{"id":26984,"date":"2022-11-22T09:20:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T14:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26984"},"modified":"2022-11-22T09:20:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T14:20:49","slug":"on-stage-boney-james-returns-to-philly-with-show-at-rivers-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26984","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Boney James returns to Philly with show at Rivers Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Boney James<\/p><\/div>\n

Boney James has performed at many venues in the Delaware Valley, South Jersey and Atlantic City. Boney James has released a lot of smooth jazz albums.<\/p>\n

This weekend, James returns to the Philly area with a new album and a show at a new venue.<\/p>\n

James will treat fans to music from his recently released album, \u201cDetour,\u201d in a concert at Rivers Casino (1001 North Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, www.riverscasino.com<\/a>) on November 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cI released a new album and I\u2019m just having a blast playing shows again,\u201d said James, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started the album in January this year. I hadn\u2019t been writing much prior to then. Then, my label picked up my option \u2013 and a deadline. I didn\u2019t think it would be that soon. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe writing flowed pretty good \u2013 collecting the ideas and then diving in. I also collaborated with some friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time James played the area was a year ago at Scottish Rite Auditorium in South Jersey when he was touring a new LP, \u201cSolid.\u201d<\/p>\n

James is a saxophonist, songwriter, record producer \u2013 and one of America\u2019s most popular soul, jazz and R&B saxophonists.<\/p>\n

When James released his new album in 2020, he flew in the face of convention \u2013 in the middle of most unconventional times.<\/p>\n

Most music acts balked at the idea of releasing an album in the middle of a pandemic \u2013 knowing that the requisite album support tour would be virtually impossible while COVID-19 was still closing down all aspects of daily life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded \u2018Solid\u2019 in 2019,\u201d said James.\u00a0\u201cI made most of it at my home studio in my backyard in L.A. I also recorded some of it at Sunset Sound Studio in L.A. A lot of it I can do at home. I also played some keys on the record.\u201d<\/p>\n

James followed the same M.O. for \u201cDetour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI made most of it at My Backyard \u2013 90 per cent,\u201d said James. \u201cThen I went to Sunset Sound for the drums and percussion. It always goes well \u2013 never a struggle. The songs felt fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

James fares well in the studio but shines the most on the concert stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really missed playing live,\u201d said James,\u00a0a four-time GRAMMY nominee with four RIAA Gold records and career sales topping three million units. \u201cI usually play 60-70 shows a year. In 2020, there was nothing. I practiced a lot. I exercised. It was nice to be home for a while with my wife, who is a television director.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put out a record and it did pretty well. When it was released, it was a Top 10 Pop Album on Billboard\u2019s charts. It was Top Two on the jazz chart because it was the same week Norah Jones\u2019 new album was released. I\u2019ve released 17 albums and have had a lot of Top 10 Jazz albums \u2013 including 11 Number Ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even during the lockdown, James took care of his fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also did a bunch of Facebook live mini concerts,\u201d said James, a two-time NAACP Award nominee and a Soul Train Award winner who was named one of the Top 3\u00a0Billboard Contemporary Jazz Artists of the Decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did one a week on Fridays for about 30 weeks. I\u2019d chat with fans and then play a few songs. I called the mini concerts \u2018Solid Friday\u2019 because the album was titled, \u2018Solid.\u2019 Each session was about 20 minutes long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were totally locked down, I didn\u2019t write at all. When I finally got back out on the road, that got me writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDetour\u201d is a trip through James\u2019 distinctive contemporary jazz\/R&B landscapes, layered in quicksilver watercolor images and cinematic set pieces. Detour represents the next extension of Boney James\u2019 trademark blend of genres which includes blues, soul, roots, classical, art-pop and hip-hop.<\/p>\n

According to James, \u201cThe urge to write again came from the joy of being back on the road, performing in front of live audiences. I had shut down creatively when the pandemic hit. It was the disruptive and disorienting detour we all took when the world locked down, and that\u2019s reflected in the more experimental directions some of the new music takes. The thing about a detour, you may take a different route, but you still get to your destination.\u201d
\nJames is touring with a five-piece band including a keyboard player from Memphis and a bassist from Raleigh (NC). The guitarist, who has been in James\u2019 band for 17 years, the drummer and James are all from L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current live set has three songs from \u2018Detour\u2019 \u2013 three that I felt would translate most to live performance,\u201d said James. \u201cThis is my 18th album, and I can\u2019t get all the music into one show. I try to play everyone\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the must-play songs are \u2018Sweet Thing,\u2019 \u2018Grazing in the Grass\u2019 and \u2018After the Rain.\u2019 I\u2019m always trying to pay my homage to R&B. At the same time, I just try to make my music individual to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for\u00a0Boney\u00a0James \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/q3rkzByuwUY<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Rivers Casino on November 23 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $49 and $69.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chestnut\u00a0Grove<\/p><\/div>\n

