2024 Series Lineup
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to kick off the 2024 program with New York City-based, Afro-Andean Funk!
Two-time Latin Grammy Nominated Afro-Andean Funk is a band led by Peruvian Singer Araceli Poma and American music producer/bassist Matt Geraghty. Their Afro-Andean roots music fused with world music and funk features themes of social struggle, shamanic rituals and indigenous Peruvian traditions. Their music aims at uniting musical cultures and bringing visibility to the Quechua language — the most widely spoken indigenous language in South America.
Afro-Andean Funk presents a selection of original songs paying homage to Poma’s Andean and Afro-Peruvian roots. Afro-Andean Funk will perform music from their two albums The Sacred Leaf and Flower on Fire reflecting the group’s deep love for music from a variety of styles and places. Their music brings together a spectrum of traditional and modern musical styles from Peru and beyond such as afropop, huayno, electronica, drum and bass, funk, cumbia as well as hard rock.
Non-Profit Partner
We will be joined by the Allegany County Department of Social Services Car Seat program representatives, which is a free program open to any family in Allegany County, for children under 8. The program promotes car seat safety for all children.
Department of Social Service Car Seat Program. Free program for any family in Allegany County, Maryland to children under 8.
Food Vendors
Frost Bite Freeze Dried Treats
Turtle’s Treats
Photo Credit: Bill Wadman
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to announce its next program with Canada-based songwriter and guitarist, Ariel Posen!
Recently named one of the 10 best rock guitarists in the world by MusicRadar, Ariel Posen is no stranger to crafting compelling guitar solos that tell a beautiful story and paint a vivid picture for his listeners. A lifelong musician, there are few roles Ariel Posen hasn’t played. Including being a member of the Juno Award-winning roots-rock band, The Bros. Landreth, co-writing and producing other artists across all genres, and writing/recording his own compositions as a solo artist.
“Ariel Posen is the complete package: a great singer and songwriter, as well as a virtuoso guitarist. He is representative of a new generation of players who are fully schooled, either academically or self-taught, who don’t let the schooling get in the way of their soul,” says Michael Ross (Guitar Player, Premier Guitar, Guitar Moderne).
Featured Partner
The 2024 Levitt AMP series invited partners from all across our community to join us with information about services and programs which benefit our community.
This show will feature UPMC Western Maryland as our featured partner. UPMC Western Maryland Population Health staff will be available to provide information about the range of services available to our community. Special emphasis will be on the health promotion programs available through Community Health and Wellness as well as the support available for patients managing chronic medical conditions such as diabetes.
Food Partners
This show will feature Kona Ice and Frost Bite Freeze Dried Treats in addition to beer and wine sales onsite.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to announce its next concert with Detroit-based, Laura Rain & The Caesars!
Detroit’s Laura Rain & The Caesars transform funky soul and R&B into their own unique vision. Inspired by the spirit of classic recordings of a bygone era, Laura Rain creates her own environment of expression with a powerful and soulful voice.
Formed in the Motor City in 2012 with her husband George Friend, the pair set off on a creative journey writing and recording their own music. Their debut release, “Electrified,” received praise from radio and press. Performing with a stripped down lineup of organ, guitar and drums, the band developed its signature sound, and cultivated a vintage-toned energetic foundation.
Having released four albums, they have also been honored with a Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Blues Songwriter, and tour the U.S. Canada and Europe.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to announce its next concert with performing artist, Lizzie No!
With the release of her debut album, ‘Hard Won,’ in March 2017, singer-songwriter, harpist, and guitarist Lizzie No established herself as one of the most exciting new voices in indie folk music. Billboard Magazine called the album “simultaneously understated and fervent.” She followed up the album with the release of “Sundown,” a benefit track for Black Lives Matter.
Building on the songwriting prowess displayed in her critically acclaimed debut album, Lizzie No is unsparing in the stories she tells on her second album, ‘Vanity,’ released August 2, 2019. The nine songs on ‘Vanity’ are epic tales of ego, featuring narrative shifts within vividly crafted characters. No embodies characters ranging from a handsome egoist in “Narcissus” (which Rolling Stone called a “crisp alt-rock gem”) to a broke songwriter waiting for her big break in “Pity Party,” to a bitter and isolated rocker on “Loyalty” who rants that the crowd has left him behind. Inventive arrangements written in collaboration with co-producer Nick Rapley elevate the record to shimmering heights, alternating between swaggering grooves and intimate clarity.
Lizzie has toured with Iron & Wine, Adia Victoria, Ron Pope, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, and has showcased at festivals like Newport Folk Fest, Americanafest, South by Southwest, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Classical arrangements of her songs have been performed at the Louisville Orchestra’s Festival of American Music and the Downtown Chamber Series. She is also a winner of the American Songwriter Magazine Lyrics Contest.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to announce its next concert with Nashville-based, Airshow!
