Friday New Releases – September 9, 2022
Ladytron Unveil Haunting New Video For “City Of Angels”
Black Male Classical Vocal Quartet to Appear at Lyric Theater *
By Ryan Michaels
The Birmingham Times
It was at the age of 15 that Elias Hendricks III first felt his inspiration.
He remembers seeing a group of three Black tenors perform at the Alabama Theater in downtown Birmingham and wanting to be like that group – Three Mo’ Tenors just as he was beginning his own career as a budding singer in styles as varied as that group’s, which encompassed everything from soul and blues to opera.
“It was not only just the representation of them being Black men performing opera and also infusing it with our cultural, musical elements of gospel, blues and soul … it was just the ease in the way that they were able to do all of those things at once,” Hendricks said.
The next day, Hendricks was among a number of local students who were invited to participate in a master class with the group, where the singers further encouraged Hendricks.
“I remember when [the group] told me, ‘Hey, you can have a career at this. You sound great. I love your tone. You seem to have such command of this music,’ and I was like, ‘What? me, for real?’ That was a huge endorsement … as far as a confidence booster,” Hendricks said.
That inspiration led Hendricks to form Vox Fortura, the only Black male classical crossover quartet in the world, which will make its Birmingham debut at the Lyric Theatre on Nov. 6.
Hendricks said the group, which he put together in 2016 to compete on “Britain’s Got Talent,” performs a style he calls “classical soul.”
“We’re taking music that is unique to Black people and stylings that are unique to the African American historical musical experience, and we combine those elements into classical music,” he said.
Classical soul, Hendricks said, is an extension of the classical crossover genre, popularized by singers like Andrea Bocelli, which pairs contemporary musical styles and techniques with orchestration and vocal styles associated with opera and other older European musical forms.
‘Opera And Soul Together’
Putting together Vox Fortura in 2016 was simple, Hendricks said, as the list of required skills and the tight-knit nature of the Black musical theatre scene limited the selection drastically.
“The amount of people that can sing opera and soul together is a pretty small community worldwide, so we pretty much know who we are. If I haven’t seen you in an audition, then we probably did a show together,” Hendricks said.
Because of Birmingham’s cultural significance as a cradle of Civil Rights, Hendricks said he couldn’t think of “a better place in the entire world to debut this new classical soul show.
“Everywhere I go, everywhere I’ve lived, I tell them I’m from Birmingham, Alabama. The very first thing that they think about is Civil Rights and the struggle that Birmingham kind of spearheaded for Black rights in this country,” he said.
Vox Fortura, made up of Hendricks, Thomas Goodridge, Bruce Bean and Birmingham-based American Idol finalist Dominique Posey, is led by music director Dave Crenshaw, a Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist and songwriter also from Birmingham.
Some of the members of Vox Fortura originate from the United Kingdom, and Hendricks said Birmingham’s Civil Rights history may affect the way they perform the music in the show.
“When [Goodridge] comes here [Birmingham] and goes to the Civil Rights Institute and walks through Kelly Ingram Park and learns about the history of Black people in the city, it informs even how he can sing the song,” Hendricks said.
Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham was one of the primary locations used during demonstrations for Civil Rights in the 1960s.
“African Lament”
The show will also serve as the world premiere of a piece from Birmingham composer Sam Robinson, titled “African Lament.” Robinson, a cousin of Hendricks who previously served as a music minister for New Pilgrim Baptist Church and the Carlton Reese Memorial Choir, gave the piece of music to Hendricks in 2018 but died in 2020.
Hendricks said the song, originally for piano and voice, has been reworked for Vox Fortura and will be premiered with an accompanying dance, choregraphed by Alabama School of Fine Arts instructor Germaul Barnes.
“[Robinson] passed away, unfortunately, before we had a chance to do it together, and some of the things that we spoke about were taking this music and building upon it, so I took it upon myself to do that, in honor of him, and kind of finished the work on his behalf. This is the first time anyone’s ever heard this song,” Hendricks said.
Re-arranging songs to fit Vox Fortura, Hendricks said, often involves switching pop vocals for an operatic style or swapping drum kits for more traditional percussion. However, with each song, the approach can vary.
