Stepping Out

In the groove with Squirrel Nut Zippers

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In Concert

Squirrel Nut Zippers with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The two dynamic bands pair up for an adrenaline-filled double-bill of jazzy, bluesy swing. Since reactivating in mid-2016 Squirrel Nut Zippers (pictured) has been performing to packed houses across the country and around the world. As bandleader Jimbo Mathus has said since the band’s re-launch, “it’s not a reunion, it’s a revival!” And the revival in 2018 included “Beasts of Burgundy,” the band’s first new studio album in 18 years, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart. SNZ is joined by New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Dirty Dozen Brass has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including bebop jazz, funk and R&B/soul. The band is known for their unique sound, which they describe as a “musical gumbo.” With over 40 years on the music scene, their name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances.
Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m. $59 and $39. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post, Route 25A, Brookville. (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com or www.tillescenter.org.

On Stage

Shakespeare Festival
The arrival of Hofstra’s annual Shakespeare Festival means that we can soon look forward to spring. The festival celebrates 71 years with its first production of “Troilus and Cressida,” a love story that takes place during the Trojan War. Considered one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” according to director Royston Cooper, it’s part of a trio that Shakespeare scholars say also includes “Measure for Measure” and “All’s Well That Ends Well.” As always, the main Shakespeare Festival play is accompanied the Festival Musicale, “A Garden of Earthly Delights,” a program of pastoral music from the early 17th century. It includes works by John Dowland, Thomas Morley, John Bennet, Robert Johnson, Giovanni Battista Riccio, and Giulio Caccini. There is also a companion play, “What You Will,” a one-hour adaptation of “Twelfth Night,” which is an excellent introduction to the works of William Shakespeare for young theatergoers.
Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, 8 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m.; Festival Musicale, Saturday March 7, 2 p.m.; “What You Will,” Thursday, March 5, 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.; Friday, March 6, 11 a.m.; Sunday, March 7, 2 p.m. (with Festival Musicale). $10, $8 seniors and students. Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus, Hempstead. (516) 463-6644 or hofstratickets.com.