In the Round with the Big Takeover and Woody & the Rebel Alliance
The Big Takeover and Woody & the Rebel Alliance are the first acts in UPH’s new series, In the Round. Our mission for this series is to uplift and highlight the work of a variety of singer/songwriting artists on the rise to stardom!
The Big Takeover prompts the question, traditionalists or progressives? Fronted by the charismatic Jamaican-born singer and songwriter Nee Nee Rushie, the seven-piece New York band The Big Takeover plays original music that is rooted in and reverent toward the genres and rhythms of Jamaican pop: reggae, rocksteady, ska. They are devotees of Desmond Dekker and the way the old school did it. At the same time, The Big Takeover crosses lines and blends traditions like global pop fusionists. Their deceptively complex arrangements and big hooks connect with the spirit of Motown and the uptown sophistication of the 21st century retro soul and R&B revival scene. www.bigtakeoverband.com
Rebel Alliance comes blasting out of the woodsy confines of the Berkshires like a love slug from the gun of life! A musical revelation that isn’t afraid to cull the tedious excuses of modern-day music and spark a cultural transformation. With deep influences in reggae and improvisational jam rock, it is safe to say that The Reb helps carry the revolution to the stage and, ultimately, to the fans. During their live performance you can feel an increasing essence of family which compels you to reach a handout to a troubled stranger. But their music goes beyond lyrics and notes, beyond the love of kin and kith, beyond the cozy limits of a fixed description. It is a universal blueprint for society as a whole. As a band sheathed in unending positivity, they’re armed with an ardor that is able to form a permanent wrinkle in the status quo. Consider them the ambassadors of Ragetown, set to slay the dark lords of demoralization and malevolence with their tight grooves and valuable rhetoric. rebelalliancemusic.com
VIP ticket pre sale: Tuesday, May 17, 2022 @ 10 am
public on sale: Friday, may 20, 2022 @ 10 Am
