Seeing a break in the weather, J&R took the risk and kept J&R MusicFest outdoors in City Hall Park for the third and final day of the free festival. It proved a good choice, the rain abated so all performers could play to the outdoor crowd.

It was a fantastic show that moved musically from Hip Hop to Pop to Jazz.

Legendary MCs KRS-One & Buckshot opened the show with, as they say, raw, real Hip Hop like was in the ’80s and ’90s: schooling all on how to break it down. LeToya and twin dancers took the stage with more schooling with her heartfelt songs telling a story of love, breakup and healing.

Fifteen year old Nikki Yanofsky demonstrated a prodigious ability to reach the audience while fronting her jazz band singing souped up standards, at times floating over the rhythms with fleet-witted scatting.
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Unfortunate rain storm moved the J&R MusicFest indoors to the Music World stage, but didn’t dampen the spirit of the music. In fact, the more intimate setting seemed to intensify the love of music shown by the performers and their fans. The Friday evening event produced three hours of strong preformances by Melinda Watts, J Moss, Clipse, and Mario.

Again, the bloggers, tweeters and YouTube videographers did a fine job of capturing and informing those not in attendance the magic of the occasion.

Here is a sampling found early in the day after. With all sources promising more to come. Continue Reading »

Local New York TV, The CW11 ran this piece on our J&R MusicFest, featuring Friday’s headliner, Mario.

The first day of MusicFest 2009 kicked off the three day free music festival by Rocking Downtown New York’s City Hall Park. Opener, Diane Birch’s delightful feminine beauty did not prepare the audience for the infectious joyful bounce of her country-tinged boogie.

The second act, the tough, bratty rocker, Jemina Pearl and her 4 piece band brought punky, poppy animation that had the audience jumping and herself ending by falling to the stage.

Fulfilling the headlining slot was the strong, power-pop rock of veterans, The Smithereens, Continue Reading »

Jemina Pearl will perform free in City Hall Park Thursday, August 27th at 6 pm, right after Diane Birch opens the show at 5 pm and just before headliners, The Smithereens at 7 pm.

Upon the break up of “Be Your Own Pet”, singer Jemina Pearl, daughter of rock photographer and musician, Jimmy Abegg, packed up her belongings - clothes, guitar, hair dye - and moved from Nashville to New York, formed a new band with Maxwell Peebles on rhythm guitar, Ben Pearson on bass, Erik Ratensperger on drums, and John Eatherly on lead guitar. They’ve been recording at The Fort in Bushwick, Brooklyn preparing for a fall tour.
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Thursday, August 27th at 5 pm, in City Hall Park, J&R’s MusicFest 2009 brings to the stage, singer-songwriter Diane Birch took half her lifetime, and traveled across the globe, to get to America, where she literally found her voice and made her remarkable debut, Bible Belt. Though only in her mid-twenties, Birch likes to think of herself as an “old soul,” and indeed there is a startling maturity in her singing and a veteran’s self-assurance in her writing. Hook-driven songs like “Fools” and “Valentino” offer more than just instant gratification: they’re like your new best friends - you’ll want to get together with them as frequently as possible. Birch mixes piano-playing virtuosity with easy-going soul, Continue Reading »

Although our MusicFest 2009 is centered an amazing three day schedule of brilliant artists performing for free outdoors in City Hall Park, Manhattan, if you add in this week’s schedule of free, live performances in J&R Music World across the street on Park Row, it is five days of live music.

This week’s music starts Tuesday, August 25th at 12:30 pm with two simultaneous performances: Jazz wunderkinder pianist, Eldar, upstairs in J&R’s Jazz Store (23 Park Row, 2nd Floor) and the dancehall-tinged, four-part harmonies of T.O.K. downstairs in the Pop Music Store (23 Park Row, 1st Floor). In both cases, the performances will be followed by autograph signings.
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Every once in a while, a truly great singer comes along who possesses the beauty, individuality and talent to remind us of the magic and majesty of the human voice: that singer is Roberta Gambarini, celebrated throughout the world by fans, critics and many of the world”s greatest musicians.

This Saturday, August 29th, Roberta Gambarini will take the J&R MusicFest stage in City Hall Park, New York at 4 pm, following 15 year-old sensation Nikki Yanofsky and just before headliner, Roy Hargrove, whose 5 pm set closes out the 3 Day Festival of free, outdoor music.

With the August 25, 2009 release of So In Love, Roberta Gambarini affirms her status as the “true successor to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae” Continue Reading »

The second day of MusicFest, Friday, August 28th, the free outdoor music performances start at 5:00 pm with Gospel singer, Melinda Watts, followed at 5:30 pm by J Moss. Hip Hop duo, Clipse comes on at 6 pm, R&B balladeer, Mario takes the stage at 7 pm.

Natural can be described as innate or instinctive in essence, disposition or temperament. Quite simply, natural can be summed up as God-given or God-inspired because it comes so easily. When 20 year-old Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, actor Mario realized that his talents came to him naturally, his growth and acceptance of these gifts aptly produced his third album, Go. “I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m supposed to be at this place in every aspect of my life, from personal to business. This is where I am, this is where I chose to be.” Continue Reading »