By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Cindy Blackman Santana
There will be two shows in the area this weekend featuring music acts which have been based in cities around the world and now call Las Vegas home – Cindy Blackman Santana Band at City Winery and ASIA featuring John Payne at the Sellersville Theater.
Cindy Blackman Santana, a world-renowned drummer and bandleader, is bringing her wildly popular and vibrant ensemble, the Cindy Blackman Santana Band, to City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, www.citywinery.com)
on October 23.
Like Payne, Santana is a Las Vegas resident. Also like Payne, she has a new album set to be released in spring 2026.
“The new album is called ‘Coherence,’” said Santana, during a phone interview Tuesday from a tour stop in New York.
“We recorded it in October 2024 at The Hideout, a studio in Las Vegas. It’s a really good studio – amazing sound quality. Some of the special guests on the album are Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin.”
NFL fans have likely heard Santana play whether they know it or not. She anchors ESPN’s Monday Night Football anthem — the fiery “In the Air Tonight” with Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton.
Santana is a virtuoso drummer whose artistry spans the realms of jazz and rock. As a bandleader and musician, she is a sound innovator with a passion for pushing creative boundaries and exploring movement and change.
She is as known for the nuances and colors she brings to her beats and fills as she is for the sheer power of her soulful playing.
“I was drawn to music – and to drumming – ever since I was a small child,” said Santana. “I asked for a drum kit and got my first one when I was seven.
“There was always a lot of instruments in our family. I had an uncle who played vibes and accordion.
“Both my grandmothers sang, and my mom’s mother was a classical singer. My mom played violin and my sister sang. That was all in Ohio.”
Santana and her family lived in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
When Blackman was 11, she moved to Bristol, Connecticut, where she attended the Hartt School of Music in Hartford.
“From Hartford, I went to college at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and studied harmony and composition. After that, I moved to New York City.”
From the beginning of her career as a busking street performer in New York City in the ’80s through the present day, Santana has been touring the globe and making albums with artists including Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Buckethead, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela, and Angela Bofill.
“One my earliest gigs in New York was to play in the Drifters’ band,” said Santana. “It was very interesting. It was not my cup of tea musically, but I appreciated the gig. I needed the money.
“I did a two-month stint with them at a Caribbean resort in St. Thomas. Then, we came back and toured up the East Coast to Philly.
“I had the first band of my own – Spontaneous Combustion — in my first year at Berklee. My first New York band was in 1987.”
Santana writes, records and performs with her own bands — Another Lifetime and Cindy Blackman Santana Group. Another Lifetime released its critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2010.
In 2011, she joined forces with Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce and John Medeski to form the critically acclaimed Spectrum Road, which released an album and tour dedicated to the music of Tony Williams.
From 1992-2007 and again in 2014 and 2015, Santana was the drummer in Lenny Kravitz’s band, performing through multiple world tours and hit albums.
“When I was on the road with Lenny, we were doing a show at a festival in Germany,” said Santana. “That’s when I got introduced to Carlos (Santana).
“In 2010, Carlos needed a drummer to sub for Dennis Chambers. That’s when Carlos and I really met. Seven months after we met, we got married. In 2016, I became a band member of Santana.”
Carlos proposed to Cindy during a July 2010 concert, and they married in December 2010.
Her drumming can be heard on multiple Santana albums, including “Power of Peace” with the Isley Brothers (2017), the EP “In Search of Mona Lisa” (2019), “Africa Speaks” (2019), and “Blessings and Miracles” (2021).
Her solo album “Give the Drummer Some” (2020) and subsequent touring with the Cindy Blackman Santana Band highlights songs that span the realm of jazz, rock, and funk.
According to Santana, “To me, music is completely spiritual, it’s the way you connect with your higher self — with the universe.
“It’s also a way to share light with millions of people. They don’t need to speak your language, have your beliefs, or be in the same place you are.
“The music speaks. It channels good energy and makes a difference in people’s lives. Carlos and I are both conscious of doing that.”
Santana has another project happening – The Project of Three.
