Listen to Tony Lucca’s Full Live Set!

Michigan singer-songwriter Tony Lucca breathed life into the heart of New York’s East Village at The Studio at Webster Hall last Thursday, April 16. The night was filled with energy and immense musicianship, along with Syracuse duo Castle Creek and New York’s Rock ‘N’ Roll child Anna Rose.

New York natives Castle Creek opened the show with an eclectic set of alternative blues rock, acoustic singer-songwriter melodies and vocal harmonies. Lead guitarist Chris Eves was trained at Berklee College of Music, sparing no expense at each solo opportunity. Likewise, lead vocalist Kim Monroe was in perfect control of her voice from an intimate volume to belting lyrics mid-chorus.

Castle Creek performed songs off of their 2014 debut studio album, The Only Life, and shook things up with a Talking Heads cover. Their set was full of contrasting tempos, blues riffs and percussive textures; including cajon and tambourine. Their set was short, but they did not disappoint – only a glimpse of what was to come for the rest of the eventing.

Prior to the show, L4LM had the opportunity to interview Anna Rose, chatting about music, life on the road and touring close to home. Accompanied by her lead guitarist Adam Stoler, Rose performed songs from her latest release Behold A Pale Horse (2013) – filtering a full band sound through the use of drum loops, electric guitar and vocal effects.

Stoler was on point – adding to both color and support to the already-powerful Rose. “Ironically, I met Adam after he auditioned for me,” said Rose. Now, ten years later they are still at it. “I guess some things just work out that way,” added Rose. Songs like “Electric Child” maintained the grittiness heard on the record and grooved hard, even as a duo.

Rose displayed a soft-side on tracks like “Swan Song,” which were equally effective in captivating those in the crowd. But don’t be fooled, Rose is a fighter – “Yea, I am a boxer, but haven’t done anything recently because I injured my shoulder,” said Rose. On and off the stage Rose continues to impress.

She ended the set with help of “The Rollaways,” a nickname given to Lucca’s backing musicians; Steve Bentz on bass and Mic Capdevielle on drums. The band kicked in at full volume and the crowd went wild, singing along to Rose’s “Because You’re Mine.” One thing’s for sure – you don’t want to miss Anna behind a full band.

The night was already full of great music by the time Lucca set foot on the stage. His set ranged from a full band and acoustic numbers with Lucca playing piano and bringing up a number of guest artists. After playing with groups like Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, *NSYNC and Marc Anthony, Lucca knows exactly how to appeal to an audience.

His set included songs from his latest self-titled album, covers and an original arrangement by guest guitarist Keaton Simons. The rhythm section was on fire; Simons with screaming guitar solos to Bentz’s moving bass-lines and Capdevielle on drums, with bold tom-tom fills and a precise groove. Together, the band would shift intimate songs to full-out rock songs and, at one point, the band began to experiment with polyrhythms and metric modulation.

Lucca brought out Anna Rose to perform a few tunes as a duo before bringing back The Rollaways and guest artist Michael Ghegan on Saxophone. Ghegan has quite the portfolio, including work with Justin Timberlake, Michael Bolton, Elton John and Aerosmith. Furthermore, Ghegan is the musical director and bandleader for Comedy Central’s “The Chris Wylde Show,” when he is not running is music and sound design company, Bluetone Productions. On stage Ghegan gelled with each band-member, playing off each soloist and Lucca’s lyrics.

All in all – It is amazing what these three groups have accomplished. Tony Lucca’s Paint A Picture tour will continue with Anna Rose and Castle Creek through mid-May. Check out the rest of the tour dates here.