Artist Spotlight at The Cut Live

Steve Sweeney has a new film that will be screening here at The Cut on January 16th. It's about his childhood growing up in Charlestown, and in this episode he talks about his voyage from there to his life now.

Johnny A has been establishing himself as one of the North Shore's outstanding guitar virtuosos, and his Jeff Beck tribute project, Beck-Ola, has been leaving crowds in heartfelt standing ovations. In this episode he talks about his beginnings, some of the stars he's played with, his recording technique, and his dedication to the art of groundbreaking rock musicianship.

There’s a new sound coming from a new Gloucester landmark—It’s The Cut at 177 Main Street, the North Shore’s premiere destination for live entertainment. Hi, I’m Ted Reed, and we’ve just launched our new podcast, Artist Spotlight at The Cut. We’ll be bringing you show-night interviews with the headliners coming to the Cut so you can get an up close, backstage seat to the entertainers who are making waves in America’s Oldest Seaport. Stay Tuned!

Performing since he was in his mid-teens, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Zane Christopher has his musical roots in Americana, The Beatles,  and classic rock. Along with his lead guitarist Nick Fawza, Zane talks about his recording process, the many hats musicians have to wear today to get heard, and how coming back to The Cut rates out of all the music venues in New England.

Founder and ex-Outlaw guitarist/vocalist Chris Anderson leads his new band Once an Outlaw and talks to us about his roots in the blues, playing with Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble as his backup band, rumors of the death of rock, AI in music today and the importance of the human element in all art, and songwriting vs. performing. MUSIC: Old Friend Born to Be Bad Once an Outlaw (The Outlaws)

Soul Rebel Project Talking with Mike Francis, lead vocal and guitar for Soul Rebel Project. Mike remembers some of the reggae legends SRP has shared the stage with, why reggae became his chosen path, the music industry's cycles and business advice for musicians. YOU CAN HELP: The island of Jamaica is reeling from the devastating damage caused by hurricane Melissa. There are several relief agencies actively helping Jamaicans, one of them is  The American Friends of Jamaica based in NYC (theaft.org) With US international relief funds at an all-time low, the help is needed urgently. MUSIC: Spark Pure Love Mellow Down

Jackie Venson   Austin guitarist/songwriter Jackie Venson tells us about: surviving the pandemic just as her promotional tour was supposed to start, reveals her songwriting process, why she switched from classical piano to blues guitar, and why she doesn't tour in the winter. MUSIC: Keep On Rollin on Destruct

Toronzo Cannon Growing up in a blues-heavy neighborhood in Chicago, Toronzo Cannon started out playing reggae ("Jamaican Blues" he calls it,) but quickly moved into the inspirational music of his local blues heroes. His song writing topics are drawn from street life and his time driving a city bus, always putting the emphasis on the story and the lyrics and the true roots of the original "message music," the blues.

Black Uhuru founder Duckie Simpson has been in the pantheon of Reggae royalty since the 1970s, and he has seen a lot of life's joys and challenges. In this episode we hear about being brought up by Rastafarians as a child, finding his way in music, the brutal realities of the recording industry, and his positive way of seeing the future. MUSIC: Sinsemilla What Is Life New Day

Residual Groove Connecticut jam-rock band Residual Groove has the improvisational and technical chops to make each of their performances a musical journey. We sat down with drummer Adam Fink and keyboardist Kiran Edwards to find out what goes into their unique musical expeditions, and what drives them to keep creating.