The City's Backyard

Eliot Lewis spent almost 20 years with Hall & Oates and is always a blast to chat with as one our favorite regular guests on the podcast...he was also on the TV show Live From Daryl's House playing with some of top artists in the music industry.... and before all of that he was in the Average White Band! 

Eliot Lewis appearing Live at The Westport VFW Saturday October 10th for an intimate show! Eliot Lewis - Multi-instrumentalist and solo artist, returns to Westport, CT for this very special performance that only cost $15 advance $20 at the door! 

Eliot Lewis has performed with many of the biggest names in the music business including, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Train, Cheap Trick, Grace Potter, Ben Folds, Sammy Hagar, BlackBerry Smoke, Squeeze and many others.
Eliot has appeared on every episode of Daryl Hall’s incredibly popular, "Live From Daryl's House” show all while keeping his own solo career going at a seemingly impossible pace.
"Eliot is a musician who can do it all, great singer, songwriter and guitarist. He rocks and he's got soul. No one does it quite like him" - Daryl Hall
Eliot’s show is truly unique and will find him moving from one instrument to another using live looping to seamlessly construct songs and arrangements on the spot and in the moment. If Eliot plays a cover song, it’s typically a song he’s performed with that artist. Not to be missed~ Purchase tickets for Westport CT on Otober 10th at 7pm below by clicking the ticketleap link!  

https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/wwweliotlewiscom/eliot-lewis-live-in-westport-ct-1480740584

John “Papa” Gros (pronounced Grow) is a New Orleans pianist, organist and singer-songwriter whose career reflects the city itself—resilient, rhythmic, steeped in tradition, and always evolving. For more than thirty years, Gros has served as both a keeper and a translator of New Orleans music, blending funk, R&B, jazz, blues, rock, and Americana into a sound that is deeply rooted yet forward-looking.

Born in New Orleans, Gros embodies his hometown’s culture and deeply rooted traditions, absorbing its music and spirit. He began playing piano and French horn at age eleven and attended Loyola University in uptown New Orleans, graduating with a degree in French horn performance. While his formal training provided discipline and technique, Gros’ real education came from the school of hard knocks in the clubs and on the streets—learning the language of groove, feel, and restraint from the musical elders who had built the city’s sound. 

For more on John's career and his tour log onto his website: https://www.johnpapagros.com

Vanessa Collier is a multi-award-winning songwriter, master musician, and multi-instrumentalist, known for seamlessly weaving together funk, soul, rock, and blues styles through soulful vocals, searing saxophone solos, and witty songwriting skills. With her career still in its infancy, Vanessa has already turned many heads, garnering tremendous accolades for her trademark high energy, powerful, fiery, and passionate live shows.

For more info checkout her website! 

https://www.vanessacollier.com

This episode is all about BEER in the backyard! Ok that sounds good but more specifically it's really about the craft beer movement. If there is one guy who knows about beer it's Gregg Glaser from Modern Distillery Age.

 Gregg has covered the "beer beat" since 1994 and spirits and saké since 2001. He’s currently the Publisher/Editor of Modern Distillery Age, which he established in 2009. For many year he was Editor in Chief for Yankee Brew News, News Editor for All About Beer Magazine and a Contributing Editor for Modern Brewery Age and Beverage Media. He’s written for dozens of other publications. 

 Gregg conducts regular tasting panels for Modern Distillery Age, as he did for the other publications with which he was affiliated. Since 1996, he’s been the Competition Director for the Great International Beer Competition, the largest professional beer competition on the East Coast! He has also conducted beer, spirits and saké talks and tastings around the world, he’s been a judge at numerous U.S. and international beer and spirits competitions and he’s consulted for breweries, importers, wholesalers and restaurants.

https://www.distilleryage.com/

Danny Mariano is a local favorite in Fairfield County playing in his band that everyone loves called Bad Boy! He's a lead singer of his new band called Love+War (love and war) where the band just won this year's "Jam at the Dam Battle of the Bands" earning them an opening spot for Trixster, Vixen, and Jefferson Starship where they were very well received! 
LOVE+WAR is the opener for the legendary Lita Ford at the Norwalk Oyster Festival September 11th at 6:30p until 7:20... Lita goes on at 8:00! Don't miss it! 

Brian Dolzani is a contemporary singer/songwriter that possesses an old soul. A listen to his music makes that point abundantly clear.  So too, the fact that he lists any number of ‘60s and ‘70s songwriters as prime influences — Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills and Nash, to Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Credence Clearwater Revival, among them — suggests that his roots reside in a great storytelling tradition. Like his forebears, Brian is all about to creating a connection to his audiences through the expression of innermost emotion. In the process, he shares a sound that’s vibrant, engaging and enticing, and, like his heroes, flush with both meaning and magic. It’s little wonder then that his work has been described as “musical medicine for the soul” by the Lonesome Noise blog, or that the Americana bible No Depression one declared “Dolzani’s melancholy musings are remarkably affecting,” while also praising his melodies as “eternally engaging, and, on more than one occasion, even soothing and seductive.” 

“For me, writing songs is something that’s very personal,” Brian himself says. “Over the years, I’ve come to discover myself through making music.” 

https://www.briandolzani.com/home

For tickets to see him at FTC click link below:

https://fairfieldtheatre.org/events/stageone/brian-dolzani-as-the-loner_e659

Teskey, a Rocking Blues band, was formed in 2024. Their music includes and often fuses elements of Blues, Alt Rock, Pink-Floyd-esque Psychedelia, and Jazz. Teskey quickly began playing national shows, has opened up for famous Blues and Rock artists, and has played world renowned venues. The band includes Brandon Teskey on guitar and vocals, Matt Baldwin on Bass, and Brandon Gaddy on drums. In 2024 they released two singles, ‘Under the Sun’ and ‘Upside Down World’. In 2025 they released their debut album, White Wolf and in 2026 released their second album, Live at the Rhythm Room.  

For more:

https://teskeyband.com/

This week's guest is NEW YACHT CITY, a band that plays Yacht Rock! On this episode we chat with Manish Nag the lead singer and keyboardist! If you love Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross, The Doobies, Ambrosia and more you will love this band! Check them out for a fun time that you and your friends will always remember!  For more info on shows, ticket info, merch and  the band check out their website!  

https://www.newyacht.city/#shows

https://www.newyacht.city/#band! 

On this episode we feature an outstanding New York comic, Matt Vita! Of course we joke around and have some laughs while finding out  where Matt will be performing along the comedy circuit! For more on Matt check out his website or follow him on social media to find out where they will be making you laugh next! And get your tickets soon for a good laugh! 

https://www.mattvita.com/

 For over a decade, Kurt Allen has been fusing gritty old school blues, vintage soul, swampy Bayou funk, and more into a relentless blues-rock machine. His songwriting reflects craftsmanship honed by years of commitment, and his albums take the listener on an unforgettable ride to almost every corner of the blues universe. Kurt's latest release, Live From The Red Shed, is classic modern blues-rock.

   A true road warrior with a hardcore touring schedule that sees him playing 150-200 dates a year, Allen -- like most everyone else -- was derailed for most of 2020-21 as the live music world shut down. As soon as things began to open back up, Allen was burning up the miles all over the lower 48. And by the good graces of the Blues gods, he also ended up with a stellar live recording from The Red Shed in Hutchinson, Kansas.

   Over nine tracks, Allen flexes his guitar muscle in a way only hinted at on previous studio releases. Peppering the set with songs from his entire catalog, along with new and previously unrecorded tracks, Live From The Red Shed is an unfiltered testament to the power of live blues.

https://www.kurtallenmusic.com/