A concert that features banjos, violins, drums, harps, and Celtic dancers is bound to be entertaining, and the musicians who fill the stage hope that it’s also inspiring.
The world-renowned show “Sing! An Irish Christmas” is coming to Fort Wayne’s Embassy Theatre on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
The artists behind it all are Keith and Kristyn Getty. The Gettys, originally from Ireland, are known for combining their tremendous talent with their unabashed faith. As a result, their unique songwriting and elaborate performances tell a vivid story that they’ve been able to share around the globe. ... Read more

Bradley Cooper makes an auspicious directorial debut with A Star Is Born, an often dazzling and occasionally overwrought crowd-pleaser that soars with rousing music and plenty of pathos.
There have been four remakes since the original 1937 film, and while the story does hit many of the expected beats that line up with the previous iterations, Cooper and crew are able to find just the right notes to deftly bring this timeless tale up to date. Anchored by strong chemistry between the leads and some admirable technical aspects behind the camera, this awards season contender may have what it take... Read more

A Peanuts Holiday with the Charlie Brown Trio is not only a holiday themed event, but also a concert that hopes to introduce a new concept to our area.
Fashioned in the format of Leonard Bernstein’s “Young People’s Concerts” that took place in New York from 1958-1972, A Peanuts Holiday is a family-friendly educational concert featuring the works of Vince Guaraldi’s classic A Charlie Brown Christmas album.
But that’s just where the fun begins since it is also an interactive show. Audience participation is encouraged and will be featured through singing and discussion of educationa... Read more

Since the Drifters formed in 1953, there have been many incarnations of the band, some of them existing simultaneously, but not touring together. It is said that no fewer than 60 singers have been able, or are able, to call themselves Drifters.
Jerome Jackson currently leads one version of the Drifters as part of a package tour of vocal groups that all got their start in the early days of rock n’ roll.
The Drifters, Cornell Gunter’s Coasters & Platters Holiday Show happens Dec. 23 at the Embassy Theatre.
Jackson may not be an original member, but he has spent the better part of three deca... Read more

Imagine owning and living in one of the most interesting houses in Fort Wayne. Now imagine opening up that house five days a week to the public so that they can enjoy artwork you have hung in every room in your house.
That’s exactly what Mark Paul and Jody Hemphill Smith do on a weekly basis. The Castle Gallery is not only a wonderful gallery in which to view artwork, but it is also where the Smiths live.
The gallery is quickly transitioning to its Holiday Show, an invitational featuring some amazing artists from the area and from across the nation. Works by Jill Stefani Wagner, Tim Johnso... Read more

While music created by guitars has been providing artistic pleasure to millions for many years and through many musical genres, the beauty and artistry of the guitars themselves are finally getting their due, thanks locally to a new exhibit at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
Medieval to Metal: The Art & Evolution of the Guitar allows visitors to study and admire the instrument itself as a piece of art and sculpture, one to be admired even momentarily disconnected from the music it creates.
Bringing this exhibit to Fort Wayne has been exciting for Charles Shepard, president and CEO of the Fort W... Read more

Local live juggernauts Sad Gravity finally release their debut recording in the form of a self-titled album of eight songs. The release launches with raw guitar and deep, thumping bass compiled with thorough, sometimes flashy drum work with plenty of vocal breaks for the instruments to shine through. The vocals often sway between straightforward singing and a falsetto that rotates the songs in and out of the “catchy without blatantly trying” category.
Connor Corwin and James Valdez switch off singing (and quite possibly guitar and bass, which they can be seen doing at their numerous live ... Read more

If you’ve been hanging around Fort Wayne over the past twenty years or so, chances are you know the name David Todoran & The Mobile Homewreckers.
These cats have been making music in various forms and with various locals talents in styles as diverse as pop/rock, Americana, and Byrds-y twang. Being a distant rural yokel and looking at the Fort Wayne music scene from a county or two away, I can say that the name David Todoran is one I’m familiar with, but I’m just now getting familiar with one of his albums. His newest, Apparition, is an absolute gem.
Todoran said this about its release, ... Read more

