Author: Adam Johnston

worship services

~ Adam Johnston

We have a few places we love to return to, houses of worship in a sense, because we find homes of community and catharsis there. These include Funk N Dive as well as Two Bit Bistro, where we happen to be playing this month. (And of course there are others, but we’re not playing them in August.)

And then there’s one more to add to our list, same weekend as Two Bit: We got invited to play jazz vespers at Ogden’s Historic Elim Lutheran Church, Sunday 8/23, 6p (all ages, free and open to the public). This was a really lovely invitation to get, both to be part of our cherished Ogden community and to take part in a tradition that dates back to Duke Ellington. We’re excited to be part of this and add to our houses of worship. And, we get to pull out a few jazz standards, gospel inspired pieces, and even something to sing along with.

Hope to see you out there.

double-header!

~ Adam Johnston

Plenty of news to update you with in the world of S&S, but the big headline is this: We’re doing our first ever double-header, two gigs in one night, this Saturday.

First, the trio plays at Two Bit Bistro (all-ages, free) at 6:00p. We’ll probably even start a few minutes early:

Our friends at Two Bit suggest reserving a table in advance! We’d love to see you up front. We’ll get started a few minutes early because we have a busy evening. Right after we finish our set we’ll pack the piano and roll it down the street to the Funk N Dive for a 9:00p show (21+, $5 cover) along with and in support of The Snarlin’ Yarns:

We’ll play and get to hang out and listen to (and dance along with) the Yarns into the dark of night in the cool but festive atmosphere of the Dive’s basement.

How did this happen, you ask? What kind of second rate manager do we have that would allow for such a thing? To tell you the truth, when the Snarlin’ Yarns reached out to see if we could join them (such a flattering invitation) and we saw that we already had a gig — but at an entirely different time! — we truly recognized that this could be a lot of fun. And you could join us for either or even both gigs, because they’ll be different sets and different vibes.

We are so excited.

In other news, we have a blossoming calendar in front of us. After a few weeks of downtime, things are ramping up again towards the end of summer and into the fall. We’ve got more gigs downtown and a few others in the works, including a trip to church and (hopefully) a future event at a festival we love to support. Keep up with our gigs here and we’ll update the calendar as we confirm more.

See you out there. Keep supporting all the local and live music!

April showers, May flowers (and gigs)

~ Adam Johnston

We had a really good April and we’re looking forward to a fun May. Here’s what’s on tap in the next few weeks:

  • Local Artisan Collective, Friday 5/1, 7-9p during Ogden Arts Stroll
  • Children’s Justice Center Gala, Saturday 5/2, 6-9p (ticketed benefit event — you should go!)
  • Grand America Lobby Lounge, Saturday 5/9, 7-10p
  • Two Bit Bistro, Saturday 5/16, 6-8p
  • Grand America Lobby Lounge, Saturday 5/23, 7-10p

All events are free and open to the public except for the Children’s Justice Center event, which you should support in any and all ways. We keep a running list of these and future events on our gig calendar in case you want to look into the future or get addresses and such.

In April we almost got rained out, but we persevered. Here we are at a really wonderful celebration, wedding, and dance party in the desert.

Happy in the dry, sunny desert in between sets and thunderstorms.

This was a good chance to demonstrate that we could roll with whatever, playing under cover to protect ourselves from thunderstorms and wind gusts. Lovely people gathered together to roll with whatever the desert landscape dished out. It was a real joy to celebrate K & D, their families and friends. We got to watch them all gather together on the dance patio, arm in arm in a giant circle, singing and swaying along with our music.

Then just this last week, the Trio was ready to play a private gig at Weber State under the sunshine of the post-semester spring weather … which was basically sleet and cold. So we took that inside, too, but Adam got to play an old grand piano reminiscent of the on in a college dorm he used to play in. And people hung out by a fireplace and enjoyed ice cream alongside the music.

This is all to say that we’re always ready for anything. And also it will be great to have some sunny summer gigs. Let us know if we can join you for a party in your backyard.

3 for 3

~ Adam Johnston

We have a trio of trio gigs on tap:

  • Apres Pendry in Park City, Friday 3/13, 5-8p (free, all ages)
  • Grand America Lobby Lounge in Salt Lake City, Saturday 3/14, 7-10p (free, all ages)
  • Two Bit Bistro in Ogden, Saturday, 3/21, 6-8p (free, all ages)

Come to more than one of these and you can see if we play the same things. Oh, and we’ll tote around CDs of the newly released album!

post office sessions delivered!

~ Adam Johnston

It’s here! Our new album! All the tracks! On all the platforms and on our music page, along with the liner notes.

You can buy your very own downloadable copy on Bandcamp, too. And come to our album release party at the Funk N Dive this Saturday, March 7 (9-Midnight, 21+, $5) and you can cheer us on as we play it down live — and also go home with your own CD.

We are so excited. Thanks for listening and sharing in the celebration!