{"id":55823,"date":"2025-08-13T09:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=55823"},"modified":"2025-08-13T09:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:37:10","slug":"on-stage-extra-ozomatli-leads-busy-wednesday-night-show-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=55823","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Ozomatli leads busy Wednesday night show schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Ozomatli<\/p><\/div>\n

For most of the year, the main focus of live shows is on the weekend \u2013 Friday, Saturday and Sunday when people have more free time.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tuesday and Thursday are just O.K. but Wednesday is the least desirable night to perform a show.<\/div>\n
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In summer, things tend to even out and Wednesdays can have schedules filled with attractive shows.<\/div>\n
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This Wednesday is a prime example.<\/div>\n
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There is a concert by a band from L.A. with a 30-year history \u2013 Ozomatli at Underground Arts; a show by one of the best young blues-rock guitarists in America — Gabe Stillman at the Sellersville Theater; and an outdoor concert by a singer\/songwriter who had her first hit in 1995 \u2013 Joan Osborne at the Sundown Music Series.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
And that\u2019s not all if you\u2019re talking about veteran acts performing in this area on August 13.<\/div>\n
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The Doobie Brothers, a band that formed in 1970, are headlining a show at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, and Barrington Levy, one of Jamaica\u2019s revered reggae and dancehall singers who got started in 1977, is playing at the Ardmore Music Hall.<\/div>\n
Ozomatli is on an ambitious national tour called the \u201c30 Revolutions Tour.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The tour, which will visit Philly on August 13 for a show at Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, http:\/\/undergroundarts.org<\/a>), is a celebration of the band\u2019s 30th\u00a0anniversary \u2013 of serving up great music for 30 annual revolutions of earth.<\/div>\n
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If the city of Los Angeles had a soundtrack, it would be Ozomatli\u2019s music. Since forming in 1995, the lineup\u2019s collaborative, energetic blend of multi-cultural music and activism has earned the band several GRAMMYs\u00ae, a few Hollywood Bowl shows, a TED Talk and much more.<\/div>\n
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Many band members have come and gone over the last three decades but, amazingly, the core of six original members remains intact.<\/div>\n
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Ozomatli\u2019s music is as multifaceted as its members and influences. Meeting as young political activists and musicians, the original band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 to play a distinctive urban-Latino collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican reggae and Indian raga\u2014 all while following a key mantra: it will take you around the world by taking you around Los Angeles.<\/div>\n
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The roster of 30-year veterans features Asdru Sierra\u00a0(vocals, trumpet),\u00a0Raul Pacheco\u00a0(vocals, guitars),\u00a0Ulises Bella\u00a0(saxophone, vocals),\u00a0Wil-Dog Abers\u00a0(bass),\u00a0Jiro Yamaguchi\u00a0(percussion) and\u00a0Justin Poree\u00a0(vocals, percussion).<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe six of us who are celebrating 30 years together are all original members,\u201d said Pacheco, during a phone interview Friday from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe share everything. We share money, royalties and writing credits. It\u2019s always been the policy of the band. We stay unified. There is no limit to what you can do with this band.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe all still live in the L.A. area \u2013 in southern California. I have a place here in Albuquerque, but I also have a place in L.A. \u2013 a studio and apartment in Boyle Heights.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI came to Albuquerque a few years ago to visit a friend. Then, COVID hit. I was a COVID refugee in Albuquerque. I had a relaxed time during COVID.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Since its inception in 1995, innovation and creativity have defined Ozomatli. The band has defined how to represent L.A.\u2019s eclectic culture through music that appeals to the local community and the world beyond.<\/div>\n
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The band started with its first live shows at a community center for youth and arts in downtown L.A. Every weekend, they\u2019d play shows as a benefit.<\/div>\n
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Ozomatli, which has the nickname \u201cDioses del Baile,\u201d or \u201cGods of Dance,\u201d is also known for advocating for farm workers\u2019 rights and immigration reform. The band has performed in various countries all over the world, including China, Tunisia, Jordan, and Burma.<\/div>\n
