The Schooches To Perform At Huntington Cinema Arts Centre

HUNTINGTON, NY — The Scooches are set to bring a mix of Roaring '20s music to the Huntington Cinema Arts Centre's Sky Room from 7 to 10 p.m. March 20, the centre announced.

The musical group will play global folk, blues, gospel, New Orleans jazz, Americana, and more. An open mic, for which sign-up is at 6:30 p.m., precedes the concert.

Tickets are $25 ($20 for Cinema Arts Centre/FMSH members) and can be purchased online or at the box office now through the evening of the event.

Led by vocalist Betina Hershey and multi-instrumentalist Nick Russo, The Scooches, formerly known as Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, will present two curated sets of toe-tapping, hand-clapping music.

"Hershey and Russo assembled a world-class lineup of musicians from New York, Suriname, Sapelo Island (Georgia), Mexico, and the Caribbean on their 2023 album release, 'Lift You Up,'" the arts centre wrote.

The 12-song collection builds upon what made 2018’s "Get Us Out Of Fearland" the #2 album on international folk radio, according to charts compiled by Folk Alliance International, and "Very Next Thing" (2016) a "transcendent breath of fresh air," the centre wrote.

The Scooches will perform in quartet configuration on March 20.

Russo leads the charge as bandleader and composer. He plays guitar, banjo, and resonator and has appeared on "Good Morning America" as well as the Sam Mendes film, "Away We Go," and was a sideman with the greats — Jimmy McGriff, Teddy Charles and Sonny Dallas. Russo had the honor to jam with Paul McCartney while performing at Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s home; he regularly accompanies Antonique Smith and Jon Batiste, and recently performed for actor/comedian/ composer Jim Dale in Jon Weber’s band.

Hershey appears as the principal dancer in featured films: Disney’s "Enchanted" and "Mona Lisa Smile" with Julia Roberts. Hershey performed on international and national tours of Broadway shows such as "West Side Story," "Phantom of the Opera," "The Fantasticks," and "Pump Boys & Dinettes," to name a few. She composes music and plays guitar.

Miles Griffith’s (vocals/scats) non-traditional use of the voice as a percussive instrument, combined with an uncanny harmonic sense, rounds out the band "beautifully," the centre wrote. He is a composer and has performed with Max Roach, Reggie Workman, T.S. Monk and Barry Harris among others. He played the lead role in Wynton Marsalis’ jazz oratorio, "Blood On The Fields," which premiered at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

Harvey Wirht (drums/percusstion) has performed alongside Grammy Award artist Angelique Kidjo, appeared on "The Jay Leno Show," "The Late Show with David Letterman," the NAACP Image Awards, "Good Morning America," and the Peace Ball for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He has also performed at the Kora Awards with Best East African Artist Winner Eric Wainaina and Lionel Loueke. He tours internationally with renowned world music artists, and with his own musical projects.