Chestnut\u00a0Grove will play on November 23 at The Sound Bank (119 South Main Street, Phoenixville, www.soundbankphx.com<\/a>) with a focus on its latest album, \u201cThe Album\u201d\u00a0along with a trio of new singles — \u201cNo Stranger,\u201d which was released on October 17, \u201cCan’t Stand the Music,\u201d which was released on September 20 and \u201cAll for You,\u201d which was released on August 29.<\/p>\n

The band has its roots in the Delaware Valley, has played gigs at the Ardmore Music Hall, Phantom Power and World Cafe Live and recorded \u201cThe Album\u201d at BarnSound Studios in Newtown Square with producer Derek Chafin.<\/p>\n

Chestnut Grove was formed by\u00a0James Daniels, John Tyler, Sean Murray\u00a0and\u00a0Dee\u00a0Gerhart\u00a0in 2011 during their senior year of high school. The band\u2019s name was chosen in memory of would-be member and guitar player Matt Barber, who passed away tragically in a car accident on\u00a0Chestnut\u00a0Grove\u00a0Road.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been together for more than a decade,\u201d said\u00a0Gerhart, during a phone interview. \u201cWe\u2019ve been touring heavily since 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all graduated from high school together in 2011 \u2013 Boyertown High School. Our drummer James played with our guitar player John. I was doing acoustic singer\/songwriter doing open mics. We weren\u2019t drawn together musically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my senior year, I was in a talent show at Boyertown High. I did some numbers like \u2018You Really Got a Hold On Me\u2019 with Zach Winkler. They approached me and it rolled on from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe covered a lot of Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix. I was the only one singing. We immediately started working on some originals. We were trying to be a jam group but drifted more to singer\/songwriter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s collective songwriting. It\u2019s mainly driven by me and James, but everyone has an input. Each has their own part of the puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2015,\u00a0Gerhart, Winkler, Daniels, Tyler and Gary Geers, with the help of friend\/engineer Owen McGreehan, released their self-produced album,\u00a0\u201cPerkiomenville,\u201d\u00a0to a sold-out hometown crowd at\u00a0World Cafe Live\u00a0in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded that album at our barn studio in Perkiomenville,\u201d said\u00a0Gerhart. \u201cIt had 10 tracks with a vert rootsy, Americana feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, the band recorded the EP \u201cLet it Down\u201d with critically acclaimed producer Bill Moriarty, who has worked with notable artists like Modest Mouse and Philly’s own Dr. Dog. This EP featured a collection of songs including \u201cWhiskey Hand” and \u201cLet it Down,\u201d two of the band’s first hits.<\/p>\n

The band released the EP \u201cBlack Champagne\u201d with Mad Dragon Records in 2018, signed a deal with Nimbleslick Entertainment, and began touring the East Coast and Midwest. Chestnut Grove has headlined venues including the Trocadero, World Cafe Live, and Ardmore Music Hall, while continuing to gain popularity in their home city of Philadelphia and beyond.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Chestnut Grove began recording their first full-length studio album when home from touring. In 2020, they released the single \u201cGolden Age,\u201d which received praise from\u00a0American Songwriter Magazine. The band’s ambitions for 2020 had also included completing and releasing the new album and embarking on a US tour\u2013goals ultimately derailed by the global pandemic.<\/p>\n

Undeterred, Chestnut Grove went back to the studio with producer Derek Chafin (AKA \u201cChestnut Grove\u2019s sixth man\u201d) and finished \u201cThe Album\u201d featuring singles \u201cGolden Age,\u201d \u201cAin’t Got Nobody,\u201d \u201cNewspaper Hats,\u201d and fan favorite \u201cI Know Somebody.\u201d This album was released in 2021 at Ardmore Music Hall and virtually streamed via Nugs.net<\/a>, followed by appearances on Radio 104.5 and 88.5 XPN.<\/p>\n

Video link for Chestnut Grove —\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/sWBiFGvzK_Q<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Sound Bank on November 23, which also features Good Moring After, will start at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Boney James has performed at many venues in the Delaware Valley, South Jersey and Atlantic City. Boney James has released a lot of smooth jazz albums. This weekend, James returns to the Philly area with a new album and a show at a new venue. James will treat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4856,10079,3162],"class_list":["post-26984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boney-james","tag-chestnut-grove","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26985,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984\/revisions\/26985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}