You can’t keep a good area music promoter and PureHoney magazine publisher like Steev Rullman down. After the success of his fourth annual Bumblefest in 2019, with 37 musical acts over two nights to celebrate his print and online publication’s eighth anniversary, Rullman — along with the rest of the world — hit a COVID-19-induced snag in 2020. Yet Bumblefest 5 will … [Read more...]
West Palm’s RATM tribute band lauded as ‘must-see’ act
Amid a sea of tribute acts to unworthy subjects, providing acid for the masses by giving the gullible what they think they want but perhaps can’t afford actual tickets to, one occasionally proves legitimate. Such is the case with a West Palm Beach-based Rage Against the Machine tribute called Products of Rage (www.facebook.com/productsofrage). That’s because Rage, despite … [Read more...]
Suddenly, Old School Square becomes major concert venue
A strange thing happened within the South Florida live music scene during — not after — the COVID-19 pandemic, especially between the fall of 2020 and summer of 2021. The outdoor Pavilion at Old School Square, the 3,500-person-capacity amphitheater in Delray Beach, charted an unlikely renaissance and became a major concert draw and destination. Yet the seemingly overnight … [Read more...]
In Delray concert, King Crimson continues to astonish
Nearly 52 years after its first-ever show in South Florida, King Crimson again appeared before a capacity crowd at the outdoor Pavilion at Old School Square in Delray Beach on July 23. And while the performance wasn’t as historic as that of guitarist and guru Robert Fripp’s original lineup -- which included future Emerson, Lake & Palmer vocalist/bassist Greg Lake and … [Read more...]
Prog rock legends King Crimson to play Delray
When it comes to historic progressive rock royalty, only one band wears the crown. King Crimson formed in London in 1968 and emerged with its groundbreaking 1969 debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, which reached the Top 30 on the American album charts, the Top 5 in the U.K., and even replaced The Beatles’s Abbey Road at No. 1 in Japan. The group has since … [Read more...]
New brewpub brings good karma to Lake Park
If you could go back in time to pick a worse date to open a new business than May 2, 2020, Coastal Karma Brewing proprietors Charles and Sara Chase would like to know what date that would be. The married couple had little choice but to open their Lake Park brewery as scheduled just as the COVID-19 pandemic was cresting. Which meant only cautious, temporary attendance that … [Read more...]
Led Zep tribute band makes big impact before small audience
One could seemingly throw a rock in any direction recently and hit a musical tribute act in South Florida. Which often doesn’t seem like a bad idea, especially when considering the numerous ones honoring artists and bands that are still actively recording and touring themselves. But New York City quartet The PreZence (www.facebook.com/ThePrezence), in offering “An Authentic … [Read more...]
Tommy Emmanuel shows how to be an acoustic guitar hero
If you want to become a guitar hero, history dictates that you should probably play an electric instrument within popular music's broad spectrum of vocal-driven styles. It’s worked for a scroll of icons both living (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Tom Morello) and deceased (Jimi Hendrix, … [Read more...]
Blackberry Smoke brings welcome Georgia style to Jupiter
Occasionally, a band or artist defies genre-based categorization by appearing on a multitude of different Billboard charts. And many — like Atlanta-based group Blackberry Smoke, which entertained a COVID-be-damned capacity audience at the Abacoa Ampitheatre in Jupiter on Feb. 25 — emerged from Georgia. Late vocalist/keyboardist Ray Charles’ blend of gospel, blues, soul, R&B … [Read more...]
Brewer cooking up live music in Lake Worth Beach
A surprising thing happened as the COVID-19 crisis ran roughshod over the local live music industry throughout 2020. You know, the year in which many performance venues — especially indoor-only ones — closed down from temporarily to permanently. The year in which most able to stay open downsized their calendars from full bands to solo artists, ranging from DJs to … [Read more...]