Red Baraat's fusion of bhangra, go-go, hip-hop and jazz is driven by frontman Sunny Jain's percolating playing of the dhol, a double-sided drum which forms the rhythmic lattice of support for their boisterous horns and guitar.
Artists shine given restrictions and limitations. Subtlety and nuance are more easily found in minimalism than excess. That's the beauty of Brushy One String, whose sound is make by one big fat E-string and a voice so rich and full, all it wants is a bit of rhythmic and melodic underpinning.
Based on the ancient Chinese folk tale of The Butterfly Lovers, this music is adapted from tunes of “Yue Opera” in Zhejiang Province. The three main sections of the original folk tale tell of the making of sworn brothers at Cao Qiao, Zhu Ying Tai’s refusal of an arranged marriage, and the reincarnation of lovers as butterflies by their graves. These three sections are presented in the sonata form – exposition, development, and recapitulation of the concerto.
Composer Alan Menken beams with pride as he introduces the Little Shop of Horrors Tiny Desk (home) concert. May 6, 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the show's first production. Menken is joined by the stellar cast of the current off-Broadway revival, which swept the Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Drama League Awards for Best Musical Revival. They perform a joyful medley of five earworm-filled tunes from the cult classic.
Performing five songs from Midwest Princess, Roan worked through songs of youthful heartache (“Casual”), queer liberation (“Pink Pony Club”), mournful alienation (“California”) and two decidedly different forms of chaotic seduction (“Picture You,” “Red Wine Supernova”).