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The group released its self-titled debut album in 1998 and followed with \u201cEmbrace the Chaos\u201d (2001), \u201cStreet Signs\u201d (2004), \u201cDon\u2019t Mess with the Dragon\u201d, (2007), \u201cFire Away (2010), \u201cOzomatli Presents Ozokidz (2012), \u201cPlace in the Sun (2014), \u201cNon-Stop: Mexico to Jamaica\u201d (2017) and \u201cMarching On\u201d (2020).<\/div>\n
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\u201cA new album isn\u2019t in our plans right now,\u201d said Pacheco. \u201cWe just recorded this one song \u2013 \u2018Red Line.\u2019<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe wrote this song because of the times \u2013 because of what\u2019s going on.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWith the Red Line, people would say \u2013 don\u2019t go to that neighborhood, don\u2019t take that bus. Avoid it because of the neighborhood and who lives in it.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Ozomatli, who ooze the essence of East L.A., used the name the name Red Line from the Los Angeles Metro Rail system even though it actually referred to the Gold Line.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0B Line\u00a0(formerly the Red Line from 1993\u20132020) is an underground rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles between North Hollywood and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Gold Line is a former designation for a single light rail line that provided service between Azusa and East Los Angeles via the northeastern corner of downtown Los Angeles.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s mostly hard-working people in this area,\u201d said Pacheco. \u201cWhen I was young, that was not written about in newspapers. Now, we\u2019re taking a stand.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve been involved in a lot of events in L.A. to remind people of their rights. That\u2019s our stand. It\u2019s worth fighting back. We\u2019re on the side of people who genuinely share.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe want people to see each other as humans \u2013 just reminding people that the world is complex and that most people are kind.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t tell people you have to do it. We just encourage it. There are lots of ways to do it locally and nationally. Activism is a lifelong commitment to see change.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When Ozomatli concludes its summer of activism and live music, the band will turn its attention to creating a new album.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have a group of songs,\u201d said Pacheco. \u201cI\u2019d like to see us sit down and do a full record.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOn tour, we\u2019ll be playing enough that we can work out songs in sound check or by playing them live. We work on songs by just being free and not editing ourselves.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Ozomatli \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/HsKFjdGtJ1o<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Underground Arts will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $31. Ozomatli will be donating $1 from every ticket sold to\u00a0Sweet Relief\u00a0and\u00a0Backline – to support mental health.<\/div>\n
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\"\"

Gabe Stillman<\/p><\/div>\n

Up until about a decade ago, Williamsport was known mainly as the home of the Little League World Series.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Now, the city on the Susquehanna River is\u00a0becoming known as the home of Gabe Stillman\u00a0\u2013 one of the country\u2019s most promising young blues\/roots guitarists.<\/div>\n
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On March 13,\u00a0Stillman\u00a0and his band will headline a show at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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\u201cI just got back from shows in the Midwest,\u201d said Stillman, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from his home in Williamsport. \u201cBefore that, I was in Europe with John N\u00e9meth.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
N\u00e9meth\u00a0is an American electric blues and soul harmonica player, singer and songwriter.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJohn plays harp and sings,\u201d said Stillman. \u201cHe has received several Blues Music Awards. I\u2019ve known him for about 10 years and have always been a fan.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOut of the blue, I got a call from him earlier this year asking me to play with him on his European tour in June.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe started at the Poretta Soul Festival in Poretta, Italy. We also played the Trasimeno Blues Festival 2025 in Trasimeno, Italy.<\/div>\n
