Monthly Archives: April 2026

Live Review: The Man In Black at the Park Theatre

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photo by Luca DePalo

by Luca DePalo, Contributing Blogger

Shawn Barker/The Man in Black

Park Theatre, Cranston, RI

March 28, 2026

On a beautiful March evening in Cranston, Rhode Island, a sold out crowd gathered together to hear the unmistakable sound of Johnny Cash, performed by one of the world’s most respected tribute artists, Shawn Barker. Marking his long-awaited return to the state, after last year’s performance, Barker’s The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash was more than a concert, it was a musical journey.

photo by Luca DePalo

About the Venue

The venue, named the “Historic Park Theatre & Event Center,” stands as a relic to over a century of entertainment, culture, and community in the city of Cranston. Since its early days, it has welcomed generations of audiences, evolving alongside the city while preserving its historic charm. Local entrepreneur Ed Brady and business partner Jeff Quinlan took over the theater and began extensive repairs around three years ago after it permanently closed in 2020. Now in 2026, the theater operates under the management of Spectacle Live, marking a major step in its revival. As part of Spectacle’s growing network of venues, the Historic Park Theatre has been transformed into a fully modern, performing arts center while still preserving the state that defines its century-long legacy.

photo by Luca DePalo

The Concert

As the band hit the first opening chords and began “The Wreck of The Old ’97,” the audience was already gripped tight, with the 6-piece group having a vintage stage presence and grateful emotion. Meanwhile, Barker stood upfront with a rich baritone voice, which glorified the following tracks, “Big River” and “Country Boy.”

Without any banter, Barker walked up to the front of the stage, with just a simple line. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” Barker stated, before kicking into the 1964 hit “Folsom Prison Blues,” a classic in every setlist honoring the legendary Johnny Cash.

photo by Luca DePalo

The band includes Shawn Barker on lead vocals and the acoustic guitar, keyboardist Thomas Johansen, female backing-vocalist Emily Portman, drummer Steve Wilson (who is also the current drummer for the punk rock band Dead Kennedys), electric guitarist Dean O’Leary, and bassist Bruce Thomsen.

Barker’s conversational banter between songs made the night feel super special, due to the intimacy of the venue, allowing him to talk with the audience as if they were face to face. He spoke warmly about bringing this show for over 23 years across North America, and his excitement about returning to Rhode Island, before performing the classic hits “I Got Stripes,” “Hey Porter,” and “I Walk the Line.”

photo by Luca DePalo

After a well-deserved twenty-minute intermission, the second half took an unexpected turn. It opened with the thundering “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” my personal favorite, before diving into the famed “Man in Black,” the iconic name Johnny Cash earned after his consistent black stage attire at every show.

But what truly set Barker’s performance apart from other tribute acts was his willingness to lean into the later years of Cash’s career. His cover of “Rusty Cage” (originally by Soundgarden) filled with a surprise jam of Primus’ “My Name Is Mud” and a killer session of Whitesnake’s “Still Of The Night” was a thrilling highlight, especially for the younger audience members. And nope, he didn’t stop there, Cash’s famed covers of “Personal Jesus” and “Hurt” were performed with raw emotion, showcasing Barker’s deep understanding of Cash’s work. These emotional pieces were also some of his final songs before his death at the age of 71 on September 12th of 2003.

photo by Luca DePalo

Of course, no tribute would be complete without “Ring of Fire,” which had the entire theater singing along. And just when the crowd thought the night was over, Barker returned on the stage for an encore with “Cocaine Blues,” a fiery finale that left the room buzzing for more after the last note rang out.

Shawn Barker delivered not just a night of paying tribute, but a full celebration of Johnny Cash’s timeless legacy. From the early Sun Records hits to the darker, more deeper era, Barker honored every chapter with heart and performed as authentically and pure as he could.

If his promise to return next year holds true, Rhode Island will surely welcome him back with open arms. Until next time, keep supporting live music!!