For the show at the Lyric, the group will perform with a 13-piece orchestra and the Miles College “Golden Voices” Choir.
The night will also feature Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones, Opera Birmingham, soprano Allison Sanders and soul singer Deidre Gaddis.
Joining The School Choir
Hendricks, a Mountain Brook native, is a graduate of the Altamont School, where he said he first became aware of his vocal talent. A soccer athlete at the school, Hendricks said he initially joined the school’s choir in seventh grade for fun.
“I decided I want to join the choir because it the cute girls were in there, and…a third of our upper school was in choir, so it was a really, really popular thing to do,” Hendricks said.
At that time, Dewin Tibbs served as Altamont’s choral director. Tibbs introduced Hendricks to opera and choral music, Hendricks said. He still learns under Tibbs to this day, he said.
After graduating from Altamont, Hendricks participated in a summer program at the Tanglewood Music Center at Boston University, before going to Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX, where he studied opera.
After graduating from SMU in 2009, Hendricks went on to the Juilliard School in New York City, where he started putting together his concept of combining music from the African American tradition with the older European music he had come to love, he said.
After finishing up Juilliard in 2012, Hendricks left for the Disneyland in Hong Kong, China, where he played Simba in the musical version of “The Lion King” until 2014.
Following a six-month stint where Hendricks performed his own show on a world cruise, Hendricks decided to move to London, United Kingdom in 2015, where he auditioned for “Motown: The Musical.” Hendricks secured his spot to play Dennis Edwards, a Birmingham native in the show, in in 2016.
“Something Special”
That same year, Hendricks put together the first incarnation of Vox Fortura, originally called Vox Fortis, with a lineup that included Goodridge, and auditioned for “Britain’s Got Talent” with their first classical soul arrangement, a version of Stevie Wonder’s “Lately.”
“I knew from the very first time that we sang that, that this was going to be something special…We went to the first audition, the one where you stand in line, and you’ve got to wait with all the crazies and hopefuls. We did our first audition, and then we didn’t wait in line ever again,” Hendricks said.
Vox is the Latin word for voice, and “Fortura” is a combination of “fortis,” the Latin word for strong, as well as the words fortune and future.
“Strong voices of the future is kind of what we call it,” Hendricks said.
That first edition of Vox Fortura made it all the way up to the competition’s semi-finals — amid a lineup including “a really cute dog,” a huge gospel choir and a “really, really annoying guy dressed in a Superman costume that played the accordion” — but lost.
However, that loss may have been best for the group, Hendricks said. Losing meant that the group was able to more quickly to get out of the television contract than if they stayed for the full length of the competition.
“If we made the finals, we would have had two years…After the smoke cleared, it was really a blessing in disguise, because we went on tour with another…group called G4 within 90 days of leaving the competition,” Hendricks said.
Vox Fortura has performed at famous London venues Twickenham Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall and across the UK. Now they’ll be at Birmingham’s Lyric Theatre on Nov. 6.
Vox Fortura in Concert: An Evening of Classical Soul on Sunday, November 6 at 5 p.m. in The Lyric Theatre, 1800 3rd Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203
Allen`s archive of early and old country music.: Frank Welling & John McGhee
Frank Welling & John McGhee / Perfect 12769
The Crime At Quiet Dell / My Little Mountain Home
recorded November 4/5, 1931 in New York, New York
I have recently became a fan of this duo. I love the bass voice and Hawaiian steel playing in their music. They made a few hundred records, so I have lots of their music to discover. The song The Crime At Quiet Dell was about a crime by Cornelius O. Pierson August 27, 1931 near Clarksburg, West Virginia. Just listening to the lyrics is a pretty hair raising horror story. This song is a great example of a topical/disaster type song of the era. The song was recorded only about two months after the crime. There is a book about it called Quiet Dell. I have ordered it but it hasn`t came yet, I`m looking forward to reading it and comparing the facts to the song. The other song, My Little Mountain Home, is a typical yearning for home and simpler times song that was so popular in the late 1920`s.
