Since 1995 the Wolverine Jazz Band has been entertaining lovers of Traditional Jazz all over Boston and New England. The Wolverine Jazz Band is considered by many to be among the finest purveyors of Vintage Jazz on the East Coast. They also have a national following, having performed at numerous Jazz festivals across the country - Phoenix, Seattle, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Wisconsin, and others.

The Wolverine Jazz Band is:

John Clark- Cl, Sax

Jeff Hughes- Tpt

Tom Boates- Tbn

Ross Petot- Pno

Jimmy Mazzy- Bj, Vox

Rick MacWilliams- Tba

Dave Didriksen- Dr

$17 advance | $22 day-of

Erica Brown and The Bluegrass Connection is a five-piece band featuring some of the finest musicians in New England. The band features award winning fiddler and singer Erica Brown, Matt Shipman on mandolin, Lincoln Meyers on guitar, Eli Gilbert on banjo and Kris Day on bass. A fun and energetic band, they incorporate a unique and diverse blend of original and traditional music from their Bluegrass, Folk and Country influences. As a band of renowned and respected musicians in their own right, together they form a bluegrass powerhouse of vocal and instrumental expertise that have delighted audiences all over the Northeast and Canada.

Their latest album “Blue Pine Moon” has been well received by fans, critics and musicians alike. The album contains thoughtful, original songs from both Shipman and Brown and other carefully chosen songs from the Bluegrass tradition. Grammy award winning bluegrass songwriter Rick Lang says it is a “...must have for any lover of good Bluegrass music!”

“...real and honest music...”- The Gibson Brothers

“... a stellar band featuring some of the finest pickers you could hope to find.”- Joe K. Walsh 

$20 advance | $25 day-of

*fees not included

The Clements Brothers are George (guitar) and Charles (upright bass), identical twins from the heart of New England. The two have been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember, first entering the Americana music scene in 2012 as part of the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band,’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records.

Most recently, George could be found playing the role of Paul Simon in the hit national act ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’ while Charles could often be found on stage with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Now, ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first original project together, focused on capturing their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blend, with harmonies only achievable by their identical voices, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. Joined by drummer Mike Harmon (Grain Thief), the band is a fusion of each member's musical journey, and the result is a sound all its own, filled with vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and a genuine love of song.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Neil Pearlman celebrates the release of his first solo piano album, Refractions. Known for bringing fresh ideas to the piano in traditional Scottish music, Neil has collected several melodies from the Gaelic song, bagpipe and fiddle repertoires and reimagined them on the piano. “I often describe my solo piano pieces as looking at a tune through a prism” he writes, referring to the way his improvisations highlight different facets of the melody each time. In this show Neil will present the album in full along with a few other favorite tunes. Some of the pieces treat the source as a springboard for improvisation, some explore the wealth of melodic variations that already exist in the tradition and others let the simple beauty of the melodies shine. Neil tours regularly in a duo with Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson and in several projects with fiddler Katie McNally, as well as appearing more infrequently with a host of other projects. He is also the host of the TradCafe podcast, a series of conversations and collaborations with great musicians from a wide variety of cultures and traditions.

$17 advance | $22 day-of

Fees not included

Lookie Lookie is an eight piece band devoted to Latin Bugalu, a style pioneered by Puerto Rican musicians in New York in the 1960s. Fusing rhythm and blues and American pop into the Afro-Caribbean music matrix, such artists as Pete Rodriguez, Joe Cuba and Richie Ray topped the Latin charts in the US and Latin America. Joe Cuba even scored on the pop charts with “Bang Bang” and “Sock It To Me Baby.” Bugalú is the mother lode of fun, and Lookie Lookie has been wowing club and festival crowds all over New England with it.

The members of Lookie Lookie have distinguished pedigrees in the Boston and international music scenes. Leader, saxophonist and vocalist Russ Gershon has performed at the Sanctuary previously with his Grammy-nominated jazz group the Either/Orchestra; E/O conguero and vocalist Vicente Lebron, who has played with the greats from Celia Cruz on down leads the rhythm section; timbales player Rick Barry toured for years in Bim Skala Bim, an essential band on the 1980s US ska scene; percussionist Ken Winokur founded the internationally recognized silent film accompaniment group the Alloy Orchestra; bassist Gregory Ryan has played with jazz great Billy Harper and Harold Mabern; vocalist/percusionist Jorge Arce is has been a force in Puerto Rico and Boston for forty years; saxophonist/flutist Ted DeColo has toured with Mighty Sam McLean; the group is rounded out by trumpeter Eric Ortiz.

