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Los Lobos with North Mississippi Allstars at Penn’s Peak Friday June 9, 2023

Penn’s Peak is proud to announce Los Lobos with North Mississippi Allstars, Friday, June 9, 2023 at 8pm. 

The journey of Los Lobos began in 1973, 50 years ago this year, when David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, and pretty much anything with strings), Louie Perez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar), and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón) earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties.

  

The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into L.A.’s burgeoning punk and college rock scenes. They were soon sharing bills with bands like the Circle Jerks, Public Image Ltd. and the Blasters, whose saxophonist, Steve Berlin, would eventually leave the group to join Los Lobos in 1984.

Early on, Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP …And a Time to Dance.

A year later, the group released its full-length, major-label debut, How Will the Wolf Survive? Co-produced by Berlin and T Bone Burnett, the album was a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone’s Artist of the Year.

A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic, La Bamba.

The quintet’s cover of Valens’ signature song topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record La Pistola y El Corazón, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance.

That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep its fans engaged. In 1992, that willingness to defy expectations led them to record Kiko, an adventurous album produced by Mitchell Froom that’s considered by many to be one the band’s very best.

Since then, Los Lobos has continued to deliver daring and diverse albums such as Colossal Head (1996), Good Morning Aztlán (2002), The Town and the City (2006), Tin Can Trust (2010) and Gates of Gold (2015). On top of that, the band’s live shows never disappoint, as documented on the recent concert recordings Live at the Fillmore (2005) and Disconnected in New York City (2013).

Through the years, they’ve managed to keep things interesting with unexpected side trips like an album of Disney songs in 2009, along with countless contributions to tribute albums and film soundtracks.

One of those – “Mariachi Suite” from the 1995 film Desperado ­– earned the band a Grammy® for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Los Lobos’ love letter to the city of Los Angeles as their album Native Sons (2021), returned the band to the Grammy winner’s circle with Best Americana Album of 2022. In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as a band, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy.

Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarochonorteño, Tejano,folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

North Mississippi Allstars

Nothing runs deeper than family ties. Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters understand one another at the purest level. When families rally around music, they speak this oft-unspoken bond aloud and into existence.

North Mississippi Allstars

North Mississippi Allstars

 

After 25 years, twelve albums, four GRAMMY® Award nominations, and sold out shows everywhere, North Mississippi Allstars open up their world once again on their thirteenth album, Set Sail [New West Records], welcoming other family (by blood and by the road) into the fold.

As legend has it, Luther and Cody Dickinson started the band in 1996 as a loose collective of like-minded second-generation musicians who shared a local repertoire and regional style. Over the years, the lineup shifted by design, and each subsequent record offered up a different combination of collaborators. This time around, they mined the talents of Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, JR. on vocals. During the Allman Betts Band Family Revival, the Dickinsons first linked up with Lamar, son of the Allman

Brothers bassist Lamar Williams, Sr., becoming fast friends and collaborators and eventually paving the way for Set Sail.

“The chemistry we have with this lineup is powerful,” observes Luther. “We are all

second-generation musicians and share a telepathic, relaxed ease about creating and

performing. I believe music is a form of communion with our loved ones and conjuring this vibe with members of musical families can be inspirational. Lamar and I are like-minded. I’ve never had the pleasure of working with a singing partner like Lamar. He has a true-blue quality in his musicality that will pull you in and break your heart. At the same time, Jesse grew up playing music with his brothers and his father—as did we. He plays like a sibling. We recorded the album fresh off the road and captured the energy we had worked up with him. I’m drawn to musical families, regardless of style. Playing with second- or third-generation players allows us an easy unspoken musical dialog. It’s not a big thing; it’s just what we do. We never had to figure out what it means and takes to be a musician. We all inherently know.”

They picked up this wisdom by osmosis. As sons of legendary producer and musician Jim Dickinson, Luther and Cody have been producing records themselves since they were teenagers. Separately, the brothers have produced albums by Samantha Fish, R.L. Boyce, Lucero, Amy Lavere, the Birds of Chicago, Ian Segal, and more. Luther produced two records from Otha Turner, including Everybody Hollerin’ Goat, which was named one of the ten most important blues albums of the nineties. Luther and Cody co-produce North Mississippi Allstars records as the “Dickinson Brothers.”

“We learned an enormous amount from our father,” Luther says, “Cody and I made mistakes, but we’ve always believed in ourselves, and we had to learn for ourselves. Rock ‘n’ roll is self-taught. Each generation has to reinvent itself and shed the skin of the elders. On Set Sail, we feel as if we’ve once again ‘broken the code,’ and know what we want and how to get it.”