Click here to download Frank Welling & John McGhee – Perfect 12769
Mumbai band Bombay Brass on their love of baraats, blending the city’s cosy jazz with a bunch of influences and providing a background score in a Mira Nair miniseries
Thirty-four year-old Mumbai-based saxophonist Rhys Sebastian knows how to throw a party. Frontman of Bombay Brass – a Mumbai-based 11-piece floating jazz outfit which has found inspirations in the varied sound of an Indian baraat, funk-and-soul legend Maceo Parker, Hindustani classical music, and noted composer duo Shankar-Jaikishen – Sebastian turns the band’s concerts into a riot of sorts, thanks to his slick showmanship. He dances in slo-mo, carries a tune while lying flat on his back, and walks in the aisles, asking the audience to intone and repeat some of the passages – including a few incredible originals, without a note out of sync.
At the recently concluded 16th edition of Jodhpur Riff (Rajasthan International Folk Festival) at the the majestic Mehrangarh Fort – Sebastian and his band segued into musical splendour with their dexterous blend of groove, energetic musical filigrees, and charisma – all the hallmarks of a good jazz show. Besides Sebastian on the alto sax, the band includes Ramon Ibrahim on the keys and trombone, Robin Fargose on the trumpet, ID Rao on tenor sax, Jarryd Rodrigues on soprano sax, Saurabh Suman on bass, Sanjeev Aguiar on electric guitar, JJ (Jehangir Jehangir) on the drums, Avadhoot Phadke on the flute, and Emmanuel Simon on percussions.
While JJ and Sebastian went to college together and began making music quite early, the others – all musicians with solo careers and significant roles in other bands – came along gradually. “We all spent a lot of time on the road performing with different bands. So coming together was easy,” says Sebastian, who is also the one working out the logistics of bringing 11 musicians with different careers and schedules together under one roof for rehearsals and recordings.
A deep admirer of New Orleans jazz that evolved with the colliding and intermingling of many different influences, Sebastian found it to share similarities with jazz in Bombay, where he grew up and which was once a haunt for musicians from around the world, just like New Orleans. “I felt that it’d be nice to have brass as the frontman, turn it into our lead singer of sorts and revive that sound in our own way. There could be versatility in that. I felt it could be quite cathartic,” says Sebastian, both of whose parents were musicians and who himself has had extensive training in Western classical music. His mother Merlin D’Souza makes it to the stage often, on the keys for Bombay Brass.
Interestingly, Bombay Brass began its career with covers – funky interpretations of songs not even remotely linked to jazz, such as Kisi disco mein jaaye (1998, Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan), O o jaane jaana (1998, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya) and Kala chashma (2016, Baar Baar Dekho). This was fabulously upgraded baraat music with influences of jazz harmonies. The band had a great time, the crowds lapped it up, it was a win-win for all. But Sebastian and others were keen to go the extra mile, and focus on their own voices, which led to a number of originals. “Bombay also had the military bands playing besides the jazz bands. Bombay Brass is an attempt at the revival of that culture. Of course, they weren’t ripping guitar solos like we are but brass was the essence,” says JJ.
So, if OP Nayyar’s composition, Mera naam chin chin choo (1958, Howrah Bridge), became a part of their repertoire, so did Badshah’s Jugnu (2022). In between, there were also a bunch of original compositions, including Joggers Park, a piece based on raag Jog; Goodbye Ravi in raag Bhairavi and a fun piece titled Prime Sinisters. Sebastian says it is here that the individual talents of the members come to the fore. “For instance, it helps that Suman and Phadke are classically trained in Hindustani music because I am not. But I like to dabble in the permutations and combinations of the ragas that are suggested. It’s enriching to find new meanings for the music I know,” says Sebastian.
Then came Quegdevelim Sunset, an ode to the rocky but peaceful beach in Goa, one of the two originals the band has created. It was spotted in 2019 by musician Ankur Tiwari, who was then the music supervisor for Mira Nair’s screen adaptation of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy (2020). While Nair didn’t like the first recording, she approved the second one and used it as the backdrop to a soiree in a newly-Independent India in the mini-series. “Mira is extremely open as well as exacting. She was available in the recordings remotely and gave her inputs throughout. We stuck to the brief and the result’s been very interesting,” says Sebastian.
