On Friday, August 1 Joe Holt, the Mainstay’s resident impresario and piano accompanist welcomes vocalist Sharon Sable and guitarist E. Shawn Qaissaunee for a concert evening of The Great Songwriters of The Twentieth Century. Selections from their playlist will include familiar favorites from Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael, to Carole King and Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder. This “First Friday” show will have something for everyone.

Sharon Sable, based in Wilmington DE, performs regularly with the region’s finest jazz musicians. Her repertoire includes both popular and lesser-known gems of the Great American Songbook and other timeless music from the 20th century. Her newest album, recorded with pianist Joe Holt (“Once Upon a Summertime, the Music of Blossom Dearie”) has been called “mesmerizing” and “exquisite” by regional music critics, and has received generous airplay on local and national jazz radio programs.

E. Shawn Qaissaunee has been in demand as a multi-instrumentalist and composer/arranger in the Delmarva area for over thirty years. Sought out for his talents on guitar, bass, piano, percussion and the rubab and dutar (two instruments from his native Afghanistan), Shawn is known for his musical virtuosity, sensitivity, lyricism and spirited creative energy in the jazz tradition.

Showtime for the live concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

 

On Friday, July 25 the Mainstay in Rock Hall welcomes a return appearance by the “soul music sax-man” Eddie Baccus Jr. Baccus came to the attention of a Mainstay audience last September at the Mainstay’s annual outdoor Gala.  The enthusiastically received 11-piece soul group Motown and More provided the entertainment, but Eddie’s solos as he left the stage and paraded through the guest tables stole the show.

From 1995 to 2010 Baccus recorded and toured with the famed urban jazz ensemble Pieces of a Dream. Since that time, he has been recording and performing live with a powerful group of professional musicians who live in the Beltway region (Maryland and Northern Virginia). He describes his sound as “lush, soulful and funky.” Like his hero Grover Washington Jr, Baccus Jr switches artfully between soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. His music is driven by the simple desire to connect with audience: “I always want to make music that is fun but that is also timeless and heartfelt.

During his career Baccus has had the privilege of performing with a virtual Who’s Who in the traditional jazz, urban jazz and R&B worlds: Luther Vandross, Grover Washington Jr, Regina Carter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, The Average White Band, and Stevie Wonder.

On a national and international scale, Baccus Jr has shined on the stages of many noteworthy venues including: The World Trade Center-NYC; Blue Note-NYC & Tokyo; Sydney Opera House-Sydney, Australia; The Village Vanguard-NYC. He has also played the national and international jazz festival circuit to include but not limited to: the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

On Saturday, June 21, The Mainstay, in partnership with the Hedgelawn Foundation, welcomes a return visit from one of Kent County’s favorite bluegrass groups, The High and Wides.

The High and Wides were formed in 2015, and have roots both in Baltimore and the Eastern Shore. They draw on a shared background playing straight ahead bluegrass, but weave in influences from new wave to old time to make music that evokes the era before country, bluegrass, rockabilly, western swing, and rock’n’roll broke off into separate and strictly defined genres.

They have released two full-length albums of original music, 2018’s “Lifted” (Lifted” reached #10 on Billboard’s bluegrass chart and was hailed as “quietly revolutionary” by David Bromberg in No Depression magazine).   and 2019’s “Seven True Stories”. In March 2022 they released their first album of covers, “Blood”, which pays tribute to exemplars of the two-part “brother duet” singing style that first inspired the formation of the band.

Members are Marc Dykeman (guitar, vocals), Sam Guthridge (banjo, mandolin, vocals), Nate Grower (fiddle), and Mike Buccino (bass).

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall,

Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

The programs of the Mainstay are also supported in part with funding from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

On Saturday, May 17 The Mainstay in Rock Hall is thrilled to welcome Creole jazz banjo legend Don Vappie. Vappie is descended from a long line of jazz musicians from the river parishes of New Orleans. He plays with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (one of the most illustrious bands ever to appear at The Mainstay) and Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, fan favorites of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His music credits include performances at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis and recordings with Bette Midler, Terrence Blanchard, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Eric Clapton, and many others. His film credits include American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, Zora Neal Hurston: Jump At The , and the television series Treme.

Vappie also teaches jazz guitar at Loyola University in New Orleans and is an expert on the history of Creole music.

In addition, he has received awards for his contributions to the preservation of New Orleans Creole Culture through music and film. He has produced 7 of his own albums, co-produced and starred in a PBS documentary, performed as a featured artist with orchestras on movie and television soundtracks, and at concerts and festivals around the world. It is said that Vappie’s highly regarded unique and original tenor banjo style is equal only to his love of his Creole heritage and tradition.

On Saturday, May 10, The Mainstay welcomes nationally celebrated singer/songwriter Vance Gilbert. Vance Gilbert is one of the principal players on the national folk scene, and one of the originators of the R&B/Folk/Jazz crossover genre.

