Music Lineup: Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

The 4th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party will feature six hours per day of live performances by an eclectic group of artists representing the best in American “roots music." From bluegrass and country-folk to vintage rock & roll and old-school soul--it's all live and free from 12:00 noon until 6:00pm on Saturday & Sunday, June 10 & 11, in New York's Madison Square Park.

Here is the complete music schedule for the 4th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Music Stage:

SATURDAY, JUNE 10 12 noon - 1:00pm
STRAIGHT DRIVE (Bluegrass)
Featuring the wonderful voice of lead/tenor singer Jen Larson, Straight Drive is one of the finest traditional bluegrass bands in the country. This is “bluegrass with no apologies," (as one fan put it), played the way Bill Monroe conceived of it decades ago. I'll Take A Page From Your Book (2005) is the latest release from Straight Drive.

1:30pm - 2:30pm
PYENG THREADGILL (Jazz/Blues/Soul)
In her avowed quest to “bring jazz in all of its branches back to a popular position, which is where it originated," the gifted singer/songwriter Pyeng Threadgill has created a unique fusion of traditional African American styles (blues, gospel), avant-garde jazz, and contemporary rock and soul. Pyeng and her quartet will perform songs from Of The Air -- her first collection of original songs, and the follow-up to her acclaimed 2004 release Sweet Home: The Music of Robert Johnson.

3:00pm - 4:15pm
THE ALLEN OLDIES BAND (Rock & Roll)
The Allen Oldies Band plays American rock & roll with the revved-up raw power of a '66 Pontiac GTO. Their repertoire runs from (Elvis) Presley to (Wilson) Pickett, and no two sets are alike! “These Houston party animals possess no-nonsense instrumental chops, a massive repertoire of vintage rock & roll classics, and a world-class goofball in irrepressible front man Allen Hill." (Time Out New York)

4:45pm - 6:00pm
JIMMIE DALE GILMORE (Country/Rock/Folk)
A founding member of the legendary Flatlanders (with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock), Jimmie Dale Gilmore has been a pillar of the Austin, Texas, music scene for nearly three decades. His latest album, Come On Back, received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. “Gilmore's warm, quavering tenor is the perfectly-imagined country music voice. But he also puts himself deep in the spirit of whatever he sings, and engages with songs on an emotional and personal level." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SUNDAY JUNE 11 Noon - 1:00pm
BLUEGRASS MOB FEATURING TONY TRISCKA (Bluegrass) With their roots planted in both trance-like Appalachian fiddle music and early rockabilly, the Bluegrass Mob comes on like an anarchic, iconoclastic cross between the Stanley Brothers and the Ramones on fiery versions of bluegrass classics like “Sophronie," “Darling Corey," and “I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome." Vocalist/guitarist Michael Daves leads the charge, and on this occasion, the Mob's ever-changing cast will include banjo legend Tony Trischka.

1:30pm - 2:30pm
MAURICE BROWN (Jazz/Soul/R&B)
Trumpeter/composer Maurice Brown is one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene and the winner of the Miles Davis Trumpet Competition in 2001. In 2003, his quintet released the acclaimed debut album Hip to Bop, which showcased Maurice's mastery of bop-inflected jazz on original tunes like “Look Ma No Hands" and “It's A New Day." “Brown is one of the most exciting young trumpeters in jazz--be it New Orleans or New York," wrote DownBeat. “His improvisations are fresh, his chops dynamic and he's writing what could very well become a new generation of hard-bop-meets-new-grooves standards."

3:00pm - 4:15pm
BRIAN MITCHELL'S LOISAIDA SOCIAL CLUB (New Orleans R&B)
Multi-talented keyboardist/composer/arranger Brian Mitchell has earned reputation and respect in music industry circles and beyond, both for his solo work and his high-profile collaborations with such respected artists as Bob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, Al Green, and Allen Toussaint. The Loisaida Social Club is this native New Yorker's loving evocation of the sounds of New Orleans, from gutbucket R&B to irresistible Latin rhythms.

4:45pm - 6:00pm
BETTY LAVETT (Soul/R&B/Rock)
One of the most soulful singers alive, Betty LaVett cut her first single at age 16 and recorded for various labels throughout the Sixties and Seventies without ever scoring a breakthrough hit. But she never stopped performing, including six years in the Broadway and touring versions of the hit musical Bubbling Brown Sugar. Betty's current astonishing comeback began in 2003 with the blues-oriented album A Woman Like Me for which she earned the prestigious WC Handy Blues Award for “Blues Comeback Album of the Year". It continued with her 2005 release I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, featuring songs by female composers including Lucinda Williams, Fiona Apple, and Dolly Parton. The Twin Cities Pioneer Press called Betty LaVett “one of the grittiest, most deeply-felt R&B singers on the planet," while The New York Times declared: “Classic soul singing doesn't get any better!"