When Sebastian created Bombay Brass, he was clear that as much as he loved jazz standards, he didn’t want to get stuck in them. Which is why he decided to merge the music with electric guitars, synths and even a duffli. “You can choose to work only with jazz as a career or you can choose to amalgamate your experiences with it. I choose to do the latter. It allows me to think out of the box,” he says.
Turn Me Back: Lewisham’s Sketchdoll feels so stuck right now on Hourglass – Independent Music – New Music
Wishing for things to change quickly before the hands of time destroy everything forever, Sketchdoll return with impressive aplomb on their terrific new release called Hourglass.
Sketchdoll is a Lewisham, London-formed indie alt-punk band who is certainly progressive and vitalizes our senses with rather ear-catching sounds to heal with.
Packed with a delightfully extraordinary style that is steaming to the brim with an excellent vibration, Sketchdoll might be our new favourite band. They mesh together like a glove and seem to only get better throughout, to send our minds into a contemplative state of ponder.
Hourglass from Lewisham, London-formed alt-punk act Sketchdoll is an emotional roller coaster that might cause your whole soul to feel in a reflective wonder. Wrapped together rather sweetly and loaded with a genuine message so many need to hear, we find a single that will certainly get those eyes wide and seeing clearer than before.
Performed with such stunning precision and laced with that world class vibe, this is a sizzling song to turn up loud and proud.
See this fab vid on YouTube and get a sense of their vibes on IG.
Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen
Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero” Video’s “Fat” Scale Scene Removed From Apple – The Hollywood Reporter
Following the release of Taylor Swift‘s highly personal “Anti-Hero” music video on Friday, the star received some backlash, with critics accusing the pop star of being fatphobic due to a scene in which Swift steps on a scale that reads “fat.”
On Wednesday, the scene was removed from the music video on Apple Music, as spotted by some eagle-eyed Swifties on Twitter. However, at the time of publication, the scene still remains on the YouTube version of the video.
Swift has yet to publicly comment on the change. Billboard has reached out to Apple Music, Swift’s rep and YouTube for comment.
Swift has previously spoken about her struggles with body image, including in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana. She has also opened up about personal nature of “Anti-Hero,” calling it “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” as she’s never “delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
“This song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves,” she explained in a video released ahead of Midnights‘ arrival.
Following the backlash, the hosts of The View came to Swift’s defense on Tuesday’s episode. Sunny Hostin noted of the critics, “They missed the point. For someone who’s an artist, she gets to have agency over her artistry. She was describing a personal experience, and quite frankly, it’s a personal experience a lot of women experience. I’ve experienced it, and men.”
Whoopi Goldberg added, “Why are you wasting your time on this? You all want to say something about Taylor Swift, leave her ass alone!”
Watch the YouTube version of “Anti-Hero” below.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.
Burial: Streetlands EP Album Review
While Burial’s music may be famous for its foggy atmospheres and occasional ambient interludes, its off-grid kicks and resampled snares are what make it tick. As a schoolboy, he’d get kicked out of class for drumming on the desk. His self-titled debut album and 2007 follow-up, Untrue, were suffused with the swinging rhythms of jungle and garage. Later output revealed his love of trance music, with its chuggy, thudding kicks, while collaborations with Four Tet and Thom Yorke introduced a wafty house patter to his grayscale textures. Late in 2020, “Chemz” pinned eyelids back with acid stabs and crushed breakbeats. This obsession with percussion made January’s five-track Antidawn EP all the more surprising for its lack of drums—or, really, any rhythm at all.
Streetlands, which arrived unannounced last week, tugs at that same thread, proceeding beatless for three tracks totaling more than half an hour. His trademark re-pitched R&B hooks are also gone. Stripped of the textures that ground Burial’s music however obliquely in clubs or on South London night buses, Streetlands is more evocative of the digital, imagined lands that leak into his music via Metal Gear Solid, StarCraft and Silent Hill samples.
