BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:After more than a two-and-a-half year hiatus\, Americana Root s ensemble\, The Mystix\, will be bringing their Roots Ramble Tour to th e Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham on June 1st where they will b e playing a benefit for the center to help them continue to book all the ir great shows.  \;With a lineup of accomplished musicians and a cat alog of catchy songs that pay tribute to influential blues\, gospel and country artists\, the &ldquo\;Roots Ramble Tour&rdquo\; will showcase th e bands fourth studio album\, &ldquo\;Mighty Tone.&rdquo\; The album fea tures guest artists\, such as harp legend Jerry Portnoy\, who has toured and recorded with Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton\, and will join The Mys tix onstage throughout the tour. \;&ldquo\;He&rsquo\;s a master show man\,&rdquo\; says Jo Lily\, guitarist and lead vocalist of The Mystix. &ldquo\;Just to hear his stories of being on the road with Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton is great. It&rsquo\;s going to be a very down to the gr ound show in sort of an organic way\, as opposed to an electric rock and roll performance.&rdquo\;Lily\, formerly of Boston&rsquo\;s Duke &\; the Drivers\, says the 12-track album is earning stellar reviews in Eur ope. Further\, Boston radio stations like WUMB\, as well as The River\, are giving it steady airplay. \;&ldquo\;We&rsquo\;re really excited about the new record\,&rdquo\; he says. &ldquo\;The music is different i n a better way. We&rsquo\;re all very proud of it and feel it&rsquo\;s o ur best work.&rdquo\;Recorded in Saugus\, Mass.\, at B.K. Studios\, the album is a mix of originals and covers. While it took the band a year to prepare for recording\, they were able to lay down the tracks in less t han four days. \;Also\, the album marks the first in which Lily was able to star as a producer. He credited engineers Joe Thomas\, Tim Phill ips\, as well Bobby B. Keyes\, guitarist for The Mystix\, for making the process smooth. \;&ldquo\;It was great because we were all very org anized\,&rdquo\; says Lily. \;Aside from Lily\, The Mystix all-star veteran lineup consists of legendary artists who have performed and reco rded with some of the countries most respected musicians. While Keyes ha s worked with artists such as Robin Thicke and Jerry Lee Lewis and has w ritten songs for art Mary J. Blige and Li'l Wayne\, drummer Marty Richar ds has played alongside Gary Burton\, Duke Robillard\, J. Geils Band\, a nd Joe Perry of Aerosmith. \;Moreover\, bassist Marty Ballou has wor ked with John Hammond\, Edgar Winter\, as well as Robillard\; and keyboa rdist Tom West has shared stages with Susan Tedeschi and Peter Wolf.&nbs p\;Additionally\, the band will be joined by Kevin Barry\, a lap steel/d obro player\, who just wrapped up a tour with Ray LaMontagne\; percussio nist Dennis McDermott\, who has played with Roseanne Cash and Mark Cohn\ ; and fiddle player Matt Leavenworth\, who has worked with the John Linc oln Wright Band.  \;&ldquo\;It&rsquo\;s a great joy to be able to be creative with such good players and have people around you that support that effort\,&rdquo\; says Lily. &ldquo\;We all bring different ideas t o the table about how to approach new material. It&rsquo\;s a lot of fun and we&rsquo\;re grateful to be able to do it.&rdquo\; \;The Mystix kicked off their Roots Ramble Tour on Thursday\, May 17\, at the Zeiter ion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford\, Mass.\, where they captivate d and inspired the audience with incredible musicianship at every turn.I n the near future\, they hope to head to Europe.  \;&ldquo\;We&rsquo \;re itching to go\, so we&rsquo\;ll see\,&rdquo\; Lily says. URL:http://framingham.patch.com/events/the-mystix-plays-a-benefit-show-fo r-amazing-things SUMMARY:The Mystix plays a benefit show for Amazing Things LOCATION:Amazing Things Arts Center: 160 Hollis St\, Framingham\, MA END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR