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AREA MUSIC NOTES

DRUMLINE LIVE PARADES INTO WILMINGTON

After performing more than 300 shows worldwide since 2009, DRUMLine Live comes to The Grand with a brand-new show with updated music and choreography.

As it was with its previous incarnation, DRUMLine Live brings the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) band experience to life in a theater setting. The show was created by the musical team behind 20th Century Fox’s hit movies Drumline and Drumline: A New Beat.

Showtime is 7pm on Sunday, Jan. 16 at The Grand. For tickets and more info go to TheGrandWilmington.org.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR SHINE A LIGHT

Tickets are now on sale for the annual Shine A Light concert, which celebrates its 10th year on Saturday, March 5.

In 2019, Delaware Today honored Shine A Light with a “Best of Delaware” designation in the fundraising category. This year, more than 60 Delaware musicians will rock The Queen Theater for a fitting cause. Proceeds from this year’s show will support musical programs in Wilmington’s most challenged communities

Tickets go on sale online January 1. For more information about the Shine A Concert series, go to LightUpTheQueen.com.

DELCO BREAD OVERCOMES THE DISTANCE WITH OCTOBER SKY

Although it’s not every day that two friends decide to start a band together after being pals for 38 years, that’s exactly what Delco Bread did in 2016 when they released a six-song EP.

But that’s not even the most interesting part of the story.

What puts a unique spin on Delco Bread is the fact that the band’s two Longtime friends Dan McGowan (l) and Mike Waltman members live more than 2,300 miles didn't let 2,300 miles get in the way of making Delco away from each other. Bread's first full-length album, October Sky.

Dan McGowan (Wrecking Ball) of Delaware and his high-school friend of 43 years, Mike Waltman, of Phoenix, Az., released their follow-up full-length album, October Sky, last month. The album took two years to produce, and the two musicians were never in the same room — or same side of the country for that matter — during the recording process. But, the casual listener would be hard pressed to tell.

“We have been playing and writing together for years,” says McGowan, “and when recording went digital with [recording software] like Logic and Pro Tools, it made it easy for us to write transcontinental style.”

Bouncing tracks back and forth over the Internet, the two split duties with Waltman playing all the guitars and bass, and McGowan providing lead vocals, harmonica, live percussion, and drum programming. The two divided keyboards and backing vocals, with Waltman doing the majority of the former and McGowan most of the latter.

Most of the songs start as Waltman’s ideas: “Mike writes great nuggets,” McGowan says. “I always tell him he writes great hooks. He’s got more hooks than a Carolina bait shop.”

Perhaps fittingly considering the distance between the two musicians, October Sky plays like a road-trip soundtrack, reminiscent of many of the artists and bands that McGowan lists as influences — Tom Petty, Neil Young, Drive-By Truckers, Wilco, and The Replacements — and, to a certain extent, others not mentioned like World Party and The War On Drugs.

McGowan says he and Waltman are considering doing their first live gig in the spring here in Wilmington. In the meantime, the 12 songs on October Sky can be heard on all major digital platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Pandora and Amazon.

WORLD PREMIERE OF OTHER WORLD

Ahigh-tech musical will be born in Wilmington next month with the world premiere of Other World at Delaware Theatre Company.

The video game-themed adventure boasts art direction from Academy Award-winning Weta Workshop, who also helped create the wild fantastic worlds found in Avatar and The Lord of the Rings.

Other World debuts on Wednesday, Feb 23 and runs through Sunday, March 20. For tickets and more information, visit DelawareTheatre.org.

LESTER’S PEARL TO MAKE DEBUT AT JACKSON INN

The rock trio known as Lester’s Pearl debuts at Jackson Inn on Friday, Jan. 7, opening for the area popular jam-rock quintet MEGA.

Lester’s Pearl is composed of Chris Julian (Villains Like You) on vocals and guitar, John Dickinson (Spokey Speaky, UFO) on drums, and Nick Mazzuca (Midnight Singers) on bass.