Friday, Shane Hall and the TickleBomb Orchestra help open for the Dave Rivers Group and Shotgun Blues at the Lucky Dog Music Hall; Counter Attack’s rocking out Zeppelin at the Lucky Dog; Oneal Armstrong does instrumental blues at The Dive; from Prince Edward Island, the Sky Family is back doing Christian rock at the Mill Church Café in Millbury; Uncle Billy's Smokehouse, Sunlea and Sky Blue Mind are at the Cannery at 12 Crane in Southbridge; Jim Perry’s singing solo at Brian’s out in Linwood; The Scales rock Beatnik’s; This Burning World and Carnival of Souls are at the Raven.
Saturday, Terry Brennan sings at the Fiddler’s Green; Herd of Cats does jazz at the Rockland Congregational Church; Bill Staines sings at the Green Rooster Coffeehouse, Fennario returns to Tammany Hall; Linda Dagnello sings at Nick’s; Bill McCarthy’s out at the Whistle Stop in Oxford; the Brennan Brothers harmonize at the Fiddler’s Green; and monsters of rock Touch 2 Much and Counter Attack blast the Lucky Dog Music Hall.
Also, the Palladium is home to the annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. On Friday, it’s Mastodon, Between The Buried and Me, Baroness, Valiant Thor, Cro Mags, Doomriders, Earth Crisis, Death Threat, Death Before Dishonor, COA, American Me, Thick As Blood, Forfeit, XTheWarX, Nachtmystium, Architect UK, Grave Maker, Rose Funeral, After The Burial, Conducting From The Grave, Howl and more perform, beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday brings Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth, Job for a Cowboy, Whitechapel, Skeleton Witch, Eluveitie, 1349, Impending Doom, Lecherous, Nocturne, Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, Chelsea Grin, Abacabb, Arsonists Get All The Girls, Malefice, Swashbuckle, Cattle Decapitation, Acaro, Holy Grail, Disembodied, Cruel Hand, Reign Supreme, The Mongoloids, xTyrantX, Foundation, Soul Control, Alpha and Omega, Burning Empires, Mother of Mercy, Gaza, Across The Sun, Monsters perform, beginning at noon.
Sunday, Brett and Lisa are the featured act at the blues jam at Dunny’s Tavern – the old Frank’s Pub in Brookfield; the Delta Generators are out at the British Beer Company for a “Bloody Brunch” in Framingham; for blues even closer to home Jeff Pitchell and Texas Flood do the blues barbecue at Mechanics Hall.
Other events:
On Friday, Poet-author Jeff Cannon reads selected poems from his recently published book," Eros: Faces of Love" at Borders in Shrewsbury. Special Dessert for the event. Enjoy the open-mic as well with other wonderful musician-song-writers and poets with host Patrick McCarthy. There’s a “porketta dinner” at the VFW in Uxbridge. Music Worcester presents the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin Zander, Conductor, with Gwyneth Wentink, harp at Mechanics Hall.
Saturday, there’s a fishing derby at Upton Town Beach; and the African Violet show returns to Tower Hill Botanic Garden. The Pet Fest returns to Becker College in Leicester.
Oliver takes the stage throughout the weekend at the Hanover Theatre.
Sunday, it’s the next installment of PechaKucha at the Razzo Hall at Clark University.
And don’t forget – there’s a plethora of Earth Day events. Check in with your town for local groups and jump in and help out. If you don’t jump in to anything organized, at the least clean up your yard and bring a bottle back to the recycling center.
