Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist Gina DeSimone & the Moaners on Veterans Plaza, Tuesday, August 9 at 7 pm. Free

Please join us for another exciting Plaza Performance on Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza. On Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 7pm, we welcome Gina DeSimone to the Plaza Stage.

Born and raised in the Silver Spring area, Gina picked up the guitar at age 9 and began taking lessons at a local music store. “I wanted drums,” she explains, “but my parents gave me a guitar instead. Turns out I love playing guitar, but I think my songs are so rhythmically oriented because there’s a bit of drummer in me.” As a teenager, Gina broke the stereotype of the female folk guitarist by playing lead guitar in rock bands. Today she backs up many of the area’s finest songwriters and bands. She began a lifetime of guitar teaching when the same local music store where she learned guitar called to ask if she was interested in teaching. In addition, to running a studio of dedicated students, she continues honing her skills by taking lessons from master guitarists like Al Petteway, Del Rey, Steve James and Mary Flower.

This year, Gina DeSimone was the featured acoustic blues player at the 3rd Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival. She also joined the Archie Edwards Blues Ensemble at the Festival's Market Stage.

Check her out online at http://www.myspace.com/ginadandthemoaners or at http://mysite.verizon.net/gina.d/gina/index.htm


Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza is located at the intersection of Fenton Street & Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring.

These performances are productions of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Visit our blog at www.silverspringtowncenter.blogspot.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sstowncenter or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/8305814081/

Warner Williams & Joyce Ettingoff Play Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza

Guitarist and songster Warner Williams is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues—an Eastern seaboard style that incorporates fiddle tunes, ballads, country and popular songs, ragtime, and gospel. With a jaunty rhythmic finger-picked guitar style and an eclectic repertoire that ranges from blues to honky-tonk, jazz crooning to children's songs, Warner Williams is an old-style community entertainer of national significance. Joining Warner Williams on the Plaza is harmonica player Joyce Ettingoff from Silver Spring.

In this clip, Warner and Joyce play Take It Slow, Danny Boy, Honeysuckle Rose, and One Day at a Time.

These performances are productions of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. See more Plaza Performances at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTownCentre#grid/user/54B3D9F47094BE13

Visit our blog at www.silverspringtowncenter.blogspot.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sstowncenter or on Facebook.

Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza is located at the intersection of Fenton Street & Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring.

Trip to Pakistan - The Eclectiks on Veterans Plaza

The Eclectiks are a local electric string band, whose instrumentation includes three violins, one cello, one guitar, a keyboard and flute. The music they play is a blend of modern and old. Some of the folk tunes on their play list date to the 18th century.

The Eclectiks are Mike Cohen, Violin; Regina Koenig, Violin; Charles Tolbert, Violin; Frances Eargle, Cello; Simona Patange, Flute; Pete Stover, Guitar; Steve Soroka, Keyboard; Gary Daum, Bass Guitar.

For more Plaza Performances videos by the Silver Spring Town Center, visit our YouTube Channel here.

The Thrill Is Gone - Boomerang

Boomerang is an old-time rock & roll band whose set list includes such classics as Walkin' the Dog, Devil with the Blue Dress On, Slow Down, Don't Fight It, Love Rocket, You Can't Do That, Gimme 3 Steps, Rainy Night in Georgia, Mustang Sally, Sharp Dressed Man, Money, Louie Louie, Pretty Woman, Let It Bleed, Burnin' Love, Little Sister, and Feelin' Alright. Boomerang is John Brown (bass and vocals), Cap Pendleton (guitar and vocals), Hank Burnett (drums and vocals), and Gary Garvin (guitar).

For more Plaza Performances videos by the Silver Spring Town Center, visit our YouTube Channel here.

I'll Get To Heaven On My Own - Cooking with Gas

Cooking With Gas serves fine acoustic music featuring generous portions of blues spiced with jazz, gospel, swing and folk. CWG has played at the Washington Folk Festival and the Silver Spring Blues Festival. The members of Cooking with Gas are Jim Bunch (washtub bass, washboard), Marcus Childs Moore (fiddle, vocals), David Oziel (guitar, vocals), David Rothman (harmonica, vocals), Bob Sherman (guitar, vocals) and guests. For more information, visit their website at http://www.facebook.com/cookingwithgasmusic

For more Plaza Performances videos by the Silver Spring Town Center, visit our YouTube Channel here.

