OntheWilderSide

Joe Iadanza Performs at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre, Dec. 29

New Monthly Singer-Songwriter Series

Singer-songwriter Joe Iadanza performs at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue, Huntington, on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. as part of a new monthly Long Island Pulse Singer-Songwriter Series. He shares a bill with Phil Minissale, a young blues and roots artist. Admission is free.

A music community builder, Iadanza is known to many musicians and fans in the Huntington area through his hosting of a monthly open mic series presented by The Green Palate Experience and for the fun and intensity of his own live performances.

Born of Italian immigrants and union activists, Iadanza knows about the passionate struggle for the American Dream. Recalling Stevens, Cohen and Springsteen, Iadanza’s music is rooted in classic folk: honest and raw, revealing a gifted scene-painter and storyteller. Earlier this year, Iadanza released All in Good Time, an album of songs that speak with a rare eloquence, and whose unadorned production, similar to the way in which he performs live, delivers a working-class austerity.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR2skml4xq8]

A Long Island native, Iadanza is a sophisticated folkie with a strikingly unusual tenor voice that is well-complemented by his fingerstyle guitar grooves. He has been drawing critical acclaim and building a fan base across the Northeast, as well as in Europe, since the 2008 release of his debut album,Traveling Salesman.

WFUV’s John Platt selected Iadanza to perform in the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase during the 2009 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Kerhonkson, NY, as well as in his own “On Your Radar” concert series at The Living Room in Manhattan. “He’s a talented songwriter with a unique vocal style and presentation,” says Kathy Sands-Boehmer, who runs the Me and Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, Mass. Richard Cuccaro, editor and publisher of Acoustic Live! in New York City and Beyond, writes: “Take one part James Taylor, add some John Prine, throw in a dollop ofHarry Chapin, and you have the voice of Joe Iadanza. Joe brings a fresh perspective, as well, to the storytelling prowess of all three.” Music blogger Darius Rips calls Iadanza “a wonderfully poignant storyteller… His singing has a warmth that reminds me of Harry Chapin.” Indeed, Iadanza has performed in the annual “Just Wild about Harry” concert and food drive at East Meadow’s Eisenhower Park in tribute to the late singer-songwriter and anti-hunger activist.

Iadanza, who resides in Roslyn with his wife and daughter, describes himself as a late bloomer whose songwriting did not become prolific until his early 30s with the birth of his first child. “I wanted my daughter to grow up with a dad who followed his dreams,” he said. And with hard work, the dream becomes a reality – all in good time. Judging from the reviews he’s been garnering, many others are glad he’s doing just that.

 

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