Janiva Magness & Chris Berardo at Cafe Wha? – New York, NY

Janiva Magness & Chris Berardo Live at Cafe Wha? | Thursday, April 3rd | 5PM Doors, 6PM Show

Please Note: There is a two-item minimum, per attendee. All sales are final.

JANIVA MAGNESS – Back for Me

“I have to, I must, I want to bring myself, always, to anything I’m singing. I’m not going to choose a song, ever, if I cannot bring myself to the story. I have to be able to do that. I have to be able to be authentic in it, even if I didn’t pen the words.” That cuts to the heart of the force guiding Janiva Magness as she sought out songs for her new album, Janiva Magness has returned with her 17th album, Back for Me, produced by her long time friend, producer and collaborator Dave Darling. The album is a powerfully engaging, emotionally rich collection from a dynamic artist who continues to renew and redefine her widely celebrated relationship with the blues. Janiva’s far-ranging search for songs has unearthed a treasure chest of lesser-known gems by well-known artists (Bill Withers, Ray La Montagne, Allen Toussaint, Doyle Bramhall II, Tracy Nelson, Irma Thomas) and deep-dive discoveries that connect with the rich feelings embodied in her voice and music, cherished by her fans. “I have always been into the B-sides,” she says. “There’s a freshness to doing a B-side rather than a well-known hit. I absolutely love the idea of shining a light on material that people are not familiar with.” Back for Me is the 17th album for Magness, who has been honored with seven Blues Music Awards (including being named B.B. King Artist of the Year in 2009) and a Grammy Nomination for her 2016 album, Love Wins Again. In 2019, she published her memoir, Weeds Like Us, avividly portrayed account of both the traumas of her youth (her parents’ suicides and her often-nightmarish experiences in the foster care system) and the hard-earned triumphs that have fueled her growth as an artist and in life. Darling anchors the album’s core band, also featuring drummer W.F. Quinn Smith and bassist Ian Walker, with keyboardists Sasha Smith and Phil Parlapiano, guitarists John Schroeder and Robert “Chalo” Ortiz, Nick Maybury and blues harp player TJ Norton also appearing on various songs. Ace guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Sue Foley and Jesse Dayton put their stamps on their respective special guest appearances. It’s a power house set moving from the Chicago-via-Texas churn of “Masterpiece” (written by Darling and featuring searing guitar from Bonamassa) to the aching gospel-soul-funk of Bill Withers’ “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh,” to the haunting resignation of Bramhall’s“November” and Nelson’s torch ballad “Down So Low,” to the sly release of newly released single, “Hittin’ on Nothin’”-written by Toussaint and originally sung by Irma Thomas, and blasting guitar, courtesy of Jesse Dayton. She gives credit to the band for bringing layers of dimensions to the songs. Aside from Darling, Parlapiano and Schroeder, the main musicians were new to Magness, but as soon as the sessions began she felt the fresh energy they brought. “We tracked together live,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons that it sounds as solid as it does. And the other reason is because these guys have worked together on other albums with Dave and other projects, so they have a history. That brings an automatic intimacy to the backbone of the songs. And because they’re basically all a bunch of badasses.” It’s that vulnerability that Magness sought in songs as she put Back for Me together, a search that took her deep into the mines of the blues and R&B for material that she could internalize and personalize .

Chris Berardo’s quarter-century of music making has been a pure, heartfelt emotional outpouring – a triumph of authentic song-craft and storytelling over careerism, fashion and hype.

“I never really was the type to chase ‘fame’ just for the sake of it,’” said Berardo. “It was more that I just wanted the opportunities to sing these songs for people”.

Over the course of three albums and countless roadhouses, honky-tonks, close calls and lost weekends, Berardo and his longtime band The DesBerardos have earned a loyal fanbase and peer respect for the sheer quality and sincerity of their rootsy Americana rock. It’s a nuanced, genre-straddling sound that resonates widely through both pop sensibilities and outlaw attitude.

An innate showman since the age of 12, Berardo’s compositions continue to channel the AM radio Southern rock and country influences of his youth in Westchester County, NY – the likes of Neil Young, The Eagles, the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, Poco, and the Doobie Brothers. Honing his craft alongside the legendary Four Seasons tune-smith Bob Crewe, and on a thousand beer-stained stages, the Connecticut-based singer-songwriter offers refreshingly unfiltered, timeless expressions all-the-more welcome in an era of manufactured, manipulated music.

Americana UK described Berardo’s sound as “Americana in its truest sense … both keeping the flame alive and moving it forward,” while TMT Radio/Americana Music Timesdubbed The DesBerardos, “One of the finest Americana bands out there.”

A consummate and charismatic performer, Berardo’s smoky voice and lived-in tales have charmed audiences from intimate acoustic shows to full-blown theater concerts, often opening for some of his idols, including The Doobie Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, and America.

Berardo’s lovingly-crafted compositions explore love, life, hard knocks, and the indefatigable human spirit. While wry and worldly-wise, his message is ultimately inspiring and optimistic – if anything, even more so since a serious health scare stalled his career after breakthrough albumIgnoring All The Warning Signs(which spent two months in the Top Ten at Sirius Radio’s Outlaw channel, and hit #49 on the Billboard Americana Chart).

Returning stronger than ever with several successful singles (“Somewhere Blue”, “Baby Blue”, “This Year”, Something’s Gonna Happen”) and now his imminent fourth album Wilder All The Time (all produced by David Abeyta of Reckless Kelly), Chris Berardo has finally captured his intoxicating live sound and spirit on record, and is poised to catapult well beyond where he left off.

Look for several new singles this Summer via Blue Élan Records, in advance of the new album release this September.

Berardo’s lovingly-crafted compositions explore love, life, hard knocks, and the indefatigable human spirit. While wry and worldly-wise, his message is ultimately inspiring and optimistic.

“In this business, you really need to have this sense of hope and a sense of belief, and a sense of joy in what you’re doing,” he pondered. “There’s a lot of that [onWilder All The Time]. Butsometimes you just wanna dance, and there are songs on the album for that, too!”

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