Where Burial’s early records could be interpreted as capturing his corner of London through a lens of sci-fi and soundsystem culture (music critic Simon Reynolds has drawn parallels between Burial and J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World), Streetlands is less grounded in concrete and the contained chaos of the city. Instead it drifts, generatively, like rolling vistas in a video game, into untrodden environments of its own making—less future dystopia and more unexplored present possibility. Here, the familiar shrinkwrap of hisses, pops, and crackles is about all that ties the music to his habitually claustrophobic world; instead, Streetlands offers open plains of stretched choir and luminescent strings.
Chimes hang in vaulted ceilings. The Flatliners sample—“There’s something out there”—that opens “Streetlands” is shorn of the fearful sense the same words carried on “Loner,” imbued here with something more hopeful, merely tinged with trepidation. “Hospital Chapel” builds on a swelling choral loop, like whale song, that reveals more at every turn. A reversed, tightly wound vocal on the title track takes on an alien quality, not just in its indecipherability but because for how loudly and starkly it pierces the mix, streaking in like a call intercepted from another galaxy—or, in more traditional Burial lore, a pirate radio station cutting through the frequencies. The overall effect is immersive and uncanny, but ultimately lacks the emotional hooks required to pull you all the way in.
Enjoy some crudites and classical music at the Foxboro Senior Center | Around Town
On Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m., come join us to enjoy some crudités (a French appetizer consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables) while listening to classical music performed by Foxboro resident and violinist Grainne Daly.
Grainne began playing violin at the age of 3 and has studied under Norma Stiner and Don Krishaswami.
She is a junior at Foxboro High School where she is involved in the music program and string symphony and chamber orchestra.
Grainne also performs with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra where she is co-concertmaster of the orchestra.
Additionally, Grainne is a founding member of the Foundry Pond Duo and is the Rhode Island President of Music Mission Outreach and an Ambassador for Emmanuel Music in Boston.
Be sure to sign up in advance to reserve your seat.
INTERFACE PRESENTATION
The demand for mental health services across the country is at an all-time high.
Recently, the Town of Foxboro has enlisted the services of William James College, INTERFACE Referral Service, to help connect Foxboro residents with Mental Health Service Providers.
Join us on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m.for a presentation by Human Services Social Worker Pam McGuire who will give insight into the program and how you can help spread the word about this incredible new resource. Light snacks will be provided.
Sign up to reserve your seat.
SELF DEFENSE DEMONSTRATION
Join us on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 9:30 p.m. when our Tai Chi Instructor Elijah Swain will be providing a free self defense demonstration for seniors who are looking for the basics to protect themselves against potential threats.
Please sign up in advance.
REAL ID WORKSHOP
Do you have questions about the upcoming switch to Real ID’s?
Representatives from the Massachusetts RMV will be at the senior center on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. to answer questions about the Real ID program.
Sign up in advance if you’d like to join us.
HAIR STYLING
Would you like to get your hair cut and styled in the comfort of the Foxboro Senior Center?
On Oct. 28, Hair Stylist Laurie Nicklas will be at the senior center, and on every 4th Friday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost per person is $15 for women and men. Sign up with your payment in advance to schedule an appointment.
FRIENDS’ BINGO – ALL ARE WELCOME
Come and join us for Bingo at the senior center on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and every 1st Tuesday of the month.
Win cash prizes in varying amounts. There is a nominal fee of $1 per card. Bring a friend! Call to sign up.
This program is hosted by the Friends of Foxboro Seniors.
COMMUTER RAIL AS A GROUP
The MBTA Commuter Rail is once again offering daily service from Foxboro to Back Bay and South Station.
We will meet at the MBTA Commuter Rail Station at Gillette Stadium around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2, and together we will board the train bound for Boston, which you will traverse on your own.
You can stay as long as you’d like in Boston, however, group members can also choose to leave together on the 4:10 p.m. train out of South Station.
Sign up in advance if you plan on joining us.
THE TRUTH ABOUT REVERSE MORTGAGES
John David Tourtillot, CRMP of Homestead Mortgage will be at the senior center on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. for an educational class on Reverse Mortgages.
