Will Lee News

Dayton, get ready to hear about the 'most amazing book' with The Book of Mormon, running Aug. 28 through Sept. 1. at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and Boeing partner to present the annual citywide summer tradition, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks.

 The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present Broadway legend Patti LuPone on Saturday, July 20 at 8:00pm, and The Fab Faux performing a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road on Friday, August 2 at 8:00pm. Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe members on Thursday, December 20 and to the general public on Friday, December 28. Mahaiwe members enjoy ticket discounts, early ordering privileges, and other perks for a full 12 months. Memberships start at $75 ($35 for those 30 and under) and contributions can be made at the box office or online.

Celebrated within the jazz community as a multi-talented musician, Lisa Maxwell, finally releases a long-awaited album of her own material, dedicated to a special cohort. The lineup reads like a Who's Who of the music world (see personnel below).

The most musically satisfying Beatles tribute band and State Theatre audience favorite returns performing a hodgepodge of Beatles' hits! With a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, The Fab Faux treat the seminal music with unwavering respect, and are known for their painstaking recreations of the songs (with emphasis on the later works never performed live by the Beatles).

The holidays are Rob Mathes' favorite time of year - they are the time that Mathes returns home to the Greenwich, Connecticut, area and performs his annual Holiday Concert. This year's concerts are December 14 and 15 at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, and December 16 at the Schimmel Center in New York City. All three concerts are sold out and will feature Rob Mathes, his all-star band, his choir of 'Saints and Friends' and special guests Sting, Vanessa Williams and David Sanborn who will join Rob for a few holiday-themed songs at the Performing Arts Center. Sting and Vanessa Williams will also join Mathes at the Schimmel Center on Sunday for a few songs.

The holidays are Rob Mathes' favorite time of year - they are the time that Mathes returns home to the Greenwich, Connecticut, area and performs his annual Holiday Concert. This year's concerts are December 14 and 15 at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, and December 16 at the Schimmel Center in New York City. All three concerts are sold out and will feature Rob Mathes, his all-star band, his choir of 'Saints and Friends' and special guests Sting, Vanessa Williams and David Sanborn who will join Rob for a few holiday-themed songs at the Performing Arts Center. Sting and Vanessa Williams will also join Mathes at the Schimmel Center on Sunday for a few songs.

For the first time ever, Lee Mack's multi award-winning hit show, Not Going Out, is going out LIVE on BBC One this Christmas. 

Emmy winner and Grammy, Tony, and Drama Desk-nominated arranger and composer, music producer/director, and singer/songwriter Rob Mathes returns to the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, on Friday, December 14, and Saturday, December 15, at 8:00 p.m., for the annual Rob Mathes Holiday Concert. Rob is celebrating 25 years of performing his annual holiday concert and is honored to be joined this year by special guests Sting, Vanessa Williams and saxophonist David Sanborn, who will each perform a couple holiday-themed songs with Rob and the band. Tickets are available at artscenter.org or by calling the Performing Arts Center Box Office at 914-251-6200.

Emmy winner and Grammy, Tony, and Drama Desk-nominated arranger and composer, music producer/director, and singer/songwriter Rob Mathes returns to the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, on Friday, December 14, and Saturday, December 15, at 8:00 p.m., and the Schimmel Center, Sunday, December 16, at 4:00 p.m., for the annual Rob Mathes Holiday Concert. Rob is celebrating 25 years of performing his annual holiday concert and is honored to be joined this year by special guests Sting, Vanessa Williams and saxophonist David Sanborn, who will each perform a couple holiday-themed songs with Rob and the band. 

This Fall, The Iridium will showcase the songwriters and session musicians behind the biggest rock and pop anthems of all-time. Kicking off “Legends in Session” September 25-27 will be guitarist Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big; multi-Platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee Joan Osborne on September 28 & 29; The Edgar Winter Band on October 5 & 6, Carl Palmer playing the best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer on October 21-23, ZZ Top's Billy F Gibbons on October 30 & 31, and Richie Kotzen of The Winery Dogs and Poison on November 2-4.

With a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, The Fab Faux (featuring Jimmy Vivino from 'Conan' and legendary bassist, Will Lee) treat the seminal music with unwavering respect, and are known for their painstaking recreations of the songs (with emphasis on the later works never performed live by the Beatles). Far beyond a cover band, they play the music of The Beatles so impeccably that one must experience it to believe it. Imagine hearing complex material like 'Strawberry Fields Forever' or 'I Am the Walrus' performed in complete part-perfect renditions; or such harmony-driven songs as 'Because', 'Nowhere Man', and 'Paperback Writer', reproduced not only note-for-note, but with extra vocalists to achieve a double-tracked effect.

Born and raised in vibrantly multicultural Jamaica, Queens in New York City, singer-songwriter Morley is more than a musician — she is an artist who uses music as a tool for conflict resolution and dialogue facilitation with youth and adults at home and abroad. This is quite apparent in her lyrics, especially those in her sixth studio album, Thousand Miles, distributed by Six Degrees Records and set for release on October 5, 2018.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with The Cookers, Perry Joslin, The Emmet Cohen Trio, and more!

Singer-Songwriter, Steven Blane, returns with the release of his new album, So New York, switching his usual Americana style for a jazzy sound. The album is a collection of ten original love songs to New York City, including his single 'Central Park'. Steven has never shied away from exploring genres.

Veteran keyboardist David Garfield entered the year with a single in the Billboard Top 10 (“Go Home”) before announcing the details of his ambitious recording project, “Outside the Box.” The multidisc, multi-genre series of albums trickling out over a multi-year span features high-wattage assemblages of Grammy winners, legends, hit-makers and prominent musicians including members of the Zac Brown Band, Steely Dan, Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, The Doors, Chicago, Toto, Tower of Power and The Meters.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts:

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and Boeing partner to present the annual citywide summer tradition, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. Made possible by production sponsor BMO Harris Bank, 25 performances of Shakespeare's timeless classic A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted and directed by the Theater's founder and artistic director Barbara Gaines, will tour free for all to 18 neighborhood parks across the City, July 25-August 26, 2018.

THE MORMONS ARE COMING! It's a banner week for Midlands stages as BOOK OF MORMON takes up residency at the Koger Center, Workshop opens STRING OF PEARLS, Trustus closes CONSTANCE, and Town continues HAIRSPRAY!

Newcomer, 11-year old rock n roll prodigy, Kjersti Long will headline Friday, March 23rd at 6pm at The Bitter End on Bleecker. Accompanied by Nashville's Born Crooked; Hunter Wolfe (guitar, vocals) and Are Wolfe (drums), Kjersti, pronounced 'care-stee' will perform classic rock and original songs at the iconic club.