Jamming With The Bruce Katz Band

This summer, Hingham Shipyard has become more than just a place to hang out with a good beer and the comfort food that we all crave. Every Friday, it is also the venue for live outdoor music with a succession of bands and singers happy to celebrate the summer in Hingham.

Last Friday, a sizeable crowd turned up with their beach-chairs and picnics to hear The Bruce Katz Band, a three-piece combo that mixes blues and jazz to create a soundscape perfect for a summer evening by the water. 

Led by Katz himself, resplendent in a red jacket that matched his Hammond organ, the band jammed their way through a succession of tunes that included original material and covers of R & B artists like Sonny Boy Williamson and Billy Preston.

Supported by Chris Vitarello on guitar and Ralph Rosen on drums, the band kept the audience entertained with well-paced blues jams and slower songs that drew on Katz’s work with the Gregg Allman Band. When required the harmonica of Mike Castello joined in, complementing a sound that was already making the assembled toes tap.

The crowd was a mixture of families and die-hard blues fans, with many people making the most of the chance to hear live music without the need for a cover charge or being indoors.

Being able to bring your own chair and have a picnic has also been a reason for local residents to spend some time in the Shipyard with the knock-on effect being increased traffic into the bars before and after the show.

has sponsored this series of concerts at the Shipyard and many present at the penultimate concert last Friday hoped that it would form a part of the summer schedule next year as well.

Kenny Newell, a Hingham resident who has been to nearly every concert at the Shipyard this summer, thinks that this was a good opportunity to introduce kids to other forms of music.

“This is great, anything that gets kids out to listen to live music that isn’t American Idol is worthwhile,” Newell said, “Going to concerts is so expensive, hearing music for free is a chance to discover something new.”

The last aural chance to celebrate summer at the Shipyard will be on Friday August 26 when The Brian Templeton Band will be performing.