Archive for the 'Live at J&R' Category

Day 1 of Musicfest was awesome. Solange, Michelle Williams and Terrence Howard all had incredible performances. They certainly started Musicfest off with a bang.

Day 2 of Musicfest was a more mature affair. While the crowd was certainly older, their enthusiasm for the show was unrivaled. Many were in attendance to see Roy Hargrove and Esperanza Spalding.

The first performance on Day 2 was Aaron Parks. Aaron is an awarding winning Jazz pianist with talent well beyond his age of 24. He has been a notable sideman to the legendary trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and the up and coming Christian Scott. His performance was nothing short of brilliant. He got a tremendous reception from the crowd. He’s one to watch.

The next performer was the delightful Esperanza Spalding. A talented vocalist and double bassist, she gave a riveting performance that left everyone spellbound and wanting more. With her trademark afro swaying as she played the bass, her stunning voice solidified what her fans already know; she plays a mean bass and has a great voice. Those who weren’t fans before became fans. She’s one to look out for in the future. At a mere 24, she will no doubt get better. Considering how talented she is now, one can only imagine what the future holds.

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Featuring Solange, Terrence Howard, Michelle Williams, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Tina Knowles!

Jay-Z Backstage

Beyonce & Jay-Z

Solange

Solange on stage

Tina Knowles & Rachelle Friedman, J&R co-CEO

Michelle Williams on stage

Terrence Howard sings to a fan

Check out the rest of the photos from J&R’s Musicfest on our Flickr page!

The first day of J&R’s Musicfest was a smash success. The weather, oh the weather. It couldn’t have been any better. It was clear, bright and sunny, with a cool, gentle breeze. Throngs of jovial fans came down to City Hall Park to see Solange, Michelle Williams and Terrence Howard belt out some tunes for free. Something that is more than welcome in todays economy.

Up first on the stage was Solange. She was electrifying. She dazzled the crowd with her throwback style, reminiscent of R&B and Soul divas of yesterday like Diana Ross. The crowd certainly enjoyed her performance.

Michelle Williams was the second act of the evening, and boy what a performance! She had everyone singing and dancing and just moving to the rhythm. You just could not help it, it was infectious. Tina Knowles sure couldn’t help it. The mom of Beyonce and Solange could be seen in the crowd singing and pumping her fists in the air. All in good fun of course. Beyonce and Jay-Z were also in attendance.

The last act of the evening was Terrence Howard. Terrence is an Oscar nominated actor, so he’s well known, but can he sing? Well, the answer is a resounding yes!! Before he came out to perform, his female fans began chanting his name. When he did appear on stage, the place nearly erupted. The guy has swag. He commanded the stage and sang with authority. He certainly crooned his way into all the women’s hearts last night, and they all obliged.

Phew! Is that just Day 1 of Musicfest? I can’t wait to see the other performances tonight and on Saturday.

J&R’s Musicfest has been creating buzz all over the web. You can check out coverage here, here, here and here.

Be sure to check in for more coverage of J&R’s Musicfest.

Solange rocked the house last night with a sensational performance at J&R’s Musicfest. In case you missed her, don’t fret. Solange will be here at J&R to sign copies of her upcoming CD Sol-Angel & the Hadley St. Dreams on Tuesday, August 26. She will be here from 12:30 pm-1:30 pm. Buy the CD & receive a FREE special limited edition DVD of Solange’s live performance at J&R’s Musicfest, live and uncut.

Also, make sure you check out the pictures from Musicfest. Don’t forget there are still two more days of free live music.

Come down to J&R on Friday, August 22 or Saturday, August 23 and see how far you can get in a Quake 4 battle with pro gamer Sabian “Clamp-OK” Hayblum. Top 5 scorers per day will win either a Razer Death Adder White Mouse or a Piranha Headset.

The mini-tournament will happen between 10am and 4pm on the second floor of 1 Park Row.

Pop icon Chubby Checker stopped by J&R on Tuesday, August 19th to promote his new CD, All The Best, and to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of “The Twist”. Enjoy this video of Chubby performing his legendary song in our music store.

NY1 also did a nice piece on Chubby and his performance in the store. You can check it out here.

Sabian Hayblum, better known as ‘Clamp-OK’ on the pro gaming circuit will be here at J&R for 3 days taking on all comers in an all out, frag fest in Quake 4 for the PC.

Sabian started gaming seriously at the tender age of 14. He played the usual fare of FPS games like Doom 3 and Counter-Strike Source, but these days prefers to focus on the Quake game series competitively. He got inspired to be a professional gamer because of pro gaming icon Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel.

Sabian will be here from 10am to 4pm on Thursday through Saturday this week. Razer will also be on hand for the festivities. There will 5 giveaways daily for the top 5 scores. The top 5 players will get either the Razer Deathadder Gaming Mouse or the Razer Piranha Gaming Headset.

So come on down to J&R. You’ll get to meet Sabian, play some Quake 4 and perhaps even win some swag!

Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters stopped by J&R yesterday to sign copies of their self-titled debut cd. The guys got a warm reception from their fans, and why shouldn’t they? Afterall, it’s not everyday Bad Santa releases a new CD.

You can see more photos of Billy Bob & his band on our Flickr page here.

(Photo by Nick Scribner)

Singer-songwriter Willie Nile performed at J&R’s music store today. Nile’s folk-roots-rock music and keen songwriting has always been well received by the critics, and his fans have dubbed him “the next Bob Dylan.”

His latest album, Live From the Streets of New York, is a nice throwback to this New York native’s rock-and-roll sound. For the old school rocker looking for something new, this album is seriously worth checking out.

J&R: You’re a Grammy award winning musician who needs no introduction to our readers. Tell us about your past. How did you get involved in music and did you always aspire to be a singer?

Ashanti: Growing up listening to loud music at home with family and at family barbeques, my family just loves good food and good music. No, I never aspired to be a singer, it just happened accidentally.

J&R: Who were some of your musical influences?

Ashanti: Blue Magic, Heat Wave, Mary Jane Girls, Mary J. Blige.

J&R: Apart from your illustrious music career, you’re also an accomplished actress. Did you plan on going into acting after establishing a music career?

Ashanti: Yes, definitely, I wanted to try acting! I did a few High School plays and always wanted to try it and see if I enjoyed it.

J&R: Your latest album, ‘The Declaration’ is the first studio album where you got different producers outside of The Inc. family. What led you to make that decision?

Ashanti: It had been 4 yrs. Since my last album and I wanted to grow and try things differently. I had a blast working with so many different producers.

J&R: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any upcoming projects?

Ashanti: I am currently working on some film projects and of course more music. I have plans to do a tour very soon.

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Ashanti will be part of the Musicfest lineup performing on Saturday August 23rd in City Hall Park, located directly across the street from J&R Music World on Park Row. The show starts at 1pm, and it is completely FREE!