On top of all the instruments are the voices. In the tradition of folk musics like Puerto Rican Bomba and even garage rock, which was an ingredient in the original bugalú, all the members of Lookie Lookie sing, in chorus (“coro” in Spanish) and by passing lead vocals around, in Spanish and English. Fun is the heartbeat of Lookie Lookie – the musicians delight in conjuring the psychedelic vibe of the 1960s while archoring it in heavy Latin grooves at tempos that everybody can dance to. You don't need salsa chops or double jointed hips to get out on the floor and bugalu, and if you don't feel like dancing – there's plenty of musical substance for your ears.

$17 advance | $22 day-of

*Fees not included

This is a limited seating event. Additional seating can be made available upon request.

Founded by violinist Jason Anick, the quartet performs dynamic and lyrical arrangements of both Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions that draw upon diverse international rhythms and musical idioms. With Max O’Rourke, Henry Acker, and Greg Loughman rounding out the quartet, Rhythm Future is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of a vital musical genre.

Jason Anick, an award-winning composer and one of the youngest violin professors at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, has shared the stage with an array of artists including Grammy award winning guitarist John Jorgenson, Stevie Wonder, The Jim Kweskin Jug Band, and Tommy Emmanuel.

Henry Acker is a young powerhouse jazz guitarist who performs both in the style of Django Reinhardt as well as traditional jazz. A child prodigy who began playing at age 8 and performing professionally at age 9, his talent and abilities have developed into nothing short of astonishing. Henry has already shared the stage with jazz greats Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola, Julian Lage, Bireli Lagrene and Vic Juris. He is a five-time winner of the Downbeat Magazine Student Award for jazz guitar soloist.

Max O’Rourke was the winner of the 2015 Saga Award from DjangoFest Northwest, and at 22 has already toured/recorded with many of the top American Gypsy Jazz musicians including John Jorgenson and Gonzalo Bergara. 

Greg Loughman is a top call bassist in Boston and has been heard with such luminaries as Sheila Jordan, Curtis Fuller and George Garzone.

$20 advance | $25 day-of

*Fees not included

On Friday, February 17th, Berklee-trained band “Acoustic Nomads” comes to The Dance Hall to take listeners Around the World with exhilarating music from across the Americas, North and South. Acoustic Nomads is an atypical string quartet of young superstars on the rise in the New England acoustic music scene, uniting their diverse musical backgrounds to create a uniquely Pan-American musical experience. It’s like a musical potluck - everyone brings something to the table, and before you know it you have a feast with friends! Their repertoire interweaves music from Venezuelan, Appalachian, Peruvian, Argentinean, Brazilian, and American Jazz sources, connecting these threads with beautiful original melodies, rhythmic grooves, and playful, lyrical improvisation between the musicians.

Dance Hall regulars may recognize the name of Ethan Setiawan, mandolinist with Cornerhouse and Louise Bichan’s projects, who holds the mandolin chair in Acoustic Nomads. Also playing with the group are: Sofia Chiarandini, 2021 Freshgrass Fiddle Competition Champion and fiddler with The Ruta Beggars Band and Kol Kahol; Maurizio Fiore Salas, prolific composer, virtuosic guitarist and player of the Venezuelan Cuatro, and Latin Grammy Scholarship winner; and Noah Harrington, award-winning jazz performer, composer, educator, and sometime bassist with Mari Black, The Ruta Beggars, and Alisa Amador of Tiny Desk Fame.

Acoustic Nomads’ mission in presenting “Around The World” at The Dance Hall is to bring attention not only to the diversity within American music, but the common threads that bind us all together as people. We hope you’ll join us for a night of unforgettable music!

Mike Block and Christylez Bacon bring their new duo project to The Dance Hall!

Christylez Bacon was born and grew up in Washington, DC and attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He has been featured on Morning Edition, National Public Radio, performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and with the National Symphony Orchestra. Christylez founded the Washington Sound Museum, a regular concert series at the Atlas Performing Arts center in Washington's H Street NE. Bacon classifies his largely diverse music as progressive hip hop.

Mike Block Mike Block is a Grammy Award-winning cello player, singer and composer passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music, and committed to inspiring individuals and connecting communities. Acclaimed by the New York Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing”, and by Salt Lake City Desert News as “a true artist... a sight to behold”, Mike Block “is one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene.” (Gramophone). Mike Block’s solo show offers a rich mixture of classical repertoire, folk music, original compositions and songs that draw inspiration from his diverse collaborations. 

Since 2005, Mike has been a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, with which he has been featured as a cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album Sing Me Home. Mike has been invited to perform as a concerto soloist with the Illinois Symphony, The Knights, China National Philharmonic (Beijing), Shanghai Symphony and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and has collaborated in performances and/or recordings with Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Bon Iver, Will.i.am, The National, The New York Philharmonic, Bobby McFerrin, Allison Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens, Mark O'Connor, Rachel Barton Pine, Edgar Meyer, Julian Lage, and many others.

Be sure to get your tickets in advance!