House of the Rising Sun - The Traveling Bluejayes

The Traveling Bluejayes performed on Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza on July 3, 2011. They're a great band that plays folk, rock, rockabilly, originals, and blues. The band members are Arlene Jaye, George Hardman, Karen Hardman, Rick Kanton, Michelle Murray, and Joyce Ettingoff.

For more Plaza Performances videos by the Silver Spring Town Center, visit our YouTube Channel here.

The Second String Bluegrass Band - Emmett Overstreet, Earl Williams & Paul Young

Emmett Overstreet, Earl Williams, and the late Ron Krupka formed the Second String Bluegrass Band over 30 years ago. The band, which was active from 1981 to 2004, has had from three to five members and instrumentation including rhythm guitar, five-string banjo, Dobro guitar, lead guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and string bass. Paul Young joined the group in the late 1990s. The band's repertoire is heavily influenced by the music of bluegrass pioneers such as Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe. Folk songs, country songs, and instrumentals round out the repertoire.

For more Plaza Performances videos by the Silver Spring Town Center, visit our YouTube Channel here.

SwagFunk, Cloud 9 Return to Veterans Plaza, Sunday, July 31,2011. Free!

Please join us for more exciting Plaza Performance on Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza! On Sunday, July 31, we welcome "SwagFunk" to the Plaza Stage, at 6 pm. And we welcome "Cloud 9" back to the Plaza Stage for a repeat performance. These performances are free!

SwagFunk! Formed in the 1990s, SwagFunk's original band name was "Equinnox and the Mary Groove." The band consisted of the current lead singer/drummer Danny Gorman, guitarist/bassist Brian A.C. Williams, and Thomas Johnson on guitar. With the departure of Thomas Johnson from the group, the band took a break for a while until Danny decided to hold a jam session with a few new musicians. Al Warren was immediately recruited, based on previous projects with Brian. Guitarist Mike Sutton came on board to replace Thomas Johnson. Scott Eister soon joined to hold down and work the bass guitar. The band has been playing at large and small venues since 2008. The present band consists of: Deirdra Harris Vocals, Daryl Braxton: Vocals & Keys, "Funk Master" Mike Sutton: Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Back Vocals, "Smokin" Al Warren: Drums & Percussion, "The Funk Doctor" Scott Eister Bass & Percussion, Brian A.C. Williams Guitar. The band has recently been featured at the Fenton Street Market.

Cloud 9! We're pleased to announce that Cloud 9 will return to perform on Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza on Sunday, July 3 at 2 pm as part of the Plaza Performances series.

"From the ever growing urban setting of the DMV (Laurel, Maryland to be more specific) comes a new iconic band, Cloud 9. Cloud 9 is a group that embodies positive change and advocates artistic integrity. Opposing the negative impact of commercial music in today's world, Cloud 9 ironically brings a fresh down to earth sound. Their music can hardly be classified, as they merge different genres to create music that appeals to the masses. The group started in April 2009 as 4 teens trying to win their high school talent show, and has now evolved into a 6 member super group.

On the roster they have: Michael "TK" Akinlosotu - Lead Vocals; Adam Dunbar - Electric Guitar ; Jason Zamora - Piano and Synth; Jonathan Livas - Drums; Timm Cruz - Bass Guitar and Jordan McRae - Saxophone.

Cloud 9 played Veterans Plaza for SSTCi in April 2011.

Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza is located at the intersection of Fenton Street & Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring.

These performances are productions of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Visit our blog at www.silverspringtowncenter.blogspot.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sstowncenter or on Facebook.

Warner Williams and Joyce Ettingoff at Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. was very proud to host blues legend Warner Williams and Joyce Ettingoff at Silver Spring's Veterans Plaza. The performance was part of the Silver Spring Regional Center's Plaza Evening series. Warner played for more than two hours to the delight of an adoring crowd. We were pleased to also welcome SiriusXM's Bluesville program director, and a neighbor, Bill Wax to the Thursday program.