On April 16, the "Cow-Town Skankdown" will take place at Crabtree Brewery, featuring Colorado ska bands The Ruckus, The Potato Pirates, Ska Skank Redemption, The (mean) Time, Zach and the Big Daddies and The Bowlers, and Kansas ska band The A-Oks. The warehouse vibe, delicious, locally-brewed beer and extremely loud ska music should make for a great night of fun.
The Steve Denny Trio performs at The Kress Cinema and Lounge April 17, featuring current and former UNC students Steve Denny, Ben Waters and Marty Kenney. The Facebook invitation promises that Marty will take a shot of tequila every time he plays an open D string on his bass. Should be an interesting evening!
Another Crabtree Brewery event is the Springfest on May 1, featuring Ben Pu and Crew, Trichome and Bad Grammar Overload. The same line-up moves downtown to the Penalty Box May 7 for Rock the Box. Reggae, groove rock and some good, old-fashioned wailing electric guitar should make for two laid-back evenings.
And of course, I would be negligent if I failed to mention the 40th Annual UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival April 22-24. Over 7,500 musicians participate in the non-competitive festival each year. Each night, world-class jazz concerts take place. This year, Patti Austin, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and a Woody Herman Orchestra Tribute and Drum Summit with Jeff Hamilton, John Riley, and Ed Soph plus the Jazz Festival All-Star Big Band with Gene Aitken. The after-hours sessions at The Kress are not to be missed.
