Josh Groban – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – November 12, 2018 – Photo by Isa Barnett © 2018 Josh Groban & Idina Menzel – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – November 12, 2018 Broadway came to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday as Josh Groban (The Great Comet of 1812, the album Stages) and diva Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) shared the stage. Menzel opened the night with a stellar set, mixing her stage and film favorites as well as a few cannily chosen covers. No surp

Donnie Kehr Donnie Kehr Brings “The Greatest Piano Men” to the Stage This August by Brad Balfour Multi-talented musician Donnie Kehr has not only created and promoted “Rockers on Broadway” but has been a rocker on Broadway when he appeared in such musicals as “Billy Elliot,” The Who’s “Tommy,” Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida,” “The Human Comedy,” and most notably “Jersey Boys.” He also was in the first, La Jolla, California, production of the jukebox musical about Frankie Val

Itzhak ITZHAK (2017) Featuring Itzhak Perlman, Toby Perlman, Alan Alda, Amnon Weinstein, Stefan Valcuha, Billy Joel, Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman, Evgeny Kissin, Mischa Maiskey, Martha Argerich, Barack Obama, Dorothy Delay and the Klezmatics. Directed by Alison Chernick. Distributed by American Masters Pictures. 83 minutes. Not Rated. It’s 6:00 a.m. and I’ve been moved to tears by a gracefully-constructed film and its maestro violinist, Itzhak Perlman. Itzhak is a film of lo

Jackson Harris Jackson Harris A Journal Entry of His Life by Caroline Serling Jackson Harris is an up-and-coming 23 year-old singer songwriter from New York, working his way into the spotlight.  Growing up surrounded by the influence of a musical family, it was clear Harris had the right people around to set him on the proper path to success.  His mother is Broadway producer Dede Harris, whose current hit musical is  the hit Something Rotten!  This theatrical connection had a

Billy Joel Is In a New York State of Mind by Jay S. Jacobs It isn't often that a musician is considered to be almost synonymous with a venue where they play.  On the rare occasions that something like this does happen, it is usually small clubs played early on in a career – like The Beatles at the Cavern Club, or Bruce Springsteen at the Stone Pony. It's not easy to reach those heights in arguably the most famous arena in the United States.  However, if one musician's name co

Mutlu mutlu LIVIN’ ON PHILLY SOUL by Jay S. Jacobs On a recent afternoon in the up-and-coming Philadelphia neighborhood of Northern Liberties, Mutlu Onoral and I are sitting in a little sandwich shop.  We’d originally planned on hitting a trendily seedy local Spanish joint called Bar Ferdinand, but it was too late for lunch and too early for the beautiful people to get buzzed up on mixed drinks.  Since all the other local bars seemed to be closed as well, we end up here, nest

B.B. King B.B. King Talking with the King by Ken Sharp B.B. King is championed by pundits as the quintessential blues guitar player. Since his emergence in the Fifties, King, trusty black Gibson “Lucille”” guitar in hand, has wowed audiences with his gritty, expressive voice and spectacular blues guitar playing. He can say more in one note than others can say in a hundred. In recent years, King has received kudos for his high-profile collaborations with rock giants, Eric Clap

Phoebe Snow Make Things All Right by Ronald Sklar The way Phoebe Snow can manipulate her vocal chords to achieve intense highs and duck-for-cover lows matches only the highs and lows of her own personal wild ride. Her voice, most well known for her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man,” is nothing short of a gift; however, that gift did not exactly come with no strings attached. Forget about Snow’s amazing recording track record and legendary live performances – it was her special-needs dau

Jaci Velasquez JACI VELASQUEZ AMAZING GRACE by Abraham Kuranga Jaci Velasquez has been a bonafide superstar in Contemporary Christian Music for quite some time now.  She has accumulated numerous awards and accolades including a Dove Award, the CCM genre’s equivalent of the Grammy Award.  All the success in such a short time has not taken away from whom Jaci Velasquez truly is. “I’m just a normal person,” confesses Velasquez.  “Okay, so my family says I’m not so normal!”  Whet