Music in Bass Hall: The Tara Greenblatt Band

Tickets $15 / $12 members, seniors, students. Order online below or call 603-924-3235

Led by vocalist / percussionist Tara Greenblatt, the band also includes  Saibhung Singh, bass;  Lucio S. Eastman, guitar; with Shana R. Hall and  Grace Aldrich providing additional vocals. In addition to including songs from their CD Animal Planet, the concert will feature the debut of several new songs.

In her childhood years Tara  was the cause of many lost chopsticks since she felt them to be most useful as stand-ins for drum sticks on the pots and pans she would play on in the kitchen.  As a teenager, living in Brookline, MA. ,  she began a more serious study of the drum set.  While attending Emerson College in Boston, Tara followed the sound of West African drums to a Cambridge YWCA where she enrolled in djembe classes and met her Senegalese teacher who made the drum she plays today.   She studied under MaMaDou N’Daiye for two years and then formed her own intuitive way of playing the djembe while singing.  Thus began her path as a singer songwriter and drummer. Soon after graduating from college Tara frequented Club Passim’s open mic and was well supported by the venue.  She’s had three CD releases there, and has since made many appearances on their legendary stage.   Her early musical influences were Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Led Zeppelin, her mothers Gospel albums, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye,Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, and the more obscure diva soul singers of R&B such as Lorraine Ellison and Lavern Baker.  Her husband Andrew Hannah, an avid and rapacious hunter of music with authenticity introduced Tara to Zap Mamma, Pigmy Forest Music, and traditional world music.

The band blends earthy contemporary folk with soul, R&B, and jazzy influences, with  luscious harmonies and poignant lyrics about connections between humans, nature, technology, motherhood and artistry.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.. Admission is $15 / $12 for members, students and seniors. Tickets may be online below, or by calling 603-924-3235.

Concert goers are encouraged to enjoy dinner before the show at Waterhouse Restaurant in Depot Square. Waterhouse is the 2015 sponsor for the Music in Bass Hall series.

 SPECIAL for this concert: If you are not a member of the Monadnock Center and would like to become one, you may sign up below for only $25, and get FREE admission to this concert. Or, take a Family Membership for $40, and get two free admissions. If needed, our office will contact you with the email address you provide with your ticket purchase to get your full mailing address so that we can sent you our newsletter and other membership benefits. 

QUOTE
“Tara’s new CD Animal Body is an amazing collection of new material. It also may be one of the finest incarnations of her band that has existed thus far. Tara’s powerful hand drumming can still effectively punch through my chest wall, and her voice still has the power to carry me to other realms. The new disk shares many of the same qualities that she is known for in her previous CDs. It is layered with all the soulful beats, rhythms and melodies that one who is familiar with Tara’s music would expect. The same authenticity that usually shines through is fully present. The songs speak of the wonders of nature, as well as all the joy and pain that are part of the human experience. The main thing that separates Animal Body from her other works is how primal it is. The energies of ancient goddess wisdom, child-like wonder, and primal instinct are all generated in these new songs. The highlight for me is the title track where Tara takes us on a shamanistic shape shifting adventure. I had to catch my breath after I heard it for the first time”. ~ Chris Lewin – Primal Beat