Following 2019’s Up and Rolling, which received a GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of “Best Contemporary Blues Album,” Set Sail continues the band’s tradition of creating roots music that displays remarkable variety. Luther and Cody Dickinson dig in with the production and different guitar tones; the record sizzles with hard yet understated groove, grown folk music. Luther’s wide-ranging guitar style features jazz riffs, psychedelic sounds, and soulful slide. Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Cody draws on roots music, rock, jazz, rap, and other styles to create rhythms that propel the band’s sounds and move it forward. Their two aesthetics combine to create the band’s unique style, “Primitive Modernism,” melding the new and the old, traditional, and futuristic, crafted lyrics and improvisational music. Speaking of, the first single

and title track “Set Sail Part I” [feat. Lamar Williams, JR.] rides a riff right out of the Southern Delta into the embrace of a horn section as the vocal interplay simmers on the line, “The water may rise again, but we shall set sail.”

“‘Set Sail’ really set the tone,” Cody goes on. “It could be taken literally or figuratively.

Philosophically, it’s about the way the waters literally do rise. We’re talking about climate

change in a literal sense, but it’s also symbolic in a social sense. It won’t be the first time.”

“See The Moon” [feat. Lamar Williams, Jr. & Sharisse Norman] hinges on a head-nodding bass line as Sharisse’s harmonies uplift a downright spellbinding performance from Lamar underlined by Luther’s unpredictable guitar phrasing. The most familial moments on the record happen when Luther’s daughters Lucia and Isla sing together on “Authentic” and “Didn’t We Have A Time,” marking a full circle moment in poetic fashion. Delicate instrumentation wraps around plaintive and powerful lyrics laced with nostalgia on the lullaby-style chorus. “It’s one of my favorite songs,” smiles Cody, who has recently become a father himself. “Hearing my nieces on it was a high point. It was really meaningful, deep, and beautifully sad, but also hopeful.”

Strings and horns give way to the smoky blues of “Never Want To Be Kissed” [feat. William Bell], illuminating yet another side of the sound. Luther notes, “Most of these songs have been floating around in my lyric books, waiting for their time to come. ‘Rabbit Foot’ and ‘Outside’ were inspired by conversations I remember having with Otha Turner and R.L. Burnside. We leaned into our other greatest influences: folk, soul, and psychedelic rock, but everything we play feels like North Mississippi. The recording also benefited from a new creative process I learned from a book, Q on Producing, that Cody sent me. I read about Quincy Jones’s philosophy of never recording a vocalist reading a lyric sheet. Up and Rolling was recorded with the band in the room. The genesis of Set Sail was the nylon string guitar and the vocals, and letting the memorized lyrics shape the song structure or lack thereof. This led to a whole new phonetics-based editing process that I’d never used before. Some of the lyrics were improvised and created on the mic, capturing the moment of creation.”

Building the songs from the guitar and BPM on Set Sail enabled Luther and Cody to experiment with their drum and guitar sounds in a leisurely way they hadn’t afforded themselves since their debut album, Shake Hands with Shorty (1999). In the studio, Cody mixed the songs again and again, working tirelessly but never losing perspective. Cody’s grooves and Luther’s songwriting furnish the album’s foundations.

Luther admits, “Recently, I had my mind blown by Rick Rubin saying that fitting lyrics into the puzzle of structure can compromise the message. Indeed, rules are made to be broken. I’m glad these songs came to fruition at this time because I was able to express my stance on life and love. The fear of having my children grown up and asking me why I didn’t speak up for what I believed in has driven me and helped mature my songwriting and solidify my stance. Having kids made me get my story straight.”

The Dickinson brothers have recorded and toured with Mavis Staples, Charlie Musslewhite, John Hiatt, Robert Plant and Patty Griffin, G Love, Jon Spencer, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos, and the Black Crowes. Meanwhile, their seminal debut, Shake hands with Shorty (2000), earned the band the first of four GRAMMY® nominations, and changed the Dickinson brothers’ lives forever.

Luther adds, “Quincy says, ‘Music gives back what you put into it.’ We have dedicated our lives to music, and it’s given us a fantastic journey that’s still only beginning.

In 1997, R.L. Burnside hired me and took me on the road. R.L., Kenny Brown, and Cedric

Burnside taught me how to tour nationally after years of touring locally. The Shake Hands with Shorty tour in 2000 took Cody and I around the world and changed our lives. We never really slowed down.”