Growing up in the Midwest tended to put a damper on dreams of being a surfer. One way we Midwesterners satisfied the surfer craving was through surf music. Bands like The Ventures, Dick Dale, The Surfaris, Jan and Dean, and The Chantays influenced a whole generation of baby boomers to dig fast cars, waxed boards, and big waves.
One Midwesterner that was taken by the groovy and slick sounds of surf music was Mark Brody, lead guitarist of Fort Wayne surf rock band Strange Waters.
Surfing the midwest
When asked why start a surf rock band, his reply was pretty matter-of-fact.
“I always loved su... Read more

Right off the bat, the new album by Fort Wayne garage punk band Slug Love is hard-hitting and chunky and chugs along at a higher BPM. The first track on Underside, “Flying Discs,” has the type of riff that every band has ever played in a bar, but without the carbon copy feel to it. Its back-and-forth power chords launch Underside, and when the song lands, the underground heart of the record helps cushion the blow.
As it progresses on, the slower songs (though there are no real slow ones) and the more tender parts of the band’s songwriting offset all the super-sweet riffing and the old-s... Read more

Nate Utesch has been the leader and sole constant in the electronic band Metavari since its inception in 2008. He’s cultivated the sound and aesthetic from the sprawling vastness of post-rock to a much tighter electronic feel. If you listen to early Metavari, such as 2009’s Be One of Us and Hear No Noise, and compare it to 2015’s Moonless, you will hear a much different band. But under the surface, Metavari remains the product of Utesch’s singular vision.
Metavari is now a one-man band, a studio project composed and recorded by Utesch in his home studio. When the band plays shows, Utes... Read more

When you grow up in a small town but catch glimpses of what could be from your bedroom window, what does an angsty kid do about it? Some buy a guitar and amp, put their list of small-town and big-world issues to paper, and write songs. Then they find some like-minded guys and gals to spread their message of disenchantment from town to town. That was the case of Fort Wayne’s F---ing Panthers. This four-piece began their musical journey fresh out of high school and wrote punk and metal-infused songs about small-town life and the daily grind.
The guys built a following and put out Learning To ... Read more

Fort Wayne has plenty of guys and gals that work behind the scenes to help make the community the thriving, creative space it has become. One of those people is musician, studio runner, and jack-of-all-trades Jason Davis.
As owner/operator of Off The Cuff Sound in Fort Wayne, Davis has recorded bands as diverse as Legendary Trainhoppers, Addison Agen, Heaven’s Gateway Drugs, Water Witches, the D-Rays, and James and the Drifters.
But when Davis isn’t recording other artists, he’s booking studio time for his own band, Streetlamps for Spotlights.
“Streetlamps formed around 2004 as a wa... Read more

When local band elle/the Remnant released Skies I’ve Learned How to Love in January 2018, it must have seemed like a long time coming.
In 2014, the six-piece band had just come off a one-year hiatus and had reformed with a new spirit and a handful of new songs. Over the next four years, they recorded the 12 songs on Skies.
It was worth the wait.
The album, best categorized as indie-folk-Americana, finds Coplin and Armstrong, as well as bandmates Jessica Becker, Edith Coplin, Jen Foster, and Kelsey Schneider, in an adventurous mood. Driven by Armstrong’s propulsive guitar and Coplin’s cl... Read more

Has 2018 been a good year for you? Perhaps it was a year filled with positive vibes or, then again, a year you would like to quickly put behind you.
Either way, The Legendary Trainhoppers are making sure we all go out on a positive note. On Friday, Dec. 28, The B-Side at One Lucky Guitar will be the setting for 2018 Kiss-Off, an official sayonara to another year with some good old music in the intimate setting of The B-Side. Sign me up!
With the successful year the guys have had thus far, this event only makes sense. As a matter of fact, they performed such events as the Botanical Roots Conc... Read more

The storm over, the rabbit’s tracks
Leave ghost faces in sifted snow.
The moon is neither old nor new,
Though enough to light the hayricks.
All white-capped, they lean, row on row,
Bowing at time’s ceremony
In welcome of the end of now —
The beginning of memory —
Like old men who left October
To youths and welcomed December.
Oh,Tomorrow! Don’t come too soon!
The night has so much dark to live
Before it’s savaged by the sun,
That jealous spoiler high above. ... Read more