All stories by Michael Hamad on BroadwayStars

Friday, August 14, 2020

West Hartford native’s ‘Wash My Hands’ song wins John Lennon Songwriting Contest after she recovers from COVID-19 by Michael Hamad

How do creative people recover from COVID-19? One musician wrote a children's song about personal hygiene and social distancing.

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:00AM
Saturday, July 4, 2020

When will concerts return to Connecticut? Phase 3 OKs live music with unknown limitations by Michael Hamad

As Connecticut moves tentatively toward Phase 3 of reopening in mid-July, bars, indoor venues and larger outdoor events may be given the green light to stage concerts but the limitations are…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:00AM
Thursday, June 21, 2018

CT's New State Troubadour Nekita Waller Wants To 'Bring Us Closer Together' by Michael Hamad

Nekita Waller, a singer from Middletown, will be Connecticut’s 17th state troubadour, according to a statement released by the Connecticut Office of the Arts and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Wal…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 03:45PM
Monday, April 9, 2018

A Break Down Of Hartford Stage, Yale Rep And Long Wharf's Upcoming Seasons by Michael Hamad

Three major Connecticut theaters — Hartford Stage, Long Wharf and Yale Repertory Theatre — have announced what they’ll be doing next year. Who better to break down trends and highlight…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:55AM
Thursday, March 29, 2018

Kronos Quartet To Premiere New Arrangement Of Coltrane's 'Alabama' At Wesleyan by Michael Hamad

When all is said and done, the Kronos Quartet — violinists David Harrington and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and cellist Sunny Yang — might be remembered as the most eclectic musical e…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 11:35AM
Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Percussionist Sameer Gupta Opens Instrument Portrait Series At Real Art Ways by Michael Hamad

Every so often, you crave the middle: The heart of an artichoke, the center of a Tootsie Pop, the halftime show. In music, that could mean the stuff between the intro and outro; a groovy bri…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:55PM
Monday, February 5, 2018

The Shellye Valauskas Experience Spreads 'Panic,' Power Pop At Cafe Nine by Michael Hamad

Power pop — think Big Star, Cheap Trick, the Knack, the Bangles — is often appallingly short on power, says New Haven guitarist Dean Falcone. “To me, it’s the Who’s ‘I Can’t Ex…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 09:00AM
Saturday, December 23, 2017

16 Jazz-Filled Reasons to Visit The Hartford Library by Michael Hamad

Jazz. At the library. Dig it. Starting on Jan. 7, the Hartford Public Library rolls out its 15th season of free, hourlong Baby Grand Jazz concerts, which take place on Sunday afternoons at 3…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:00AM
Monday, November 13, 2017

Documentary By New London Band Pocket Vinyl Captures Life On Road by Michael Hamad

Pull into a new city, just before sundown, and park the van. Load in, play a gig for adoring fans, pocket a wad of cash from the smiling venue owner, grab a delicious meal, and sleep between…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 11:21AM
Thursday, September 28, 2017

Dar William’s Book Is A Traveling Musician’s Take On ‘A Thousand Towns’ by Michael Hamad

The year's most engaging urban-planning book comes from an unlikely source: activist and musician Dar Williams, a folk-festival and Lilith Fair veteran, who independently released her first …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Singer Petra Jarrar 'Gets Her Call To The Future' by Michael Hamad

Petra Jarrar, 20, writes hook-drenched, danceable, optimistic pop songs. She sings them with swagger at NYC venues like the Bowery Electric and the Bitter End. Recently, the Fairfield native…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:49PM
Friday, September 22, 2017

Conductor Carolyn Kuan Among 11 To Become U.S. Citizens At HSO Concert by Michael Hamad

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra's season-opening "Eroica" weekend just got even more heroic. On Oct. 7, before the second night of the HSO's "Beethoven's Eroica" Masterworks Series at the Bu…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 07:08AM
Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Uncertainty Music Series Saying Farewell In Firehouse 12 Concerts by Michael Hamad

Once a month, the Uncertainty Music Series injects a heady dose of spontaneous composition, white-knuckle improv and electro-acoustic weirdness into the New Haven nightlife scene. This has b…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:28PM
Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Old Church Concerts Provide Intimate 'Listening Room' For CT's Musicians by Michael Hamad

At a small, unassuming church in Rocky Hill, Mike Wilcox hosts monthly concerts featuring some of Connecticut's greatest musical talent, both known and unknown. Now in its second full season…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, July 6, 2017

Who's Playing When At Greater Hartford Festival Of Jazz by Michael Hamad

The unspoken theme of this year's Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, which takes place in Bushnell Park from July 14 to 16, might be this: Go ahead and dance. You've earned it. New Haven-bas…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:10PM

Horn Player Haneef Nelson Honored To Launch Paul Brown Jazz Series by Michael Hamad