They forge ahead always as a family, first and foremost. “North Mississippi Allstars means family,” Cody concludes. “I get the joy of working with my brother. Our families keep growing too. There’s a sense of history. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to record this music, so younger kids can hear it. I just want to make sure we pass it on. It’s a huge honor to be a part of this tradition.”

Tickets on sale Friday, March 10th at 10:00AM at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Penn’s Peak Box Office and Roadies Restaurant and Bar.  Penn’s Peak Box Office and Roadies Restaurant ticket sales are walk-up only, no phone orders.

Reserved Seating

Premium Reserved: $38.50

Regular Reserved: $33.50

About Penn’s Peak

Penn’s Peak, a beautiful mountaintop entertainment venue located in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, can comfortably host 1,800 concertgoers.  Enjoy a spacious dance floor, lofty ceilings, concert bar/concession area and a full service restaurant and bar aptly named Roadie’s. Complete with a broad open-air deck for summertime revelry, Penn’s Peak patrons enjoy a breathtaking overlook of nearby Beltzville Lake, plus a commanding, picturesque 50-mile panoramic view of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains. Choose Penn’s Peak for your next wedding, banquet or special event and treat your guests to an event truly “Above the Rest”.

Geographically convenient to residents of major population zones in Hazleton, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg, the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and New York City, Penn’s Peak is an ideal location for any event.  It is located only four miles from Exit 74 of the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  For more information on Penn’s Peak, go to www.pennspeak.com or call 866-605-7325.

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Election Day 2024: Elixir Health and Wellness Offers Free Red Light and Compression Therapy to Encourage Voter Turnout on Election Day

Election Day 2024: Elixir Health and Wellness Offers Free Red Light and Compression Therapy to Encourage Voter Turnout on Election Day

ELIXIR Health and Wellness, Bethlehem’s premier destination for non-invasive, anti-aging therapies, is excited to announce a special Election Day initiative to promote community engagement and support voter turnout. On Tuesday, November 5th, all voters across the Lehigh Valley are invited to stop by Elixir Health and Wellness, located at 1021 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA, for a complimentary session of red light or compression therapy between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

“At Elixir Health and Wellness, we believe in the power of caring, both for the body and the community,” said Yuliya, owner of Elixir Health and Wellness.

“We’re thrilled to offer this special opportunity as a way to give back to our neighbors who make their voices heard on Election Day. Voting is one of the most impactful ways to shape our community, and we want to support everyone who takes the time to participate.”

To take advantage of this Election Day offer, individuals simply need to show proof of voting, such as an “I Voted” sticker. Those who voted early are welcome to participate as well. Elixir Health and Wellness will be open all day to provide red light and compression therapy sessions that can help rejuvenate individuals after casting a ballot.

For those registered near Elixir Health and Wellness, the nearest polling location is:

College Hill Moravian Church
72 W. Laurel St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018

Whether you’re looking for a wellness boost or a relaxing break, Elixir Health and Wellness invites the Bethlehem community to experience its renowned anti-aging therapies and celebrate the importance of civic engagement.

For more information about Elixir Health and Wellness and this Election Day event, please visit our website at www.elixirlv.com.

Lehigh Stunned by Sweet Innovation From America’s #1 Cookie Brand

Biggest Cookie Innovation Ever, Chips Ahoy Big Chewy Cookies!  From America’s #1 Cookie Brand

The cookie experts at Chips Ahoy! are at it again – this time showing up bigger than ever before.

Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie

Introducing the Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie – an entirely new product line from America’s #1 chocolate chip cookie brand.

Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie

Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie

As the brand that is “Here for Happy,” this innovation from Chips Ahoy! brings cookie lovers an offering that is over three times the size of Chips Ahoy! Regular Chewy in an individually wrapped pack, making it the ideal go-to snack for splitting with a friend.

These new Chips Ahoy Big Chewy Cookies will up the ante in snack aisles and convenience stores across the country. Designed with Gen-Z Chips Ahoy! lovers in mind – this oversized treat is perfect for on-the-go snacking during their busy lives or to split with a friend.

Boasting chocolatey chips over four times larger than the iconic Chips Ahoy! Chewy cookie for a bigger, more chocolatey bite, the cookie itself clocks in with a diameter over three times the size, and will be available in three delicious flavors:

  • Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie: Delivering classic Chips Ahoy! Chewy flavor now bigger and with the just the right amount of chocolatey chips to compliment the larger cookie and its soft-baked texture.
  • Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie, Chocolatey Brownie: A decadent brownie-flavored base takes indulgence up a notch and delivers an extra chocolatey bite for even the biggest sweet-tooth.
  • Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie, Chocolatey Caramel: Delicious caramel-flavored chips blend with the iconic sweetness of the Chips Ahoy! chocolatey chips to create a delicious mash-up of caramel and chocolatey flavors to deliver a big, indulgent bite.

