Blues, jazz artists are next in Tang rooftop series

?Upbeat on the Roof? the summer music series hosted by Skidmore?s Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, has announced performers for the next two weeks.

Sean Rowe will present acoustic funk and blues on Friday, July 25, and Reggie?s Red Hot Feetwarmers will provide Dixieland and jazz on Friday, Aug. 1.

Performances begin at 7 p.m. (after the gallery closes) on the museum?s rooftop. Admission is free and open to the public.

Rowe is familiar to area audiences. Writes Don Wilcock of The Troy Record, ?When Rowe gets in front of a microphone, he is transformed into a wizened and grizzled old black griot. He summons up a voice from deep within that begs comparisons to such genre-bending innovators as funk-jazz master Gil Scott-Heron or the late beach bum turned philosopher Ted Hawkins.?

Metroland named him best male vocalist for 2007, noting, ?As thick and sweet as molasses, Sean Rowe?s baritone is one of those rare singing voices that will leave you forever changed. Like Al Green, Van Morrison, or Gil Scott-Heron at their best, this is deep soul you?ll feel right down to the tips of your toes, and, uh, other nether regions.?

Click here for samples of Rowe?s work.

	Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers

Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers takes the spotlight on Aug. 1. Harkening back to the sounds of the 20s and 30s, the Feetwarmers pump out an infectious, all-acoustic, totally unplugged brand of jumping jazz with the only amplification being the megaphone ?Reggie'? uses for singing.

CD Baby writes, ?The Feetwarmers are an instant Mardi Gras...not just a New Orleans Mardi Gras, but a Mardi Gras for anywhere and anyone. With some great old tunes and a spirit of uncomplicated joy, the Feetwarmers remind us that whatever might come, we're all glad to be here.?

Hear samples by the band.