This band has Orianthi on guitar, Rhonda Smith on bass and Santana on drums.
“Our album is close to being finished,” said Santana. “We recorded it in Vegas – at Studio A, at the Hideout and at The Tune Factory and at a couple studios on L.A.
“When people ask me what kind of music I play, I tell them – creative music. If they get it and ask more, I tell them that it’s jazz with influence from rock and funk.”
Video link for the Cindy Blackman Santana Band – https://youtu.be/GCrWkfDzTEA.
The show at City Winery will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25, $30, $35, $40 and $50.
Other upcoming shows at the City Winery are Tim Cappello on October 25, Robert Gee on October 25, Resurrection of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ Band on October 26, Carminho on October 27 and Cold on October 29.
ASIA
The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) will present ASIA featuring John Payne on October 25.
Asia is an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful lineup was its original. It consisted of lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton (King Crimson, Uriah Heep and U.K.), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes and the Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer).
There were numerous personnel changes over the years.
Another highly successful and long-running version of Asia ran from 1992-2007 and featured a nucleus of Downes and vocalist/bassist John Payne.
In early 2006, Downes left for a reunion of the original band lineup under the Asia name, a breakup that Payne described as “painful.” The existing lineup (minus Downes) continued for a short while before morphing into GPS.
Following Downes’ departure in May 2006, Payne, Downes, Wetton, Palmer and Howe contractually agreed that Payne could continue his 15-year period with Asia as ASIA featuring John Payne.
When Payne was fronting Asia, the band released eight stunning studio albums including “Aqua” (1992), “Aria” (1994), “Arena,” (1996), “Rare” (1999), “Aura” (2001) and “Silent Nation” (2004). Asia also put out several live recordings.
ASIA featuring John Payne debuted in 2007 with Payne on vocals/bass, Guthrie Govan on guitar, Erik Norlander on keyboards and Jay Schellen on drums.
Downes, Wetton, Palmer and Howe continued to perform and record Asia from that point on.
Since then, ASIA featuring John Payne has released one studio album, “Recollections: A Tribute to British Prog” (2014), one live album, “Extended Versions/Scandinavia” (2007), one EP, “Military Man” (2009) and one single, “Seasons Will Change” (2012).
Payne and his band perform a fan-friendly show with a set list covering all of Asia’s incarnations and hits.
Like Santana, Payne is a Las Vegas resident. Also like Santana, he and his band have a new album set to be released in spring 2026.
“You have to do a fair balance between new and old,” said Payne, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon during a break from a band rehearsal in Las Vegas.
“There are definitely a lot of songs that we have to continue playing. The music has to go on.”
Payne grew up in the U.K. but has lived in the states for several decades.
“I grew up in Hertfordshire (20 miles north of London) but Las Vegas has been my home since 2013,” said Payne.
“Before that, it was L.A. A lot of musicians have moved to Las Vegas from L.A. Actually, a lot of musicians from all around the world have come here.
“I dedicated my life to music. I’ve never taken any time off since I joined Asia in 1992. I started playing guitar when I was eight years old and started banjo when I was 14.
“I started playing gigs when I was 16. A few years later, I moved to London. Payne’s first band was called Moonstone.
“In London, he provided backing vocals on several solo albums by Roger Daltrey, including “Under a Raging Moon” (1985) and “Can’t Wait to See the Movie” (1987).
“Working with Roger on ‘Under the Raging Moon’ was my first big break. I just saw The Who play here in Las Vegas a few days ago and they’re still great.”
ASIA featuring John Payne has a new album in the works.
“The new album will be finished by the end of the year,” said Payne, who has also played or recorded with Dukes of the Orient, Intelligent Music Project, GPS, The Passion, Geoff Downes NDO, CCCP, Lunatica and Lisa LaRue.
“I’m recording it at my own studio – Loco Studio here in Las Vegas. It’s a great studio with a huge amount of analog gear. The recordings end up in Pro-Tools but everything along the way is all analog.
“The album will be released in the spring and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be very cathartic for us.