Trumpeter Haneef N. Nelson never imagined he'd be a leader in the Greater Hartford jazz scene. "Before college, I didn't know anything about Connecticut north of New Haven," Nelson says. "Th…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 11:20AM
Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Pianist Randy Weston Celebrates Jazz As America's True Classical Music by Michael Hamad

Pianist Randy Weston has been a regular visitor to Hartford for more than 50 years, from 1950s jam sessions at Hartford Jazz Society president Art Fine's house in Bloomfield to more recent p…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 04:15PM
Friday, May 5, 2017

Talking Heads Alums, Indie Rock Producer Curate Emerging Artist Series by Michael Hamad

It's a great time in history to discover new music — whether it's new to you, new to everybody, or somewhere in-between. DJ-curated streams play day and night on Internet radio stations. O…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:50AM
Thursday, April 27, 2017

Four CT Artists Part Of Global Effort To Set 'Finnegan's Wake' To Music, Poetry by Michael Hamad

Read these words out loud: Yogibogeybox. Mrkgnao. Peloothered. Mumchanciness. Now use "sausage" in a sentence. As a vowel. You've got it, you're there, you're soaking in it: The sound-world …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:46PM
Tuesday, March 28, 2017

HSO's New Season Will Offer Favorites, A Few Twists by Michael Hamad

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra announced its 2017-2018 Masterworks Series Tuesday, offering music lovers a season full of traditional favorites and a few surprises. Music director Carolyn K…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, March 13, 2017

HSO Wants To Make Your Dog A Star For Its 'Playing With Dogs' Concert by Michael Hamad

Britten had a dachshund; Wagner, a Newfoundland named Russ. Pictures reveal that Debussy's collie was probably way happier than its owner. "Playing With Dogs," an upcoming pops concert by th…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 09:01AM
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Jazz Pianist Keeper Of Mom's Legacy As Little Miss Angie Of 1930s All-Girl Band by Michael Hamad

Toward the end of the Jazz Age, the music world ushered in a new phenomenon: the all-girl band. Connecticut's contribution was the Novelty Syncopators, a New Britain-based group formed in th…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 08:44AM
Monday, March 6, 2017

Saxophonist Noah Preminger Joins The Protest With 'Meditations On Freedom' by Michael Hamad

Get ready, 2017 listeners: Here comes the protest music. "Meditations on Freedom," a new album by tenor saxophonist and Connecticut native Noah Preminger, recorded in December and released o…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 04:33PM
Friday, February 24, 2017

After Dashed Hopes And A Spiritual Landing, Ron Surrey Revisits The Dreams Of His Youth by Michael Hamad

A few weeks ago, a tall man in a suit entered the lobby of The Courant. He was 30 minutes early for our meeting. "I don't like to talk about myself," says Ron Surrey, pastor of the New Mt. O…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:02AM
Wednesday, January 18, 2017

HSO, Real Art Ways Join Forces To Experiment With Music, Art And Space by Michael Hamad

Somewhere between a chamber music concert and a casual hang lies "Scribing the Void," an off-center offering by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra at Real Art Ways in Hartford on Jan. 26. "Scri…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 09:23AM
Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Solange Knowles, Questlove Among Musicians Celebrating Prince, David Bowie At Yale Conference by Michael Hamad

If you attend only one, free multidisciplinary conference celebrating the legacies of David Bowie and Prince this year, make it this one: "Blackstar Rising & the Purple Reign" at Yale Univer…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 10, 2016

NBSO To Perform Self-Taught Composer's 'Are There Still Bells' by Michael Hamad

Composer Albert Hurwit never studied music. "Somebody once asked me: 'Is this section Andante?'" Hurwit says. "I said, 'I don't know, but that's how I cook spaghetti'." Hurwit, 85, is a Hart…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, October 10, 2016

Mohegan Sun Throwing Anniversary Party With A-List Entertainers by Michael Hamad

Mohegan Sun Casino still isn't old enough to drink, but that won't stop it from celebrating its 20th anniversary with a monthlong bevy of entertainment options. A few stats: in 20 years, the…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, October 3, 2016

HSO Drops Thursday Nights For New Season by Michael Hamad

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra's upcoming season offers new twists, concepts that have worked in the past, and a reduction — from four to three — in the number of performances offered f…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:20PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Music As Therapy 'Until Her Body Breaks' For Olive Tiger by Michael Hamad

Press Play is a column exploring the underground musicians of Connecticut. If you have new music to share, send it to [email protected]. "Until My Body Breaks," the title of Olive Tiger's d…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:22PM
Monday, July 11, 2016

An Eclectic Lineup For Greater Hartford Festival Of Jazz by Michael Hamad

Summer jazz in Hartford's Bushnell Park is a decades-old tradition. Those who've attended previous incarnations of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz will likely find reason to return, to…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:03PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards