A Ladybug Preview & Album Review

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Photo courtesy of Nalani & Sarina.

At first listen, Nalani & Sarina’s new EP, Scattered World sounds like a well-blended mix of pop and soul with just the right amount of funk and rap added for extra flavor.

But listen closely and you can hear the influences the identical twins grew up with –stellar lyricists like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, as well as the classical music training they received in childhood.

Like many sibling musicians, Nalani & Sarina Bolton not only blend voices perfectly, but seem to match each other’s energy and style in every track – from the opening anthem “We’ll Be Free” (which promises to be a great number for live performances) to the haunting “Shadows in the shade.”

Themes running through the tracks of Scattered World cover things as difficult as teen runaways and adolescent confusion without family or community support, to a celebration of love and freedom.

Whether you appreciate 60s soul, 70s funk, 80s dance, 90s hip-hop, or modern pop, Nalani & Sarina have something for you musically to enjoy while engaging your mind with thoughtful, well-placed lyrics.

Nalani & Sarina will be playing the Ladybug Festival in Wilmington on Thursday, July 16. The free event features some of the best performers in the mid-Atlantic region.

Find out more about Nalani & Sarina: http://nalanisarina.com/

Find out more about the Ladybug Music Festival: http://theladybugfestival.com/

Summertime Art Looping in the City

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Pablo Picasso said, "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."

Wilmington offers that opportunity to "wash the dust off" and appreciate new perspectives every month through the city-wide Art Loop (aka Wilmington's Art on the Town).

July's Art Loop featured more than a dozen exhibitions at places as varied as government buildings, restaurants and community outreach centers. The work displayed is just as eclectic --- from photographs focusing on compartmentalization (Joe Natale at the Grand Opera House, above left) to large murals exploring questions of space, dimension and emotion (Ken Carley at Connections West End, above right).


"Art is not a handicraft," argues Leo Tolstoy, "it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."

Artist Michael Silva (left) uses acrylic, oil and wood burning to transmit his experiences of beauty at the leasing office of 2nd and LOMA, while Jo Worme (right) experiments with a variety of canvases, including boards, to show her ability to capture the feeling of creativity and action at Film Brothers Movie Co-op.

In addition to interesting and engaging visual arts, venues like the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and LOMA Coffee featured live music throughout the evening.

President John F. Kennedy said, "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."

The arts, business, non-profit and government communities in Wilmington have demonstrated a commitment to provide artists in the area with the platform to share their considerable talent. It's now up to us, as a society, to do our part. You can start by taking a few moments to simply gaze at the work being created; you just might find the dust of daily life being washed off your soul.


The Wilmington Art Loop is normally held the first Friday of each month. 
 
See www.artloopwilmingtonde.com. 

A Fest of Gore, Splatter and Camp with Bootless' Evil Dead, The Musical

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Bootless Stageworks production of Evil Dead, The Musical.
Photo by Kent Grant.

You know you're in for a fun theatrical experience when the orchestra is dressed in t-shirts and stage hands have mops at the ready to clear the stage and front row of the splatter and gore sprayed, flung and cascaded over the audience.

And with cheesy grins, knowing winks and truly horrifying puns (as if there's any other kind), the cast and crew of Bootless Stageworks provide that with Evil Dead, The Musical.

From the peppy and poppy opening song "Cabin in the Woods" where our band of happy campers are heading to their Spring Break getaway to the triumphant finale of "Blew That Bitch Away" where our hero is figuratively carried around by customers and fellow employees at the local box superstore, Evil Dead, The Musical entertains and engages the audience.

You need not be familiar with the original 1981 cult classic Evil Dead or the franchise in order to follow and enjoy Evil Dead, The Musical --- but if you're a fan, your heart should jump at some of the iconic poses and lines in this production.

The cast of Evil Dead, The Musical. Photo by Kent Grant.

The plot is your basic "friends go camping, discover book that unleashes evil, fight evil and create much blood and gore in the process" story. For anyone who has seen a trailer for any movie featuring young people, camping and a scream, there is no such thing as a "spoiler" in describing this play --- and the writers capitalize on that from the beginning with lines like, "We're five young people headed to a deserted old cabin in the woods... what could possibly go wrong?"

Ryan PJ Mulholland does a great job of channeling Bruce Campbell as Ash, the hero who knows how to handle just about any weirdness that comes his way. Justin Walsh takes the best friend role of Scott to new levels during in his duet with Mulholland "What the F*** was That?"

The dialog, singing, dancing and splattering is all handled deftly by the talented cast. The special effects put together by John and Roseanne DellAversano are impressive and fun to watch. Music Director James Fuerst increases the energy on stage and adds elements to the show that no pre-recorded music could offer.

Just in case the title, descriptions of gore and song titles haven't conveyed the message yet, this is not a show for children nor for those who find themselves offended by salty language.

Evil Dead, The Musical runs July 17 and 18 at Bootless Stageworks theater located in The Annex @ St. Stevens, 1301 Broom Street in Wilmington. 

See www.bootless.org.