“Albums are a self-indulgent thing. It’s an enjoyable process. I really enjoy recording music. I’m so lucky to be doing what I love to do.
“The set list for this weekend’s show has old and new – songs from my era and back to 1982. There won’t be any new songs.
“We will play a lot of songs from the past that fans want to hear like “Heat of the Moment,” “Who Will Stop the Rain,” “The Heat Goes On,” “Wildest Dreams,” “Sole Survivor,” “Go” and “Time Again.”
Video link for ASIA featuring John Payne — https://youtu.be/pq0QFu1H18A.
The show on October 25, which has Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $59.50.
Other upcoming shows at the venue are “Hollywood Nights – America’s Bob Seger Experience” on October 24, “SPLISH SPLASH – The Music of Bobby Darin” on October 26, Priscilla Presley on October 26, Ashes & Arrows on October 28 and Ronnie Baker Brooks on October 29.
The Autumn Defense — Pat Sansone and John Stirrat — will play Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com) on October 25 in support of their long-anticipated just-released sixth studio album, “Here and Nowhere.”
Like John Payne and Cindy Blackman Santana, Sansone was invited years ago to join an internationally acclaimed veteran band and jumped at the opportunity.
The Autumn Defense began as a side project for Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for alt-country bands Wilco and Uncle Tupelo. In 1999, Stirratt began collaborating with friend Pat Sansone, known for his work with Joseph Arthur and Josh Rouse, to produce 1960s-style rock/pop.
“John and I have been friends since the mid-90s,” said Sansone, who grew up in Meridian, Mississippi.
“We were both involved in the Mississippi music scene. John was living in Oxford with his sister. I was in Hattiesburg studying at the University of Southern Mississippi.
“Later, I moved to New Orleans. John was already in New Orleans at the time. Once I got there, we started hanging around together.
“We were on the same wavelength musically. We really like the music of the late 60s and early 70s.
“John had written a handful of songs that he was looking to do so we got together on that.”
Their debut album, “The Green Hour,” was released on Stirratt’s own Broadmoor label, with Stirratt doing the bulk of the writing while Sansone focused on the technical recording aspects.
“That album came out in 2000,” said Sansone. “We started working on it in 1999. He was the main songwriter. All the songs on the album were written by him. On ‘Circles,’ our second album, that’s when I started to write.
“Usually, we write separately and bring it to each other. I’ve been producing our records. We have a great band, and we all collaborate.”
The Autumn Defense has maintained the same core lineup for almost 20 years. Along with Stirratt and Sansone, there is the veteran rhythm section of James Haggerty on bass and Greg Wieczorek on drums.
The band’s other previous albums were “The Autumn Defense” (2007), “Once Around” (2010) and “Fifth” (2014).
The previously mentioned act by Sansone of joining a well-established popular band did not refer to his part in The Autumn Defense.
In 1994, Stirratt joined Jeff Tweedy, Ken Coomer, and Max Johnston to found Wilco. Three decades later, Wilco is still going strong.
In 2005, Wilco decided to substantially change the lineup after Leroy Bach’s departure by adding Sansone and avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline to the lineup.
“Jeff Tweedy played guitar on our ‘Circles’ album,” said Sansone, who has his own radio show, “The Baroque Down Palace,” on WYXR in Memphis (www.baroqudownpalace.com).
“When John and I were touring the album, I was asked to join Wilco. I was already a part of the extended Wilco family.”
Wilco will resume shows on October 29 but, for right now, Stirratt and Sansone are focusing their attention on The Autumn Defense.
Video link for The Autumn Defense — https://youtu.be/XJQv6ibTpbQ.
The show at Ardmore Music Hall, which will have Jim Boggia as the opener, will start at 8 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $25.
Other upcoming acts at AMH are Melvin Seals and JGB on October 23 and 24, Town Mountain and Cris Jacobs on October 26 and Cam with Anna Vaus on October 29.
A band with a mission will be on the menu for this weekend when Bees Deluxe headlines a show at Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).
“We’ve qualified to compete in the 2026 International Blues Challenge in Memphis,” said guitarist Conrad Warre, during a phone interview Tuesday evening from his home in Boston.
