(HOPEWELL, NJ) -- The Western Mass-based circus punk and freak folk spectacular Bella's Bartok bring their Balkan-inspired dance party to the The Hopewell Theater on April 26 at 7:30pm. The PA-based six-person explosion of sound, This Way to the Egress, opens. Tickets begin at $18.
Bella's Bartok: All little children grow up, one day --- all except the bedazzled and glittered boys of Bella’s Bartok. Inspired by elements of Vaudeville, centuries of street performance, and an unyielding drive to promote camaraderie, Northampton, MA-based Bella’s Bartok delivers a passionate kaleidoscope of sound. The songs are born of Americana and folk music of their immigrant grandparents, blended with the joy of a particular brand of pop sensibility.
To understand Bella’s Bartok, imagine what you would get if Salvador Dali and Toulouse Lautrec were fronting the Moulin Rouge’s house band, and you have the exuberant spectacle that is Bella’s Bartok. Described as “about as much fun as you can have with your pants on” (Dan Wolovick, Two Way Monologues), this 7-piece powerhouse melds Bohemian Klezmer Punk with pop sensibilities into an eminently danceable party. The diversity of musicians that make up Bella’s Bartok, combined with their boundless energy on stage, has been known to break a dancefloor, or two (or three, but who’s counting?). Their sound moves way beyond labels, pushing the envelope towards the darker side of Eastern European music, referencing vaudeville and 20th century eclecticism.
The Bella’s Bartok line-up includes: Asher Putnam (Vocals and all-around entertainer), Dan Niederhauser (Bass and Vocals), Amory Drennan (Trombone/Banjo and Vocals), Crisco (Drums/Percussion and Trumpet), Alex Kogut (Accordion/Keyboard), and Gershon Rosen (trumpet). The band has shared the stage with musicians and acts such as Rubblebucket, Red Baraat, The Indigo Girls, Larry & His Flask, The Suitcase Junket, Parsonsfield, And the Kids, Kanye, Rough Francis, Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan, West End Blend, Adam Ezra Group, Meat Puppets, World Inferno/Friendship Society, Rupa & the April Fishes, Arc Iris, and many more.
This Way to the Egress - If Tom Waits and Lady Gaga made a musical lovechild it might sound a little like EGRESS. Whether you know them as the “dance band to ring in the end of the world with” or by their “raise your spirit, raise a glass and drop a beat” attitude, EGRESS will leave their mark on you. The six-person troupe cascades onto the stage in an explosion of sound and sight that’s equal parts unruly vaudeville, ebullient world-beat and three ring circus all the while playing an amalgamation of worldly genres that catapults their audience through time and space with unexpected shifts of styles, tempos and time signatures.
EGRESS is Taylor Galassi (lead vocals, accordion, piano); Sarah Shown (vocals, piano, violin); John Wentz (tuba, backup vocals); Joe Lynch (trombone, backup vocals); Jaclyn Kidd (guitar, banjo) and Nick Pecca (drums and percussion). Hailing from a wide variety of musical backgrounds with a diverse array of influences, EGRESS crafts intricately arranged audible cocktails which will be sure to make you move. Their rambunctious stage show generates enough energy to light up a small city while their genre-bending miscellany leaves the audience wondering what will happen next.
Hopewell Theater is located at 5 S. Greenwood Avenue in Hopewell, New Jersey.