Live Review: Bees Deluxe at Sanctuary

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photo by Geoff Wilbur

Bees Deluxe

Sanctuary Bar & Lounge, Maynard, MA

April 2, 2026

Tonight, Bees Deluxe helped turn a cozy suburban bar into a hip urban blues lounge. Top-shelf musical acts will do that. Of course, those of you who live near Sanctuary know that, in addition to hosting some acts that are big suburban draws, this venue is also an oasis of music from artists who don’t often perform this far out in the burbs, and that’s why you’ll so often find me in this arts and entertainment venue’s cozy little bar. The frequent early set times in the bar – 5:30 shows, like tonight; sometimes earlier on the weekends – are another draw for those of us who live and work nearby.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

As for Bees Deluxe, I love this band, a group that infuses such cool grooves through their songs. They play a style of blues I don’t know well but enjoy. You may have noticed my enthusiasm when I reviewed Hallucinate a couple years ago, but I was happy to defer the review of Smash Hits to longtime co-conspirator Eric Harabadian, whose blues knowledge is much broader and deeper than mine.

Last night, the Bees Deluxe lineup was comprised of three of its core members – Carol Band (keys), Conrad Warre (guitar), and Matt Arenburg (drums) – plus Allyn “Aldo” Dorr, who you’ll find listed on the “musical guests and friends” section of the “musicians” page of the band’s website. A couple times during the set, the quartet became a quintet, as they were joined by special guest Keith Lanzilotti on harmonica.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

The band noted they were going to try to fit a 3-hour setlist into the 2.5 hours available. (The Donna the Buffalo show in the main concert hall began at 8:00 last night; hence, the hard stop.) So it was no surprise that the band didn’t take a break. I had other obligations, so I just stayed for the first two hours of set, and I stopped taking notes about a half-hour earlier. So here’s what I heard during the first 60% of the show.

The groove was already in full swing by the time the band reached its cool rendition of Michael Burks’ “I Smell Smoke.”

Soon thereafter, Bees Deluxe entered a section of its setlist readily recognized by those of us without much blues knowledge. Notably, a neat version of “These Boots are Made for Walkin’,” with Carol taking the vocal lead, obviously, in place of Conrad, who took back vocal duties on the cool, hoarsely delivered “Love the One You’re With,” a song that also served as a great opportunity for Conrad to show off some nifty guitar riffs atop Carol’s rich keyboard bed. The easily-recognizably trilogy concluded with some crowd-pleasing Bacharach, “I Say a Little Prayer.”

photo by Geoff Wilbur

The next few songs included several originals, including “You Say Red,” a smooth number that is a little softly rollicking, if you believe a “rollick” can be soft. It was followed by a number whose title I missed but that’s worth mentioning because it featured simultaneous atmospheric and psychedelic vibes, a combo that runs through a lot of Bees Deluxe’s music. Also worth noting in this run were a great rendition of “I Wouldn’t Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me),” which you’ll find on the band’s Smash Hits disc (follow the link to Eric’s review, which I shared in the first paragraph). It also featured the first appearance of guest harmonica-wiz Lanzilotti and a couple more originals – lean-back-and-soak-up-the-vibe number “Wherever You Hide” and “Queen Midas,” a kind-of-groovy, psychedelic personal favorite of mine from the Hallucinate album that features an aggressive approach to its chorus.

The band then slowed things down with a rich rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.” Carol’s keys set an almost religiously organ-ic baseline, while Conrad’s meandering axe added additional character.

The show continued, but my note-taking stopped. The crowd, sparse as it often is at the beginning of these 5:30 sets, grew to a packed room over the course of the early evening. And Bees Deluxe provided top-shelf, crowd-pleasing blues to the appreciative audience.

Throughout Bees Deluxe’s set, the keys, very organ-like, set the backdrop. The guitar danced and showed off. And the rhythm section… rhythm sectioned, steadily and solidly, notably nuanced if you paid attention, and clearly appreciated by their bandmates as evidenced by callouts throughout the set, but otherwise not generally showy, as is often the fate of an excellent blues rhythm section. Again, a helluva band. And not surprisingly, an excellent early evening of accessibly thoughtful cool blues.

Looking Ahead

The “Shows” page of Bees Deluxe’s website lists plenty of shows already scheduled for the rest of this year, crisscrossing New England, New York, and New Jersey.

Sanctuary’s concert calendar lists the venue’s upcoming shows, both the free early performances in the cozy bar and lounge and the ticketed shows on the big stage in the main hall. In fact, I’ll be back in Maynard in less than 2 hours for the 8:00 PM start time of my first main hall concert at Sanctuary, as Danielle Miraglia and the Glory Junkies take the stage tonight, following opening act Britt Connors. If you read this as I post it, maybe I’ll see you there. If not, watch for my review so I can tell you what you missed.