“We just won our division at the Granite State Blues Society Blues Challenge 2025. That qualified us to perform at the huge festival in Memphis.”
The band also has a new album to celebrate – “Smash Hits.”
“We recorded it here in Boston at Tight Squeeze Studio in Hyde Park,” said Warre. “Joe Egan was the producer.
“It’s a mixture of recent songs and some that are still around from four years ago. Half of them are new and there are also a few covers.”
“Smash Hits” includes reimagined classics by Fenton Robinson, Otis Rush, Robert Cray and Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bees Deluxe originals that push the envelope of contemporary blue, a poignant tribute to JR Rost with Carol Band’s “How to Play 96 Tears” and resurrected studio gems like “Kidnap” and “King of Bad Luck.”
“The album has 40 minutes and 10 songs,” said Warre. “We’re an album band. We’re not interested in putting out singles. This album has a life of its own.”
Bees Deluxe was formed by Warre, a highly respected British guitar ace.
“I grew up in London,” said Warre. “I went to a Quaker boarding school that had a lot of U.S. students.
“One of them gave me a blues compilation album with songs by Johnny Winter, Little Walter and B.B. King.
“In high school, I was in a band with Paul Kossoff. Paul later went on to be a guitarist with the band Free.
“I got a degree in graphic design. When I got out of college, I realized I didn’t want to do graphic design.”
Music was a prime alternative.
“I’m from London – from Notting Hill Gate, where the riots were,” said Warre. “I wrote Two-Tone music and toured with The English Beat and Joe Jackson. I moved to New York and played a lot at CBGB’s.
“I found Carol playing jazz at Ryles Jazz Club in Boston. I got Paul in the band because he knew who Bernard Purdie was. Jim was a friend of his and they played country blues together.”
Bees Deluxe has played with Ronnie Earl, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Matt Schofield, Roomful of Blues, Walter Trout and David Maxwell.
The four-piece band celebrates the music of B.B. King, Robert Cray, Albert King, Tinsley Ellis, Freddie King and others.
So, the band’s background includes blues, rock, English ska, punk rock, jazz and country rock. Its current sound is all of that – and none of that.
“Our sound is more modern – more progressive – more edge,” said Band.
Band is a classically trained pianist who was recruited while playing jazz in Boston’s club scene. She also writes tunes and wows audiences with her blazing harmonica solos.
Warre, who is a British football fan and supporter of the Arsenal Gunners, said, “The communality is acid rock and blues. So many bands play the same songs the same way every night.
“When we play, we stretch it out and change it always. Arrangements are made up on the fly.”
Bees Deluxe push the limits of the blues, color outside the lines of convention, and do it with impeccable musicality, originality, and a touch of insanity.
“This kind of music appeals to fans of all ages – if they get to hear it,” said Warre. “We’re at our best when people are dancing.
“Or if they’re hooting and hollering. We adjust our music to the audience. If it’s not a dance crowd, we can stretch it out.
“We don’t play a standard blues band repertoire. A lot of blues bands play the same few songs such as ‘Born Under a Bad Sign,’ ‘Spoonful,’ and ‘The Thrill Is Gone.’ It’s really repetitive.
“I pick songs that other blues bands don’t – for example songs by J. B. Lenoir. We like to discover songs that are off the beaten path.
In 2018, Bees Deluxe released their all-original acid-blues album, “Voice of Dog,” which was produced by Joe Egan on Slapping Cat Records.
The band’s CD, “Mouthful of Bees,” which features an original sound that they call “acid blues,” was produced by Egan and Warre. It includes three originals and seven classic blues songs re-interpreted by the band.
“Our repertoire has about 60 covers – most of which are deep cuts — and 40 originals,” said Warre. “You’re in danger if you play too many originals.”
“We’ve played Jamey’s before. It’s like dying and going to heaven.”
Band added, “The people are there for the music.”
Video link for Bees Deluxe — https://youtu.be/9Ae6It4EEL0.
