Event
Tony Lucca, Brendan James, Matt Duke W/Matt MacKelcan
Tickets are $10 at the door..Doors 9PM Show Starts at 9:30
It is nearly impossible to find a current singer/songwriter between the ages of 20 and 40 who doesn’t have a seemingly identical list of influences as their peers. Whether its the soul-bearing lyrics of Stevie Wonder, or the gritty folk music of Bob Dylan, the unbridled creativity of Dave Matthews, or the overwhelming truth of Ray LaMontange, somehow these artists all seem to inform the landscape of the modern singer/songwriter. What tends to separate an artist from that pack is experience, confidence and self-exploration. 8 full-length albums into his career, Tony Lucca has become a standard-bearer to some, a torch-bearer to others, and all the while Lucca’s confidence is matched only by his humble appreciation for his path in the wild world of entertainment.
A singer-songwriter who accompanies himself on piano, James began writing the songs on his second album after winding up a year and a half on the road in support of his debut album The Day is Brave, which was released by Decca Records in June 2008 and debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. Several of its songs were featured on various television shows including Private Practice, Bones, So You Think You Can Dance, and Army Wives. After releasing the album, James hit the ground running to support it from coast to coast. “I went to 40 states, ate at 330 restaurants, stayed in 210 hotels, and slept on one boat — John Mayer’s Mayercraft Cruise; I know because I wrote it all down,” James says with a laugh. The 18-month tour enabled James (whom Entertainment Weekly has called “a songwriter on the rise”) to build his fanbase the way many successful musicians have done before him: one room at a time, and he shares the fruits of that journey — renewed vigor, musical maturity, and even a new sound — on his second album.
Matt Duke is a South Jersey-bred singer/songwriter currently signed to Drexel University’s student-run record label, MAD Dragon Records, and Rykodisc. Duke began playing piano at the age of seven, and by ten he developed a deep love for the arts. Inspired by artists such as Van Morrison, The Band, and Pearl Jam, he taught himself how to play his mother’s vintage guitar. Duke spent his high school years at Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep, where he was exposed to Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper, Tool, and Damien Rice. Impressed by their poignant lyrics and musical ambition, Duke started writing and performing at coffee houses in Philadelphia area. By the winter of 2004, Duke recorded his first demo, which landed him placement in MAD Dragon Records compilation CD XYX.
With his genuine combination of American soul and upbeat rock & roll, Matt MacKelcan has emerged as one of the most prominent indie front men out of the southeastern U.S. He first broke into the music scene in the Orlando Florida area while earning