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Then, we flew early the next morning \u2013 we had to wait for the airport to open — to Bucharest, Romania. We had a four-hour drive to the Open Air Blues Festival in Brezoi, Romania.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe finished with three shows in Spain. First was the Caf\u00e9 Central Jazz Club in Madrid and then La Grapa in Avila. Our final show was at the Festival De Jazz in Pontevedra on August 4.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThen, we were back in the states to play the Bay Front Blues Festival in Duluth, Minnesota last Friday and the Market Blues Festival in Omaha on Saturday.\u201d<\/div>\n
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For a lot of people, a schedule like that might call for a few weeks of \u201cR&R\u201d to recuperate \u2013 but not for Stillman.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor me, the whole point is to be as busy as possible,\u201d said Stillman. \u201cI want to be on the road as much as possible. It\u2019s a lot to do to make it work with two bands \u2013 but I\u2019m getting it done.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Stillman\u00a0has been studying guitar for almost a decade-and-a-half.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started taking guitar lessons when I was 11,\u201d said\u00a0Stillman. \u201cWhen I started out, I wanted to play heavy rock and heavy metal.<\/div>\n
\u201cListening to guitarists in those genres, I realized that their playing was very fast and technically complicated. A teacher told me to learn rock by getting into the blues.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSo, I started listening to a lot of blues guitarists like B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Buddy Guy and Elmore James. I was also listening to guitarists such as Duane Allman and Derek Trucks.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI realized \u2013 hey, I can do this. I got hooked on blues and R&B \u2013 and jazz. When I was 13 or 14, I started to perform live.\u201d<\/div>\n
A key stage in\u00a0Stillman\u2019s development came at the Uptown Music Collective in Williamsport.<\/div>\n
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For 20 years, the Uptown Music Collective has been providing exceptional modern music education grounded in traditional educational principles.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Its programs engage students through an emphasis on modern genres including rock, pop, soul, blues, country, R&B, and funk.<\/div>\n
\u201cI studied at the Uptown Music Collective when I was younger,\u201d said\u00a0Stillman. \u201cI also taught there after I got out of college.\u201d<\/div>\n
Stillman\u00a0spent his college years in Boston where he got a degree in \u201cProfessional Music\u201d at Berklee College of Music with an emphasis on guitar performance and songwriting.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started my band in 2015 after graduating from Berklee,\u201d said\u00a0Stillman, whose honors include making it to \u201cFinal Eight\u201d of the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis Tennessee.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy band has been primarily a trio but at the Blues Challenge, I made it to the finals with the addition of a harmonica player in the group.<\/div>\n
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Stillman\u2019s first recording effort was a self-produced five-track EP called, \u201cThe Grind.\u201d It was released in June 2018.<\/div>\n
\u201cMy second EP \u2013 \u2018Flying High\u2019 — came out in October 2020,\u201d said\u00a0Stillman. \u201cI made it with The Nighthawks as my band \u2013 just me and the Nighthawks.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe recorded it in a day-and-a-half at Temperamental Recordings, a studio in Geneseo, New York. We cut 13 songs and seven were used on the EP.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m working on my next album. I have nine songs done. I\u2019m waiting for the right time to release it. I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m writing all the time. I write a lot. Pat Patterson, who was one of my professors at Berklee, told me — write a lot\u2026write a lot of crap because crap is the best fertilizer.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMy priorities right now are to write good songs and be a good entertainer.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Gabe\u00a0Stillman\u00a0— https:\/\/youtu.be\/DqNY4_Lsu6o<\/a><\/div>\n
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The show at Sellersville on August 13, which has Memphis Lightning and Alex Lopez Xpress as opening acts, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $32 and $46.50.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When Joan Osborne performs a free show at the Sundown Music Series at\u00a0Haddon\u00a0Lake Park Haddon Lake Park (Hillside and South Park Avenue, Haddon Heights, www.haddonhts.com<\/a>), the bookmakers know that there is one song she will definitely play.<\/div>\n