The show at Jamey’s House of Music on October 25, which has the Corty Byron Band as opener will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Other upcoming acts at Jamey’s are AC Steel and the Perpetrators on October 23 and The Jad Tariq Band and The Philly Blues Kings featuring Clarence Spady on October 26.
“The Unexpected 3rd: A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive” is now running through October 26 at People’s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, www.peopleslight.org).
The Obie-winning artist’s solo show explores getting old, dealing with identity and reinvention with fierce humor and radical honesty.
This raw, poetic and darkly funny show invites audiences into Grody’s intimate reflections on aging, identity and staying true to one’s self — no matter what the world expects of you.
Following sold-out readings at the 2024 Kiln New Works Festival at People’s Light, “The Unexpected 3rd” returns to the theatre that helped spark its development, now taking center stage as the season opener.
According to Grody, “The transition into elderhood is not just bewildering but equal parts empowering, mysterious and absurd. “This show is about living truthfully, unapologetically and with unyielding curiosity at 78 and beyond. It feels especially right to debut it at People’s Light, a place that embraces honesty, complexity and the full spectrum of being human.”
Directed by acclaimed regional theatre director and Grody’s longtime friend and collaborator Timothy Near, the production playfully blurs the line between personal monologue and theatrical memoir, inviting audiences of all generations to reflect on what it means to grow older in a culture obsessed with staying young.
At its core, “The Unexpected 3rd” is a dynamic and real-time contemplation of a universal question: What happens when you’re no longer who you were but not yet someone else?
“The Unexpected 3rd” through October 26 on the Steinbright Stage at People’s Light.
Ticket prices start at $35.
The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, candlelighttheatredelaware.org) is presenting “Ragtime: The Musical” now through October 26.
“Ragtime” blends fictional narratives with authentic historical figures and events.
The story focuses on Coalhouse Walker, Jr., — and his beloved Sarah. Walker is a Black pianist who buys a Model T Ford and sets off a series of events that span all levels of New York City society
It also features magician Harry Houdini, industrialist Henry Ford, celebrity party girl Evelyn Nesbit, civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, architect Stanford White, anarchist Emma Goldman, a wealthy white family living in suburban New Rochelle led by matriarch Mother and Tateh (a Jewish Latvian immigrant who becomes a movie director) and his little girl.
The show explores themes of racism, injustice, hope, and dreams amid the changes in society, music, and culture rising in New York City — and across America.
Three social castes in turn-of-the-century New York introduce themselves to the audience.
The first is an upper-class white family from New Rochelle — the Little Boy (Edgar), his Father (who runs a fireworks factory), Mother, Mother’s Younger Brother, and Grandfather. They live a genteel life and enjoy a lack of racial and ethnic diversity.
The second is the Black residents of Harlem, including a beautiful young woman named Sarah, who adores the pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr.
The third are immigrants from Europe on the Lower East Side, among them “Tateh,” a Jewish artist from the Baltic states and his young daughter.
These three worlds are connected by narration from the luminaries — J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Booker T. Washington, Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini, and Evelyn Nesbit.
Even though “Ragtime” is set in the early 20th century, it shares troubling topics with today’s world – stifling prejudice, xenophobia and unrelenting racism.
The show will run now through October 26.
Tickets, which include pre-show dinner and free parking, are $75.50 for adults, $35 for children (ages 4-12) and $35 for “Show Only.”
Dinner and Show times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances, 6 p.m. for meal and 8 p.m. for show; Sunday Matinees, 1 p.m. for meal and 3 p.m. for show.
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is hosting Kim Richey on October 24, “Rocky Horror Picture Show” film screening and live show featuring music by Formal Dress Optional on October 25 and Lucy Kaplansky on October 26.
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) will present The Laugh Lounge on October 23, “Carole King Meets the Beatles” on October 24 and Grateful Dub on October 25.
Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com) will have Countdown to Ecstasy on October 24, “Hollywood Nights: The Bob Seger Experience” on October 25, and “Wind & Bone: Special FREE Movie Premiere!” on October 28.
