th, received rave reviews, and marks her fifth #1 on the Billboard R&B Album Chart and fifth top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Lindsay Mendez has taken New York by storm over the past two years. She has received critical acclaim for her role as Rose in DOGFIGHT, and is currently starring in WICKED at the Gershwin Theater. That's just her day job, as Mendez recently released the album THIS TIME with her music partner Marco Paguia.