This show takes place at Hoffman Park in Frostburg, MD.
Airshow is a high-flying, Nashville-based jam band featuring a unique contrast of familiar acoustic and mind-bending electric sounds that transports listeners from a campfire picking-party to the outer reaches of the multiverse.
Formed by longtime friends Cody Chelius (Mandolin / Vocals) and Steve Gallagher (Guitar / Vocals), the group’s lineup was completed with the addition of Bill Baker (Bass/ Vocals) and John Rodrigue (Drums/ Vocals) in 2016. While each member has different musical influences, it is their shared passion for exploring uncharted sonic territories that has propelled their ascension to the top of Nashville’s jamband scene— and they won’t be landing anytime soon.
Having released two studio albums ‘Shimmer’ (2021) and ‘Up in the Clouds’ (2019), as well as two EPs, ‘Anubis’ (2020) and ‘Lightbulb’ (2017), Airshow has started sharing live recordings of recent shows from all across the north and southeast. The band has their navigation set in all directions, so keep your eyes peeled for the one and only Airshow in your town soon!
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series welcomes back an incredible jazz collaboration with, The Lao Tizer Band!
“Jazz Group of the Year” nominee, The Lao Tizer Band, will make their debut at Levitt AMP! Cumberland Music Series on Thursday, July 11 in support of their forthcoming Summer 2024 album & video release AMPLIFY.
The new release is a major evolution for the group and includes 5 new original vocals and 4 new original instrumentals with flavors of Jazz, R&B, Funk & World Music. The project was recorded and filmed all LIVE at legendary EastWest Studios in Hollywood with simultaneous 7-camera video shoot and a legendary cast of musicians.
Joining keyboardist and bandleader, Lao Tizer (“Best New Jazz Artist” nominee, Down To The Bone) for the evening are American Idol star, Elliott Yamin, drum phenom Tony Austin (Kamasi Washington) and Senegalese bassists and producer, Cheikh N’Doye (Baaba Maal, Weedie Braimah). Please join us as the group takes you on a high-energy musical ride through a variety of flavors and styles with an all-star cast of musicians.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to host bluegrass legend, John Jorgensen Bluegrass Band!
J2B2 is an all-star bluegrass supergroup featuring four legendary, award-winning musicians – John Jorgenson on acoustic guitar, mandolin and vocals; Herb Pedersen on banjo, acoustic guitar and vocals; Mark Fain on bass; and Patrick Sauber on acoustic guitar and vocals – delivering bluegrass like no one has ever heard it before. The band’s undeniable live shows have received stellar reviews and have the bluegrass world buzzing. The four combine forces to form a spot-on union of impeccable musicianship, incomparable songwriting, incredible harmony vocals (a fresh twist combining bluegrass with elements of West Coast folk rock) and seasoned showmanship. This is the “high lonesome sound” of American roots music at its finest.
Jorgenson and Pedersen are founders (with Chris Hillman) of the formative country rock group Desert Rose Band. After working as a freelance musician in Southern California, Jorgenson met Hillman and soon formed the Desert Rose Band. In 1990, Jorgenson went on to found the Hellecasters and toured with Elton John’s band for six years. Artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Bonnie Raitt to Earl Scruggs have sought out Jorgenson’s guitar work. Jorgenson portrayed Django Reinhardt in the Hollywood feature film Head in the Clouds. In 2008, Jorgenson won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental with Brad Paisley and was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album with Earl Scruggs.
Herb Pedersen was a member of legendary bluegrass band The Dillards as well as bluegrass super-group Old and In the Way. A sought-after singer and musician, he has worked with such music legends as Chris Hillman, Earl Scruggs, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Tony Rice, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Jackson Browne and John Denver.
Mark Fain toured and recorded as bass player for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for 13 years. He’s toured and recorded with the Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Dwight Yoakam, Allison Krauss and Dolly Parton, as well as producing many artists in jazz, country, bluegrass and gospel genres.
Patrick Sauber is a multi-instrumentalist who has quickly made a name for himself in the world of bluegrass and old time music. Equally adept on guitar, mandolin and banjo, Sauber has toured with Peter Rowan and Laurie Lewis and appeared on screen in “The Mighty Wind.”
J2B2’s debut album, From The Crow’s Nest, was recorded in Sheryl Crow’s home barn studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was recently released as part of a John Jorgenson limited edition, 3-CD box set called DIVERTUOSO (Cleopatra Records), which has received vast critical acclaim. DIVERTUOSO includes three new distinct albums by Jorgenson: J2B2 – From The Crow’s Nest; John Jorgenson Quintet – Returning (gypsy jazz); and John Jorgenson – Gifts From The Flood(instrumental electric guitar).
