There is nothing like New Orleans music to celebrate the Mardi Gras season, and Cape Ann’s popular Jambalaya Horns are performing in two concerts.
At 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1, the New Orleans-flavored funk, soul and brassy second lines of the Jambalaya Horns will entertain audiences at Gloucester Stage’s theater at 267 East Main St., Gloucester.
The band was established in 2013 and is fronted by Carlos Menezes Jr. on lead vocals and horns. The core group features Martina Gallo, keys; Rick Geraghty, drums; Gary Wolsieffer, bass/tuba; Henley Douglas Jr., saxes; Ben Tuck, trombone; Christian Towler, guitar; and Robby Perkins, percussion.
Each night will have a special guest vocalist with New Orleans native Henri Smith on Friday, and Emily Grace on Saturday.
For tickets, $25-$35, visit gloucesterstage.com, or call the box office at 978-281-4433.
Oscar shorts to screen
This weekend, Cape Ann Community Cinema, at 37 Whistlestop Mall in Rockport, presents all three Academy Award-nominated shorts programs available to view until Sunday, March 2. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Animation, Live Action or Documentary. This 20th anniversary theatrical release of the Oscar-nominated short films is the world’s largest commercial release of short films, according to the cinema. The topics are diverse. For details and tickets, $14, visit capeanncinema.com.
The Irish Tenors
Rockport Music presents The Irish Tenors in two shows, on Tuesday, March 4, and Wednesday, March 5, both at 8 p.m. at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main St., Rockport.
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the “kings of Celtic music” and their Irish repertoire. Since their debut in 1998, the tenors have entertained audiences worldwide, and in the United States from Radio City Music Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. The trio of vocalists will be joined by a pianist and string quartet. They will perform Irish ballads, classics and more. The group has ten best-selling CDs. The concert is for audiences of all ages. For details, tickets, $59-$86, visit rockportmusic.org.
Hammond pipe organ
A special presentation about the storied pipe organ at Hammond Castle will take place this Thursday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. at Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester. The castle boasts an organ with more than 8,000 pipes, the third-largest pipe organ in a private residence in the United States and a “masterpiece of engineering and music,” according to a press release. The special presentation will be led by Peter Kennett, vice president of the museum’s Board of Directors who also leads the Organ Restoration Team. Also presenting is John Roper, of the Plenum Organ Company, who is deputy team lead.
The talk will include Hammond’s innovative contributions and the contributions of renowned organ designers and tonal experts, who each brought their vision to the instrument’s evolution. Kennett and Roper will explore the details of the organ’s older components, sourced by Hammond from various locations. The program begins with a 30-minute period for refreshments, followed by the presentation at 2:30 p.m. after which there will be a question-and-answer session. Admission is $15. For advance registration, visit: https://bit.ly/ThePipeOrganStory.
Palate to Palette returns
Cape Ann Plein Air brings back its Palate-to-Palette program on the last Thursday of each month with the first one this year on Thursday, Feb. 27, from 5 to 8 p .m., at 35 Beach Street, 35 Beach St. in Manchester-by-the-Sea, with artist Marion Hall. In this program, Cape Ann Plein Air works with local restaurants to feature a local artist who will paint as guests dine. This year, the event will feature a signature CAPA cocktail on the menu. For details, visit www.capeannpleinair.org.
Music and contradance
The group Long Time Travelers will be busy this weekend with two events. The musicians are familiar faces on Cape Ann. Husband-and-wife violinists Scott Moore and Erica Pisaturo will join with twin brothers Charles and George Clements (on double bass and guitar, respectively), all who moved to Gloucester around the same time.
The first event is a contradance with caller Rose Sheehan this Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at MAGMA, 11 Pleasant St., Gloucester. All are welcome.
Then in the next event, Long Time Travelers perform a “chamber roots” concert — “a heady blend of the uptown and the down-home” — this Saturday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Annisquam Village Church, 820 Washington St., Gloucester. Suggested donation, $35.
“George, Charles, Erica, and I have each spent a lot of years traveling the world playing music, from Carnegie Hall to Symphony Hall, and on tours of China, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. The four of us are lucky to live here, amid so many creative and interesting and supportive people,” Moore said. “It’s so fun to carve time out of our busy lives and make music as the Long Time Travelers. We learn a lot from each other, and have a great time along the way.”
All ages are welcome, and a reception with the musicians follows the performance.
‘The Idea of Light,’ a new book
Gloucester’s John Ronan has a new book of poems, “The Idea of Light,” due to be released by Main Street Rag Publishing in June. It will sell for $14 plus shipping but there is a discount to buy the book at $8 with an advance order for a limited time before it goes to press. This book has been a semi-finalist and finalist a number of times (Elixir, Word Works, Colorado, among others). All the poems have appeared in national publications. To pre-order a copy, visit https://theronan.org.
Gloucester musician at SpeakEasy Stage
Gloucester resident Joe LaRocca, is among the musicians in the SpeakEasy Stage production of the New England premiere of “A Man Of No Importance,” which runs through March 22 at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion in Boston’s South End. The show is set in 1960s Dublin in this musical about the redemptive power of theatre, love and friendship.
The reimagined version of this classic includes the use of on-stage musicians. LaRocca is a woodwind artist, who has had two Eliot Norton Award nominations. He also plays flute with the Cape Ann Symphony. For details, visit speakeasystage.com.
Open Mic at writers center
Gloucester Writers Center will hold its First Monday Open Mic on March 3 at 7 p.m. at 126 E. Main St., Gloucester, hosted by poet Bob Whelan. Come sign up before the event starts; bring a poem, bring a story, bring a neighbor, or bring a friend to this event. The featured reader will be poet Martha Fox, an author of the full-length poetry collection “This Arc of Assurances.” She was a poet-in-residence for the National Endowment for the Arts in California and has taught young writers throughout her career. She lives in Rockport, where she is a member of the workshop group, Cape Ann Poets.
Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-675-2706 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com at least two weeks in advance.