The end of summer (and first few days of fall) ended in a flurry for me with some great shows. I played six shows in two weeks including my first time playing Dally in the Alley (Six and the Sevens), the County Oakland Irish Festival (Madigan’s Attic), and today’s big DIY Street Fair (Six and the Sevens). Things slow down over the next month as I recharge, write new music, and take care of various work obligations. But these were two weeks to remember.
Here is an original tune I performed for the first time a bit ago. I wrote it with some help from Doug Thomson (Madigan’s Attic). This was at Farmer’s Market for AJ’s world record concert.
For the fourth straight year, my band Six and the Sevens was selected to perform at the Detroit x Detroit show. The premise? Current Detroit originals bands cover three songs from other Detroit-based artists. In the past we have covered The Knack, Edwin Starr, and Was (Not Was) for this show. All proceeds go to scholarships for The School of Rock.
This year? We covered The Romantics. My bandmate from Madigan’s Attic, Doug Thomson, joined us a) beause he plays the harmonica and b) because he added some glorious background vox. And it was great fun! My friend Erick Buchholz, a phenomenal photographer, took these shots.
Yesterday was the 14th Annual Tom Farrell Memorial Bandfest at the Madison Heights Eagles. This is a charity benefit founded by my father (the aforementioned Tom Farrell) to raise money for cancer research. And every year there is music from noonish to closing with local bands donating their time. My cover band, Brothers Inc, has played the event every year and for the last 10 or so we’ve provided the PA and run sound all day. It’s always a lot of fun and it’s great to see so many people come together for a worthy cause.
This year we had ten bands and I played in three of them (Madigan’s Attic, The Robin Moore Band, and Brothers Inc). Our sets all went well and every other band (ten of them played) nailed it. Top to bottom, this was the best music we’ve had at this event. Hands down.
Leaving aside the music and the cause, this event is particularly special to me because my father is still so present in that place and at that event. The room is filled with people who knew and loved my father and they aren’t at all shy about telling me so. Which just warms my heart. He meant so much to so many.
St. Patrick’s Day is finally upon us! As you may guess, it’s a busy time of the year for my trio, Madigan’s Attic. We played at the I Care for Michigan St. Pat’s Fundraiser last Saturday and followed it up with a chilly set on their float in Detroit’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Both shows were a blast and we just learned that our float took first place in the parade!
The I Care of Michigan float in Detroit’s 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Photo by Emma Doppel
On the High Holiday, we will be at O’Mara’s in Berkley from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm and at Patrick J’s in Berkley from 6:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Hope to see lots of friends in the crowd.
The first weekend of March means it’s time for the Hamtramck Music Festival. This was the fourth year for the festival and its biggest yet. 20 venues, 175 (or so) bands, and packed venues all weekend. My band, Six and the Sevens, played at Baker’s Streetcar Bar, which is always fun. No video from the show, but our friend Patrick Minjeur (from the band Electric Honey) was onsite taking pics for the Metro Times. Fortunately, he got some decent shots of our set.
Note that all the profits from the festival go to Ben’s Encore, a non-profit dedicated to supporting music education in the Detroit area.
Here are a couple more songs from our living room sessions. First is our take on Men at Work’s “Down Under.” I’m a huge Colin Hay fan and I always cover a few of his songs when I do solo shows. Madigan’s Attic has been doing this for a couple of years now.
And here is a song I wrote a few years ago, “Summer Morn.” It’s one of the fastest songs I’ve ever written, pretty much about how I feel when I step out the door on summer morning before things heat up. It always reminds me of my childhood and visiting my mom’s family in West Virginia.
My trio, Madigan’s Attic, will be recording some videos from our weekly rehearsals in Bob’s living room. Here’s the first one with Bob singing lead: Paul Simon’s, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” Next week we might release one for the Tiny Desk Contest. Stay tuned.
Happy New Year! I took a bit of a hiatus over the holidays and had my first gig in almost a month last night (at Younger’s Irish Tavern in Romeo with Brothers Inc). Now it’s back to a more normal schedule and my gig calendar is starting to fill up nicely.
Here is our opening song from last night’s show. Someone had knocked my camera after it was set up, so it has a certain “Batman” feel to it and we only get glimpses of Josh (playing guitar just off camera).
And here is a cover of Just Like Heaven–my second favorite Cure song–recorded by Darlene Shaughnessy.
Next up is a solo show at one of my favorite places to play, North Center Brewing Company in Northville. Hope to see some familiar faces.
A big thanks to everyone who made our CD release so fun and successful. We had a great time. For those who missed it, here are a few clips (which include a couple of special guests).
Bruce Farrell Music 