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FALL 2022! Resetting…
My birthday is in September, and it just so happens I know a number of people with early fall birthdays. Historically this was not necessarily a good thing, but in recent years I’ve taken to embracing the re-set concept in the fall, including the birthday moment. So here’s to re-focusing on what we care about, what we need to do for ourselves in order to be present for others.
Coming up on October 3rd, a show I’m really excited about. Musicians gathering to Rock The Vote, at our beloved Cutting Room in NYC. Several artists will take turns playing their original songs and all ticket money will go to several groups working to protect voting rights, particularly in key states where efforts are very much alive to suppress voter turnout. Please join us – The Conte Brothers (Steve and John), Nicki Richards, Dennis Collins, Kenny White, Angela Reed, Richard Hammond, Larry Saltzman, and myself. It’ll be not quite unplugged, but a more intimate setting than you might be accustomed to with these consummate NYC performers. In 2020, both live and live-streaming, with your help I raised close to $20,000 (!) in the months leading up to the general election. That’s a lot of boots on the ground, and we still need them boots, so come on out!
I had a great couple gigs in New England recently. It’s always a privilege to play the iconic Club Passim, and this time I got to do it with my pal Abbie Gardner, late of Red Molly, who is forging a spectacular solo career. She’s a beautiful singer-songwriter- dobro player. Check out her new album, on which I’m delighted to have a song we wrote together.
I did a couple of Songwriters In The Round nights in Boston as well, hosted by David Thorne Scott, a remarkable hybrid jazz artist who, like me, has a penchant for taking Cole Porter songs and turning them on their heads. The format is always so much fun.
And speaking of the in-the-round format, I am so thrilled to be participating in Ann Klein’s Songwriters In The Round at the Bitter End on November 28th. She invites folks to not only play in the round and talk about songwriting, but sit in with each other. For this round, in addition to Ann and myself, we are joined by Bette Sussman and James Maddock. I’m expecting fireworks.
Go over to the other side of this page and view a couple new videos ripped from the Cole Porter Re-imagined City Winery show on March 27th. More of those to come. And/or go sign up for the Youtube channel and watch videos galore. We’ll return to the Winery in December for a holiday show with invited guests and, a roomful of community. Cheers!
For listening, and watching, check out all the music that’s been featured on this site, on my Youtube channel, and on Spotify. For an indie artist like yours truly, getting 80 thousand streams of “True Love” – my duet with Cliff Eberhardt- well, that’s a very cool thing.
So..in case you need reminding…The Cole Porter project! The maestro’s songbook wrapped in the loving arms of fiddle, mando, my old Gibson, classic upright piano, and the lusting and longing of that dobro. ONE MORE duet partner to secure and this thing is done. We let a small number of cuts out of the protective vault, as well as a few JB tracks that will be on that next album, so wander over to Spotify and check them out, and yup, click to be a monthly listener/follower. Go to the Cole Porter page on this site to read more about the project.
It’s a privilege to have this life, and the life I have mentoring rising songwriters at Berklee College of Music. I’m grateful for this time in my life, even as I struggle like all of us, to make sense of the chaos we see and sometimes directly experience. I will continue to look for ways to channel musical endeavors into causes that need support.
If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be kept in the loop, do sign up on this site. If I become annoying, you can always unsubscribe lol!
We hold our collective breath, metaphorically, for the times they are a-changing. Get thee to your vaccine center if you are due for your next shot! And let us open our hearts to the world that continues to right its ship.
Patience, like never before.
Let us proceed with hope, with patience, with love and gratitude for what we have, what we may have, and what we may yet achieve, never forgetting the many thousands we have lost, and the challenging work ahead to reach across divides, face our historic faults and fears and rise up in brave new ways.
Head stays clear. Heart stays open. Driven by love, not fear. I feel that now more than ever. -JB
Where to find it
Cole Porter Project Interview
You See This River
Info and Liner Notes CDBaby iTunes Amazon
Order direct from me with Paypal ($18, free shipping included):
It’s Brooklyn-based Americana ready to soothe your hot little souls, pump you up or cradle you, a la I’m With Her, Mumford and Sons, or Mandolin Orange.
The stories here are of the primal instinct for nostalgia, the beautiful and terrible journey up and down the river, the persistence, romanticism, and pig-headedness of humans. The title track captures this journey on the river – sometimes deliberate, sometimes meandering, indeed sometimes treacherous, with no apparent way to jump the current, all the while watched by those who choose to stand on the sidelines. All we might know for sure is that we’ll float another day.
