Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out.
Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of August 11:
Dave Koz & Friends — Friday at Xcite Center at Parx Casino
Dave Koz & Friends returns with a fresh incarnation of the Summer Horns tour, which finds the chart-topping saxophonist teaming up with two other sax greats in Candy Dulfer and Eric Darius. The high-octane, feel-good summer show will feature songs from each artist’s catalog plus material from 2013’s “Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns” and 2018’s “Summer Horns II from A To Z.” Both albums debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Mt. Joy — Saturday and Sunday at The Mann Center
Indie roots rockers Mt. Joy return to the region for two hometown gigs this weekend. The shows take place amid a North American and European tour which finds the band playing two separate sets each night. Also, the group has joined forces with Philadelphia’s Sharing Excess to host a non-perishable food drive both nights. As concertgoers make their donations of canned goods, pasta, boxed food, etc., they will be entered into a raffle to win items that include signed merch and a chance to watch the show intimately from the side of the stage. Mt. Joy also plans to raise funds for other area charities including Connor Barwin’s Make the World a Better Place and Jason Kelce’s (Be) Philly.
Fishbone — Sunday at Ardmore Music Hall
After years of touring and rotating members, 2023 finds funk/ska/alt/metal outfit Fishbone back to their most solid line up which includes four of its six original members. “All We Have Is Now” marks the first release with Chris Dowd back in the band since 1994 and it’s the first song recorded with these members in 29 years. A new EP recorded and produced by Fat Mike of NOFX is slated to come out on Fat Wreck Chords/Bottles to the Ground later this year as Fishbone is getting ready to reclaim their live touring throne. No doubt they will continue to leave the audience wanting more and thinking more, leaving their mark and influence on younger bands and paving the foundation and legacy they have been laying for decades.
Lionel Richie — Tuesday at The Wells Fargo Center
According to the legendary Lionel Richie, his “Sing a Song All Night Long” tour, with special guests Earth, Wind & Fire, is something he’s been trying to put together for years, and now it’s finally happened. The singer, songwriter and producer is coming off of a huge 2022, as he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library Congress and was honored with the Icon Award at the American Music Awards. Earth, Wind & Fire, with over 100 million albums sold worldwide and an impressive nine Grammy Awards, has cemented their lasting impact on popular music as they continue to inspire new audiences and thrill longtime fans.
Bruce Springsteen — Wednesday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 18, at Citizens Bank Park
It’s always a special night when Bruce Springsteen comes to town, but it gets just a bit more meaningful when the show — or shows in this case — is under the stars in the intimate confines of Citizens Bank Park. Expect nothing but the usual from New Jersey’s favorite son, who turns 74 next month. That means marathon shows, singalongs that can be heard for blocks and blocks and the always on fire E Street Band. Who knows how much longer we’ll be graced with what is the very definition of a rock and roll show, so let’s enjoy every moment while it’s here.
Eric Johanson — Thursday, Aug. 17, at XL Live
Acclaimed blues-rock guitarist Eric Johanson comes to Harrisburg on the heels of his latest album, “The Deep and the Dirty,” hitting No. 1 on the Blues Albums chart. The record, whose title refers to the American South, fires twin barrels of sharp songwriting and fiery fretwork. Johanson wrote the songs during an era that found him at home, live-streaming acoustic performances and releasing two volumes of his “Covered Tracks” series to a quarantined world. At the earliest opportunity, he returned to the road, gaining a fresh appreciation for the musical chemistry generated by a well-oiled touring band.
All-American Rejects — Thursday, Aug. 17, at The Skyline Stage at The Mann
All-American Rejects returned to the stage this year with the “Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour,” their first headlining run in nearly a decade. And while the emo-pop band has traveled far and wide and sold millions of albums in the years since forming in 1999, their music retains an irrepressible energy and infectious scrappiness, two qualities that seem quintessentially teenaged in the best sense. They’ve also always understood the lasting value of big sticky melodies, a lesson they absorbed from a wide range of early influences that included Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, as well as emo forebears such as Weezer and Jimmy Eat World. Along for the ride this summer are a handful of peers on certain dates, with Philly getting New Found Glory and The Get Up Kids, rounding out a fantastic night of power pop/emo/pop punk.
Soundcheck
• Dave Koz – “Before I Let Go”
• Mt. Joy – “Julia”
• Fishbone – “All We Have Is Now”
• Lionel Richie – “Stuck on You”
• Eric Johanson – “The Deep and the Dirty”
• All-American Rejects – “Swing, Swing”
• Bruce Springsteen – “Atlantic City”
Source: Berkshire mont