Do You Hear What I Hear?: Holiday concerts from your couch

Okee dokee folks… I would like to send a big THANK YOU out to the folks who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. If you were one of the folks who voted for the mango moron, PLEASE begin the cult deprogramming process immediately. Hopefully this nation’s nightmare will soon be over. In the meantime, please start taking the COVID-19 pandemic very seriously or we will just be stuck in a Groundhog Day loop. People are getting sick and dying, and many of those who have corona and live through it end up with long-term health issues. Besides, if we don’t keep it in check, live music and venues may never come back. Read on… 

Singing for Shelter, the 13th annual Christmas concert that features Newport area musicians raising money for local homeless havens Lucy’s Hearth and The McKinney Shelter, will be held online over a period of two weeks, from December 5 through 22. In order to hold some form of a fundraiser, the organizers decided to present a series of shows featuring the musicians playing live from their living rooms on Facebook. Viewers will be urged to visit the shelters’ websites and donate directly. Over the years, Singing for Shelter has raised more than $85,000 for these shelters. All shows are from 7-7:30 and for the schedule, telethon to ChristmasInNewport.org or SingingForShelter-Newport on Facebook.

The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford will be streaming Canada’s most endeared and revered fiddle power couple, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy’s Celtic Family Christmas At Home on December 5. Partnering with Homeplay.live, the concerts will continue MacMaster and Leahy’s annual tradition for their fans across North America while encouraging audiences to support their local theaters that are struggling with the quarantine. The show will be left up to watch any time from posted the show day until December 27. Also through the Z, Brian O’Donovan’s Virtual Christmas Celtic Sojourn will premiere on Thursday, December 17, at 7:30pm. O’Donovan will host, introduce the artists, chat with them about their lives, read favorite poetry and recount stories from his own West Cork Christmas. Proceeds from this performance benefit both the performers and The Zeiterion. If that isn’t enough holiday “tune-age” for you, then you can listen to the mother lode on December 19 when the Holiday Pops presents a virtual family concert. This show will be pre-recorded at the Zeiterion and presented via YouTube. All ticketed patrons will receive an email on the day of the concert containing a private link for access, and a digital program book will be available to view before the concert airs. For more, tune in to Zeiterion.org

Common Fence Music keeps the streaming going with a couple of new internet installments in December. On Sunday, December 6 at 7pm, The MoNo Guitar Duo, consisting of Italian guitarist Giuseppe Molino and Polish guitarist Anna Krystyna Nowicka, will perform. The two met in 2010 at Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and the MoNo Guitar Duo was born. These talented musicians perform what is known as “4 hands guitar” where two people play the same guitar at once! On December 13 at 7pm, Samoa Wilson, vocalist and song-stylist, will play a cyberspace concert with her current duo partner, slide guitarist Ernie Vega. Collectively they are known as the Four O’Clock Flowers. Their repertoire of gospel, blues and jazz songs are sung from a woman’s perspective of struggle, transformation and triumph. These events are free, but tips are encouraged and go to the artists. For more, go with the flow to CommonFenceMusic.org

The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River will continues with its Friday night live stream shows until in-person shows are deemed safe once again. They have a stellar line-up that will make your Friday nights fun! Coming up are the Duke Robillard Band, Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles, Gary Hoey’s Ho Ho Hoey’s Rockin Holiday Tour, Ward Hayden & The Outliers, Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez and Roomful of Blues. For schedule information, taper toward NarrowsCenter.org

Unfortunately the RI Music Community lost David Haller to COVID on November 27. He was a mandolin player and member of the jug band The KC Moaners. David was always helping out at festivals as well. He was a forever member of the stage crew at Rhythm and Roots Festival and helped me many times at the Providence (Rhode Island) Folk Festival. He was a good soul and will be missed. Hopefully we can overcome this pandemic before it takes any more good folk. That’s it for now, thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com