THE KNICKERBOCKER MUSIC CENTER
35 Railroad Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891 (Misquamicut) | (401) 315-5070
Closed Today
The club thrived as one of the leading entertainment centers in southern New England, hosting regional and national bands with an emphasis on the blues. Some of the greats that played on the Knickerbocker stage included, Big Joe Turner, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Johnny Nicholas, Leon Russell, Eric Burdon and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 1967, Roomful of Blues was born in Westerly, when guitarist Duke Robillard and pianist Al Copley started a band that played tough, no-holds barred Chicago blues. Making the Knickerbocker Café their home club, it did not take long before they started exploring swinging, jumping blues and added a horn section. Roomful would pack the house every Sunday and still plays their great brand of blues today.
Fast forward and the Café has become the Knickerbocker Music Center, a non-profit organization formed in partnership with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School. The mission of the Knickerbocker Music Center is to preserve, cultivate and grow the “Knick’s” unique brand of blues, as well as expanding access to music of all genres, by transforming the Knick into both an exciting performance venue and an exceptional center for music education.
Dwight & Nicole w/ The CarLeans
- shared 1 time 8pm
Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 8:00pm
The Knickerbocker Music Center. 35 Railroad Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891
Live Music
About Dwight & Nicole:
Dwight & Nicole is a three piece original Soul-rock band fronted by Dwight Ritcher & Nicole Nelson. Ritcher and Nelson met in Boston when they were just out of school and cutting their teeth on the local club scene. They discovered a shared love of classic blues greats like Albert King and Lighting Hopkins, covering classics by their vocal heroes Mavis Staples, Jimmy Witherspoon and Etta Jamesall the while obsessing over writing and playing their own original music. Dwight & Nicole began performing live first as a duo. They then self-released two award winning albums through crowd funding, and developed a strong regional following.
They both possess the kind of natural voices that stop you dead in your tracks. Ritcher also happens to play a Gibson Flying V guitar. He picked one up as a teenager in West Long Branch NJ, and he’s never played anything else. Nelson, a gifted singer & classical violinist from NYC has described the bass as her first real love. She picked it up again in 2016 and has not looked back. The recent addition of powerhouse drummer Ezra Oklan to the band has solidified their sound, and they took this combination into the studio in 2017.
Dwight & Nicole’s EP “Electric Lights” was recorded live to analog tape with multiGrammy
Award Nominated producer Joel Hamilton (Aaron Neville, The Meters, The Black Keys, Yoko
Ono) at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY. Hamilton captures their sound and energy on tape. They have released two singles “Wait” & “HiLo” ahead of the EP, which have begun to introduce their music to a new wave of fans. The album which is distributed through The Orchard / Sony Music has already grabbed the attention of some legendary artists including Mavis Staples & Melissa Etheridge, both whom they have recently shared the stage with. They just completed their first US headlining tour up and down the east coast, with stops in VT, NC, TN, GA, LA, AL, TX and FL. Tour highlights include multiple sold out shows, and being surprised backstage by Melissa Etheridge herself who then joined the band onstage for a soul stirring rendition of their song “Wait”.
“Give “Wait” a spin and, for at least three minutes and fifty seconds, all will be right with the world.”
— Dan Bolles, Seven Days
“Take R&B, soul, blues and jazz, mix in razor-sharp rock guitar... heat to boiling, and watch your face melt. That’s Dwight & Nicole.”
— Relix Magazine
“Dwight & Nicole are a tour-de-force that demand much wider success. Poignant, hard driving... and heavenly.”
— Steve Morse, Boston Globe
About The CarLeans:
The CarLeans are a musical collaboration between Connecticut based musicians Jim Carpenter (guitar, vocals), Sarah MacLean (guitar, vocals) and Corina Malbaurn (bass, vocals). The blending of their diverse musical backgrounds creates a captivating musical experience. Steeped in passion for story telling and navigating the human experience, their original songs are raw and powerful - paired with a delivery and live performance that's honest and marked by well-placed musicianship and vocal presence. There's a versatile sound that comes from the three piece rooted in Americana/folk music, but extends through Country/Pop/Blues/Cajun.
Show: 8p | Doors: 7p
Tickets: $12 advance | $15 door ($2 Service Charge Included With Online Tickets. All sales are final, no ticket refunds or exchanges. Seats are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and seats are not guaranteed with ticket purchase.)