“From our original cookies to our newest innovations, Chips Ahoy! fans have long enjoyed our iconic brand and mouthwatering flavors,” said Jen Levin, Senior Brand Manager for Chips Ahoy! US. “For over 60 years, Chips Ahoy! cookies have been the go-to cookie for chocolate chip cookie lovers of all ages. Now, with the launch of Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookies, we’re excited to be their on-the-go cookie choice as well, offering indulgence and happiness in each big, delicious bite. And perhaps the best part of all? Their bigger size means you have enough Chips Ahoy! deliciousness to share with a friend!”

Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie will begin rolling out to retailers nationwide starting in October. Each 2.5 oz pack will be available for an SRP $2.29 at convenience stores. For more information on Chips Ahoy! Big Chewy Cookie, follow @chipsahoy on Instagram and @theofficialchipsahoy on TikTok to follow the latest Big Chewy Cookie news.

Lehigh Invaded with Scary-good whiskies this Halloween: J. Mattingly 1845 Welcomes Fall with New Whiskey Offerings

Scary-good whiskies this Halloween: J. Mattingly 1845 Welcomes Fall with New Whiskey Offerings

J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery is debuting scary-good whiskies this fall, with its first fall spiced Bourbon 31 Blended Bourbon and the ability to customize your own whiskey for your Halloween festivities through its J. Mattingly 1845 craft your bottle program.

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Bourbon 31 Blended Bourbon is a play on the brand’s Bourbon 30 Bourbon brand and this limited-edition release was created for the Halloween season.

Bourbon 31 is a blend of three whiskies which have all undergone J. Mattingly 1845’s Double Staving™ process and the blend consists of 51 percent Bourbon, 29 percent Light Whiskey and 20 percent Rye Whiskey. Double Staving is a proprietary process used by J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery that gives the whiskey inside the barrels additional surface exposure to charred barrel staves to impart more flavor and color.

The Double Staved Classic Bourbon used in this blend has just scored a 96 from famed Whiskey Bible author Jim Murray.

The Bourbon 31 Blended Bourbon was created by J. Mattingly 1845’s team of expert blenders to reflect the flavors typically associated with fall. “When we blended these three whiskies, we were looking for a flavor profile that reflects flavors typically associated with fall, such as pumpkin and cinnamon while matching the light-hearted fun we’re having by changing the brand name from Bourbon 30 to Bourbon 31 to celebrate the Halloween season,” said Harry Richart, president, J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery.

Tasting notes for this bourbon describe it as having a nose of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and walnut, with the flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon, and fall baking spices on the palate. On the finish, pumpkin bread, baker’s chocolate and seasoned oak are prevalent.

Bourbon 31 is available online and at the J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery in Frankfort, KY.  Suggested retail pricing is $60 for a 750 mL and it is 98 proof.

J. Mattingly 1845 Custom Whiskey Program is the “Choose Your Own Adventure” of the whiskey world by allowing the buyer to choose between double staved™ bourbon, light whiskey or rye whiskey recipes, select their bottle shape, customize their own label, and even choose their own wax color from every color of the rainbow! This program is available online and in person at the Distillery and can result in some frighteningly fun labels and Halloween-themed wax colors.  Imagine expressing your innermost devilish (or angelic) thoughts on the bourbon bottle you give your favorite boo.

Pricing for the custom bottles start at $120 for a 750 mL bottle and shipping is available to 46 states.

About J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery

The Mattingly family has been synonymous with distilling in Kentucky for more than two centuries, having a hand in the development of at least nine separate distilleries in the Commonwealth.

It all started in 1845, with John Graves Mattingly’s first distillery in Marion County, Kentucky, Registered Distillery #2.

In 2010 Jeff Mattingly took up the family mantle and started his own craft bourbon business. Today, Jeff’s son Cameron has joined the team as Vice President of Production, continuing the legacy into the latest generation for J. Mattingly Distillery 1845 in Frankfort, Kentucky. Together father and son offer their proprietary double staving process as well as a custom bourbon blending experience unparalleled in the spirits industry, available on-site in Frankfort or online at https://jmattingly1845.com/build-a-bottle/

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