The Round Table

Joe Firstman will perform at The Living Room in New York City this Saturday, February 13th, in support of his recently released full-length album El Porto. If you’re a fan of good old americana rock, this album should be part of your music collection. El Porto is heartfelt with immensely personal lyrics penned by Firstman, who has the innate ability to transport you to another time with his intricate delivery.

For those familiar with Firstman’s debut album The War of the Women, which I happen to LOVE, El Porto is a natural evolution. The songs that comprise the new album are simple, yet demonstrate a certain confidence of a singer-songwriter coming into his own. And, I’m not certain, but believe that “Today,” which is featured on El Porto could easily be a continuation of “Can’t Stop Loving You” from The War of Women. (Joe, if you’re reading this — give me a shout, dying to know).

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Yup, the economy is still in shambles and there’s not much we can do about it. The good news is our friends at Rock Ridge Music are giving away music from some of their best artists for free. That’s right – free – as in no strings attached.

Simply visit their site and download music from bands like Sister Hazel, Benjy Davis Project, Reel Big Fish, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. They’re also featuring tunes from awesome solo acts like Tony Lucca, Ernie Halter, Josh Hodge, Andrew Hoover, Pat McGee and more.

If you like what you hear, be sure to visit the artists’ sites and purchase their albums. We all love free music, but it goes a long way to support these guys and gals that work hard to entertain us. Thanks for continuing to be awesome Rock Ridge!

Fried pickles, sweet tea, fireworks, and Tony Lucca or the perfect way to spend 4th of July. We headed to The Evening Muse in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina for an intimate performance with Tony Lucca who started his set by asking the audience to snap along to his opening number as hand-clapping is too much of a commitment upfront.

Having seen Tony Lucca perform numerous times now, I was surprised by how candid he was that night. He hit on everything from taking swipes at Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Sarah Palin all in one song to his life story through music and quite possibly one of pop cultures most talked about break-ups: Justin and Britney (more on that later). Of course he also found time to mix in several love songs and even a Billy Joel cover “Vienna.”

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