Tourtillot will be discussing how to use a Reverse Mortgage to help cover the cost of property taxes, insurance, condo dues, in-home care costs and home modification to allow you to age in place. Please sign up in advance.
NOVEMBER MOVIE DAYS
The theme for November’s Movie Days at the senior center is “The Crown.” Two episodes of “The Crown will be shown at 1 p.m. an 1:55 p.m. on the following Thursdays:
Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. – “Wolferton Splash” — The young Princess Elizabeth marries Prince Philip. As King George VI’s health worsens, Winston Churchill is elected prime minister for the second time.
Nov. 3 at 1:55 p.m.- “Hyde Park Corner” — With King George too ill to travel, Elizabeth and Philip embark on a four-continent Commonwealth tour. Party leaders attempt to undermine Churchill.
Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. – “Windsor” – With Elizabeth in a new role, Philip tries to assert some power. Churchill wants to delay the coronation. King George’s disgraced brother arrives.
Nov. 17 at 1:55 p.m. – “Act of God” – When dense smog cripples London for days and creates a serious health hazard, Chruchill’s inaction leaves him vulnerable to his political enemies.
PODIATRY CLINIC
Dr. Kelly McLaughlin is offering a Podiatry Clinic for Podiatric Foot Care and Screening at the senior center on the 1st Friday of every other month from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The next clinic will be held on Friday, Nov. 4. The cost for each 15 minute appointment is $30.
Please sign up and pay for your appointment in advance.
MAKING MUSIC
Calling all musicians and singers: Bring your ukulele, guitar, voice or other acoustic instrument and join us for our “Making Music” program on November 7 at 1 p.m., and on the first Monday of every following month at 1 p.m.
All skills are encouraged and welcome to participate in this monthly FREE sing and play along experience. We will explore fun and familiar songs.
Sign up in advance to let us know you’ll be joining us.
VAN DISCOVERY TRIP TO THE SEA BEES MUSEUM
The senior center van will be traveling to the Sea Bee Museum in Rhode Island on Thursday, Nov. 9.
The van will be leaving from the Booth Playground parking lot at 10:15 a.m.
This trip is free of charge.
Due to a limited amount of seating, registration for the trip will be on a first come, first serve basis.
HOLIDAY PARTY AT LAKEVIEW PAVILION
Please join us for our annual Holiday Celebration at the Lakeview Pavilion in Foxboro on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 12:30 to 4 p.m.
The menu includes your choice of Pan Seared Chicken with Lemon Chablis Cream Sauce or Pan Seared Salmon with Sweet and Sour Glaze.
The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and lunch will be served at 1 p.m. There will be a cash bar.
The cost for Foxboro residents is $32 per person and the cost is $37 for Non-Residents.
The tickets are now on sale and must be paid for at the time you sign up and get your ticket to reserve your seat.
SENIOR SANDWICHES
On Thursdays, we offer Grab and Go Senior Sandwiches at the senior center. You can pick up your sandwich at the front desk on Thursdays at any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., and you can take the sandwich with you, or you are welcome to eat in the Coffee Room or on the outside benches.
Quantities are limited, so you MUST sign up in advance to get your Senior Sandwich meal.
There is a suggested donation of $3 to HESSCO.
LUNCHEON OUTING
Our next luncheon outing will be on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at Conrad’s Restaurant in Foxboro at 1 p.m.
Call us to sign up by Monday, Nov. 14 and meet us at the restaurant on the 21st.
For those who require van transportation, arrangements must be made by Monday the 14th.
SENIOR SUPPER
Our monthly Senior Supper program focuses on a unique high quality catered meal.
We hope you’ll join us for an evening out with friends on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
This program will start at 4 p.m. and food will be served around 4:30. November’s meal will be Breakfast for Dinner!
The cost is $5 and must be paid at the time you sign up.
SAVE THE DATE – HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
Are you a crafter and would you like to sell your treasures at our upcoming Holiday Craft Fair? If you’re interested, pick up an application at the front desk of the senior center. The fair will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the cost is $10 for a table to display your items for sale.
