BANJO NICKARU To Showcase at APAP Conference in NYC (January 5)

January 3, 2019 by 1888media

With a musical lineage born in the folk standards of ‘Porgy and Bess’ and 1930s swing, New York City’s Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches have been invited to showcase at the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference at the Midtown Hilton.

Taking place on Saturday January 5 at 1pm (in the New York Suite on the 4th Floor) as a part of Pat Harris’ “2 Great Days of Jazz” Showcase, the set will feature material from the band’s recently released sophomore album, Get Us Out of Fearland, which which rose to #2 on the Folk Radio Charts, landing just behind John Prine.

Elmore Magazine championed Fearland’s “remarkable musical dexterity with songs that bask in a genuine roots regimen and a sense of timeless tradition,” and revered tastemaker station WFUV said, “This is a band that must be heard to be believed!”

For the APAP showcase, the core duo of vocalist Betina Hershey, a Broadway singer who toured nationally and Internationally with Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story, and multi-instrumentalist Nick Russo will be joined by singers Joy Hanson and Keith Anthony Fluitt, known for his work with Patti LaBelle, Will Downing and Quincy Jones, and drummer Lionel Cordew, who has performed with a long list of luminaries including Mike Stern, Regina Carter and Cassandra Wilson and who is the current touring drummer for Spyro Gyra.

“These powerful and strong influences for our band bring spiritual energy to our shows,” says Russo. “My musical life has always been surrounded by an eclectic combination of unique musicians and scenes. So naturally, this band is a melting pot of many different cultures, genres, instruments, and sounds. My dream is that people of all races and origins live, play, and share all our different world musics and cultures together as one united race, without fear — one love!”

Over the past two years, Banjo Nickaru has built a solid following in the Eastern U.S. with a half dozen tours while also playing such prestigious events such as Falcon Ridge Fest, Kansas City Folk Fest, Folk Alliance, NERFA, WFUV Sunday Supper, Blue Plate Special, WMOT Finally Friday, WNCW Studio B Sessions and the Mid-Winter Folk Fest at Club Passim.

The band will also be showcasing at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal February 13-17 and will be on the road throughout 2019.