Osborne had one of the major hits in the 1990s with her song \u201cOne of Us.\u201d The song\u2019s popularity continues to this day.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOne of Us\u201d is a tune from her debut studio album,\u00a0\u201cRelish\u201d\u00a0(1995) which was written by\u00a0Eric Bazilian\u00a0of\u00a0the Hooters\u00a0and produced by\u00a0Rick Chertoff.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The song became a hit in November of that year. It peaked at Number Four on the US\u00a0Billboard\u00a0Hot 100\u00a0and earned three\u00a0Grammy\u00a0nominations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOne of Us\u201d was also a hit around the world, topping the charts of Australia, Canada,\u00a0Flanders, and Sweden, reaching number six on the\u00a0UK Singles Chart, and becoming a Top 20 hit in at least 12 other countries.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For Osborne in 2025, \u201cOne of Us\u201d could refer to \u201cOne of America\u2019s greatest songwriters\u201d \u2013 Bob Dylan.<\/div>\n
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In 2017, Osborne released her 11th album \u2013 \u201cSongs of Bob Dylan.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Earlier this year, Osborne\u00a0released her 14th\u00a0album — \u201cDylanology Live.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Now, she is on tour supporting \u201cDylanology Live,\u201d which dropped on April 25 via Womanly Hips Records.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIn 2017, we put out a studio album of Bob Dylan covers,\u201d said\u00a0Osborne, during a phone interview from her home in Brooklyn.<\/div>\n
\u201cDoing a covers album is an idea I borrowed from Ella Fitzgerald. She released this whole series of what are now called the \u201cSongbook\u201d albums.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cShe would choose a different writer and do an album of their music. So, this is an idea that has been around.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe initial inspiration for the album of Dylan covers came from when I got a residency at the\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Carlyle\u00a0in New York.<\/div>\n
\u201cI thought that this would be a good place to explore this idea. When we thought about doing an entire residency devoted to one person\u2019s music, we decided on Bob Dylan.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The shows at the\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Carlyle went well, and the album met with a positive reception from fans and critics.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The album\u2019s list of songs includes \u201cThe Mighty Quinn,\u201d \u201cHighway 61 Revisited,\u201d \u201cTangled Up in Blue,\u201d \u201cRainy Day Women #12 & 35,\u201d \u201cBuckets of Rain,\u201d \u201cSpanish Harlem Incident,\u201d \u201cMasters Of War,\u201d \u201cHigh Water (For Charley Patton)\u201d and several others.<\/div>\n
Osborne\u00a0followed with an album support tour in 2018 with a show that featured special guests Amy Helm, Jackie Greene and Robert Randolph. It included the album\u2019s songs and a few that were not on the disc.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cInstead of a big tour, we just wanted to make it a party,\u201d said\u00a0Osborne, who had an art exhibit — \u201cSinging On Paper\u201d — last year at City Winery New York City.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIt was a short tour, and we recorded some of the nights.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The show that stood out took place at the Tarrytown Music Hall.<\/div>\n
\u201c<\/div>\n
That show sounded so good,\u201d said\u00a0Osborne, who sang with the Grateful Dead for two-and-one-half months in 2003.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI was looking through my archives and it just sort of popped up. It captured such a cool night \u2013 such a good vibe with the band and the audience. Everyone was having a great time.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It was purely a coincidence that\u00a0Osborne\u2019s album of Dylan music arrived around the same time the major production Dylan biopic was released.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cNow that the film has come out, I\u2019ve been seeing a younger audience at the shows,\u201d said\u00a0Osborne. \u00a0\u201cThey are right there with the returning older fans.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe movie really conveyed what a charismatic figure Dylan was and how his songs galvanized people. The movie was also good for putting so many songs in.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Video link for Joan\u00a0Osborne\u00a0\u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/1cqlZGgajIE<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The show at\u00a0Haddon\u00a0Lake Park, which has Jackson Pines as the opener, will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Admission is free.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times For most of the year, the main focus of live shows is on the weekend \u2013 Friday, Saturday and Sunday when people have more free time. Tuesday and Thursday are just O.K. but Wednesday is the least desirable night to perform a show. In summer, things tend to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,13653,5973,16137],"class_list":["post-55823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-gabe-stillman","tag-joan-osborne","tag-ozomatli"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55824,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55823\/revisions\/55824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}