In addition to recording their first album as a group, J2B2 has played several major tour dates over the course of the past two and a half years, including tours of Norway and the UK, performances at the annual RockyGrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado; the Joe Val Festival in Framingham, Massachusetts; and headlining the Guitar Town Festival in Copper Mountain, Colorado, three years in a row. J2B2 made its Grand Ole Opry debut in October 2013 and has returned several times to the Opry since.
J2B2 has created quite a buzz, and The International Bluegrass Music Association is among the many giving the newly formed band’s live performance high marks. In a review, the IBMA noted, “There was warmth, and storytelling, and lots of laughter as this fresh band of legends made their debut...but with their expertise combined, you would think they had been playing in this configuration for years.”
Yes! Weekly in Greensboro, NC has noted of J2B2: “Expect fireworks and amazing playing from some of the best string players in the world.”
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to welcome Vermont-based, Ali McGuirk!
Blending classic soul power with a folk songwriter lyricism, New England’s Ali McGuirk has the rare ability to silence a room with just a few words of a song. With a voice that is raw and sultry and a style rooted in improvisation, her sets are a hypnotic and intimate journey.
On her Signature Sounds Recordings debut ‘Til It’s Gone, McGuirk delivers a sublime set of songs that pairs her trademark soul sound with rootsy turns and raw rock ‘n’ roll detours. The album landed on the Boston Globe’s Top 50 Albums list for 2022. Consequence of Sound raved, “‘All Back’ feels like it could exist somewhere outside of space and time– it could be on a record in the background of a party in a 1970s bungalow, or it could be on your Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify. Either way, it’s a great listen.”
McGuirk co-produced ‘Til It’s Gone with Jonah Tolchin (a star singer-songwriter in his own right) and a set of session legends: Little Feat guitarist/mandolinist Fred Tackett, organist Larry Goldings (James Taylor, Norah Jones), singer Valerie Pinkston (Ray Charles, Luther Vandross), percussionist Lenny Castro (Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder). They provided the astounding chops, but the true magic of the album comes from McGuirk’s singular voice as both singer and songwriter. The nine tracks run from intimate introspection to wider meditations on oppression and justice, from tough r&b and tender soul to big rock guitar and twangy folk. And McGuirk’s voice – bold, buttery, spellbinding – carries each song to the next til they’re gone.
McGuirk currently divides her time between touring North America and Europe and crafting new compositions in her lakeside Vermont cottage. She has performed spellbinding sets at Boston Calling, Merlefest, Americanafest, and NPR’s Mountain Stage.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to welcome Baltimore-based ilyAIMY!
For over two decades, Rob Hinkal and Heather Aubrey Lloyd have crisscrossed the nation as ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You) playing everything from bait shops to biker weeks to clothing-optional resorts, folk festivals, heavy metal festivals and jams of def comedy. Award-winning narrative songs with soulful, powerful male / female harmonies and a percussive, clawhammer-like acoustic guitar provide the heart of the band, while their infectious energy and rapid-fire lyricism is softened with cello, driven by Irish bones and bodhran, beatboxing, djembe, and thickened by didgeridoo, synths and keys creating “an acoustically roiling, combustible attack on the usual singer/songwriter fare”.
Their energetic brand of new-folk has garnered honors from the Bernard/Ebb Songwriter Awards, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, Kerrville Folk Festival, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Washington Area Music Awards, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. They are three-time winners of the Washington Area Music Association Winners for Best Contemporary Folk Group and are known for combining their award-winning songwriting, tight male/female harmonies, signature intricate slap-style guitar work, ukulele, percussion and an eclectically humorous stage show into an exquisite package.
The Levitt AMP Cumberland Music Series is pleased to welcome New York-based band, Fantastic Cat!
They said it couldn’t be done. Four different songwriters joining forces to form a single band? There was simply no precedent (outside of CSNY, The Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys, The Highwaymen, Monsters of Folk, etc). And yet Fantastic Cat did it anyway, defying the odds and teaming up to record their highly unanticipated debut, The Very Best Of Fantastic Cat. Captured in the wilds of the Pocono Mountains, the album gleefully careens between genres and decades, mixing electrified 60’s folk and 70’s AM radio gold as it balances careful craftsmanship and ecstatic abandon in equal measure.
Individually, each member of Fantastic Cat boasts their own impressive resume along with a litany of critical acclaim. The Guardian dubbed Don DiLego “one to watch.” NPR said Anthony D’Amato “sings and writes in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen or Josh Ritter.” Rolling Stone called Brian Dunne’s latest single a “stunner” and praised Mike Montali’s band, Hollis Brown, as “the soundtrack for a late-night drive through the American heartland.” Collectively, though, the four transcend their respective roots, emerging as an instrument-swapping, harmony-trading, tear-jerking, wise-cracking rock and roll cooperative far greater than the sum of its parts. They say some cats are born fantastic; others have fantasy thrust upon them. These guys are somewhere in the middle.