Lydia Hutchinson of Performing Songwriter:It’s so beautiful – the melodies, arrangements, the voice, the whole vibe. It’s so consistently good, one of those rare recordings you can listen to all the way through, every track.Jason Velazquez of The Greylock Glass:
[Janie] released one of the very best albums in the Americana universe certainly of 2017, and likely this decade.Paula Cole, Grammy-winning producer/artist:
[This] album is so beautiful! I love it, honored to be on it! It's touching, heartfelt, and the lyrics are wonderful. It's on replay in my car!
SHOWS
UPCOMING SHOWS
October 3, 2022
Cutting Room
New York City
Songwriters for Voting Rights
featuring The Conte Brothers, Nicki Richards, Dennis Collins, Kenny White, Angela Reed, Richard Hammond, Larry Satlzman, and JB
November 28, 2022
The Bitter End
New York City
Songwriters in the Round with Ann Klein, Bette Sussman, James Maddock, and JB
Decemeber 11, 2022
Cutting Room
New York City
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
December 18, 2022
City Winery NYC
New York City
Cole Porter Re-imagined. Special guests to TBA
PAST PERFORMANCES
August 27, 2022
Club Passim
Cambridge, Ma
with Abbie Gardner
August 5, 2022
Sellersville Theater
Sellersville, Pa
Stoned Soul Picnic ft. Diane Garisto
August 3 and September 7, 2022
Armory Cafe
Sommersville, Ma
Songwriters in the Round
March 27th, 2020 City Winery LOFT NYC The Cole Porter Project 1:00 brunch show doors @ 11:30 Special guests TBA Proceeds towards Voting Rights groups
March 3, 2022
Live Stream from Euphoria Studios NYC 7pm sharp Go to JB’s Facebook page! ft Larry Slappy Saltzman, Ben Stivers & Richard Hammond Proceeds towards Voting Rights Groups
Oct 16, 2021 The Towne Crier. Beacon, NY Opening set for Kenny White
Nov 4, 2021. Club Passim Cambridge Opening for Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams
Nov 17, 2021
The Burren Sommerville, MA. 7:30 pm
Songwriters in the Round with Rene Pfister and Genevieve
Nov 29, 2021
Rudy’s Jazz Club Nashville, TN. The Cole Porter Project ft Viktor Krauss, Keith Sewell, Ben Stivers, Justin Weaver, Billy Contreras
Dec 5, 2021. The Cutting Room Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
August 13, 2021
Power Station NYC
In-Studio showcase/ livestream The Cole Porter Project
July 23, 2021
Private House Concert
Little Washington, Va.
with Paul Guzzone
July 24, 2021
Perrywood Manor
Upper Marlboro, MD Concert on the lawn
with Paul Guzzone
July 24, 2021
Perrywood Manor LIVESTREAM
Upper Marlboro, MD LIVESTREAM/Concert on the lawn
with Paul Guzzone
July 25, 2021
Private House Concert
Martinsburg, W.Virginia
with Paul Guzzone
May 15, 2021
Pomona Cultural Center
Pomona, NY
with Paul Guzzone
March 6, 2021
Club Passim Livestream from Passim’s page! Songwriters in the Round with Rene Pfister and Scarlett Keys
Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
New York City
APAP Showcase 7:30 pm
Cole Porter’s Fiddle live debut
Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
APAP Showcase 8:00 pm . guitar and vocal
Jan 27, 2020
The Cutting Room . 7:30pm
Fundraising event for Stacy Abrams’ 2020FairFight
with Dennis Collins, James Maddock, Kenny White, Bette Sussman, JB
Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
New York City
APAP Showcase 7:30 pm
Cole Porter’s Fiddle live debut
Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
APAP Showcase 8:00 pm . guitar and vocal
Nov 30, 2019
The Turning Point
Piermont, New York
with Paul Guzzone
November 11, 2019
The Red Room
New York City 9:30 pm
Sex & Romance NY Style!
JB & Shannon Conley sing Cole Porter, Ellington, and more
November 7, 2019
The Cutting Room
New York City
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto; guitar & vocal
October 24, 2019
Barbes
Brooklyn, New York
Buschwick Book Club: songwriters read, multiple, write, perform.
July 4, 2019
Club Passim
Cambridge, MA
with Buskin and Batteau – Independence Day Party
July 19, 20, 21, 2019
The Birchmere
Alexandria, Virginia
Opening for The Bacon Brothers
Aug 21, 2019
Birdland
Vocal Mania
The Stoned Soul Picnic/Laura Nyro voices