Starting out, he hoped to be an R&B and jazz singer but soon discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter genre. Word spread quickly about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing, and national recording artist Shawn Colvin invited him to be the opening act on her 1992 Fat City tour. In his 30-year career he has also shared the stage with artists as varied as Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, The Milk Carton Kids, and Southside Johnny. The mid 2000’s found Gilbert opening 150+ shows for comedian George Carlin.

Gilbert is known for his humorous, comfortable, improvisational stage manner. His repertoire has a wide range, covering Joni Mitchell one moment and doing what sounds like a jazz classic (but is actually his own) the next. Many songs tell profound stories and touch on important topics.

30 years into his career, the songwriter’s influence can be felt all over the contemporary national Folk and Americana scene as he has helped pave the way for many of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color musicians artists who have followed.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram described him as having “the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god.”  Richmond Magazine commented that “If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”.

Gilbert has also been a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings and halls, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge Folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, Mountain Stage, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Nashville’s Lyman Auditorium, and The Barns at Wolftrap.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall,

On Friday, May 2, Joe Holt, the host and accompanist for the Mainstay’s First Friday series, has come up with another intriguing gathering of talent for his monthly show. Joe will share the stage with jazz/ Klezmer clarinetist Seth Kibel and bluegrass fiddler Nate Grower.

Nate Grower is perhaps best known as the fiddle player for superstar David Bromberg’s band. He has played with the late Allen Toussaint, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, John Oates (of Hall and Oates), KebMo, and Arlo Guthrie.

Seth Kibel is highly regarded as a jazz and ethnic Klezmer music sax and clarinet player. He is the winner of 28 Washington Area Music Awards (Best World Music Instrumentalist and Best Jazz Instrumentalist).

The evening celebrates what Klezmer, bluegrass, and jazz have in common – improvisation.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall,

 

On Friday, April 25 the Mainstay is excited to present the legendary blues and “roots rock” band The Nighthawks. The group was founded in Washington, D.C. more than 40 years ago by Little Walter-disciple Mark Wenner.  The musical product of AM radio in D.C., Werner did not know there were rules against mixing blues, R&B, honky-tonk country, doo-wop, gospel and rockabilly into one delicious stew. The result was a work-every-night band based on American roots music. The Nighthawks subsequently survived all the professional and personal struggles of keeping a band afloat for more than four decades. But they soldiered-on for four decades, along the way playing with the great blues masters, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Gregg Allman, Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, and John Lee Hooker. And despite their notoriety, awards, and international acclaim they remain a roll-up-your-sleeves/ drive to the next gig/ carry your own gear up the steps and make people happy kind of band. After all these years, they still maintain an incredible touring schedule and continue to add to their growing repertoire.

Today, the band’s lineup consists of Mark Wenner on vocals and harmonica; Johnny Castle on vocals and bass; Paul Bell on guitar; Mark Stutso on drums and vocals.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets

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The Mainstay Presents Its Next Free Singer/ Songwriter showcase

On Sunday, April 27, the Mainstay in Rock Hall is pleased to host another Singer/ Songwriter Showcase concert event. The idea for the Showcase is the brainchild of The Mainstay’s ongoing Delmarva Singer/Songwriter Association that meets monthly. The Showcase features an afternoon of original music written and performed by over a dozen local singer/ songwriters who share the stage in small groups in a Nashville-style “round” format and then take turns performing selections of their original music.

The show will feature award-winning songwriters as well as up and coming local and regional artists.  The list of performers includes Ashley Chapa, Stephanie Aston Jones, Tom Chirip, Julie Derrick, Don Clark, Jerry DiAngelo, Mark Einstein, Frank Hogans, Jimmy Jimmy, Barbara Parker, Nick Ray, Dave Simmons, and Scott Wells

The showcase starts at 4 PM and there is no charge for admission, but donations are appreciated. The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

 

 

On Saturday, April 12, The Mainstay in Rock Hall is pleased to once again present vocalist Karen Somerville in a new retrospective tribute show about the legendary Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.

Somerville is a favorite on the Eastern Shore for her stylish vocal arrangements and her ability to interpret and convincingly deliver a wide variety of musical genres. Her name has long been associated with the shows she has produced for solo and group performances, including programs of Gospel, Blues, jazz, and folk music.

Mainstay founder, Tom McHugh described Somerville as “a jazz singer, par excellence.” She is a favorite of regional audiences for her jazz vocals that are by turns sweet, sassy and sultry. She has received high praise for her performances with the Gospel trio Sombarkin’ and the New Gospelites, and for her stunning performance as Bob Kaufman’s muse in Robert Earl Price’s play “The Golden Sardine.”

Karen has also done back-up vocal work for numerous artists, including Stevie Wonder on his “Songs in the Key of Life” 2014 tour, and she has produced 3 albums: “Everyday Is Sunday, the heritage of a cappella gospel”, “Love Cures”, and “Our Stories, Our Songs”.

American Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson peaked the popularity of gospel blues in black churches during a time when racial segregation was pervasive in America. She sold an estimated 22 million records and performed in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world.

Accompanying Karen on the Mainstay stage will be Gerry Werner on piano, Jeff Davis on bass, Ray Anthony on drums, Van Albert on acoustic guitar, and Steve McGovern on harmonica.