SIGN UP FOR A TRIP TO ITALY IN APRIL 2023
The Foxboro Council on Aging & Human Services is planning a trip to Italy, specifically Rome and the Amalfi Coast, on April 9 through 18, 2023. Some of the highlights of our trip will include a walking tour of Classical Rome featuring a visit to the Colosseum, a visit to the seaside resort of Sorrento, discovering the excavated ruins of Pompeii, sampling local specialties at a limoncello factory in Minori and enjoying a wine tasting and lunch at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius.
The cost is $4,443 per person for a double and $5,243 for a single, with the opportunity to purchase optional tours.
Sign up for Foxboro residents and non-residents has begun.
Trip flyers are available at the senior center or can be emailed to you upon request.
HEARING HEALTH
On Wednesdays, Nov. 2, 9 & 16 there will be Hearing Clinics offered from 1 to 3 p.m.
This program is free and provides a hearing screening, ear wax removal, hearing aid cleaning and service by appointment.
Call in advance to schedule a 20 minute appointment.
1 ON 1 TECH SUPPORT
Join us on Monday mornings from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for our 1 On 1 Tech Support Program.
During your 1 on 1 individualized tech support appointment, you will be able to get answers relating to phones, tablets or computers.
Examples include troubleshooting, setting up a device, and other “how to” questions.
Call us to set up an appointment.
CULTURAL DANCE
Starting in October, join Foxboro resident Garmai “Mai” Sumo on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. as she teaches us dances from her native country of Liberia.
Mai will provide a fun atmosphere to experience and learn new dance moves while exercising. The cost is $3 per class and this program is Punch Card eligible.
2021 CMA Awards Predictions | ACountry
The 2021 CMA Awards are coming up on November 10 and we are so excited to tune in to see all of the performances! There are a lot of great nominations (and a few snubs) that we were excited/surprised to see – but most of all, I have predictions! I like to pretend I am ‘Awardstradamus’ and can predict the winner for some of these categories, so let’s get started.
Entertainer of the Year
- Eric Church
- Luke Combs
- Miranda Lambert
- Chris Stapleton
- Carrie Underwood
All of these artists had *incredible* years. Seriously, they all made huge moves for their career, and all of their shows were showstopping. Now, when it comes to a winner, we have to go with Miranda Lambert! While her recent project ‘The Marfa Tapes’ was snubbed for Album of the Year (which feels like a crime) her energy, project levels, and concerts have been off the charts. We are prettttyyyy confident that she will be able to take this award home.
Single of the Year
- “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
- Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young /
- Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt
- “The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett
- Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
- Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin
- “Hell Of A View” – Eric Church
- Producer: Jay Joyce
- Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
- “One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde
- Producer: Jay Joyce
- Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
- “Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton
- Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
- Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
All of the tracks that were nominated are jams, constant repeats on our playlists, but when we think about it, there is only one that stood out this past year. We think that Chris Young and Kane Brown are taking home the prize for “Famous Friends.” Kane Brown and Chris Young both have had great years respectively and they certainly knew what they were doing.
New Artist of the Year
- Jimmie Allen
- Ingrid Andress
- Gabby Barrett
- Mickey Guyton
- Hardy
This one is tough. I had to go over all of these artists again because I wanted to make sure that I am completely correct with my prediction. But I have to go with Gabby Barrett. Her song, “The Good Ones” was nominated for Song of the Year (well deserved, obviously) and her past year has just been incredible.
Female Vocalist of the Year
- Gabby Barrett
- Miranda Lambert
- Ashley McBryde
- Maren Morris
- Carly Pearce
This one…. This one is a doozy. No matter who wins, they absolutely deserve it, but this decision has to be so difficult! Maybe we should come back to this? No. We believe the winner will be… Carly Pearce. While Miranda Lambert for sure is the Entertainer of the Year, Ashley McBryde has an amazing voice, and Maren Morris has been having a great year, Carly Pearce has smashed through it all, especially with her album 29.
The 55th Annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-11:00 PM/EST) on ABC.
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You might be asking yourself “Where are the rest of the nomination categories?” They are right here in part two of our predictions. Check em out and let us know if you agree with our picks!