Currently starring on NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning show “30 Rock,” Tracy Morgan appears opposite Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin as Tracy Jordan, the unpredictable star of a hit variety show.

So far, the life Morgan is living now has turned out to be a hit, but it wasn’t always so.

“I grew up in a rough neighborhood in New York,” says Morgan, set to take the stage tomorrow at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside. “Growing up, I was an angry kid. But I was also a funny little kid, and so I think comedy was always inside me and just had to find the right time and place to come out.”

And when it finally did, there was no turning back. Encouraged by a friend who urged him to try his talent on the stage, Morgan took the advice to heart and began building a stand-up career.

Building his act on the things he knew best — like the difficult situations he had to deal with in his life — one of his performances was seen by “Saturday Night Live’s” Lorne Michaels, who decided to audition the young comic for a spot on the popular TV show.

Not only did Morgan do well in his audition, but he secured a spot on the show and stayed there for the next seven years before moving on to other things, such as starring in his own comedy series, “The Tracy Morgan Show.”

Although his show didn’t do as well as he had hoped, Morgan was able to turn his talents to other things, including landing significant roles in a handful of feature films. And in 2006, he found his niche on “30 Rock,” the sitcom created by fellow “SNL” alumna and longtime friend, Tina Fey.

“SNL was like a university for funny for me,” Morgan recalls. “But I had to let my guard down to let the writers in.”

And so he did. And three years later, Morgan received his first Emmy Nomination for his role in the sitcom in the Supporting Actor category. He’s also been nominated for a Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award, and has won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Morgan also headlined in New York’s famed Comedy Festival, and rounded out his list of great comedic moments with his first HBO Special, “Black and Blue,” among other things.

But Morgan claims to have reached new heights with the publication of his first book, “I Am The New Black,” a compilation of anecdotes and some of the more serious moments that shaped him, his life and his career.

“I wanted to tell my own story before someone else could tell it,” Morgan explains. “I’ve never been the kind of person who asks ‘why,’ but rather ‘why not?’ I’m somebody who came from the ghetto and learned how to make it. Somebody had to do it, so why not me?”

And when he takes the stage at the Keswick, Morgan said he hopes his audience reacts to him as a stand-up performer, and not the performer they are used to seeing on television.

He says, “When I get up on stage I just want to spread my love and do it all live. What I do on television has nothing to do with what I do as a live performer. On stage it’s all straight up with no chaser.”

And today, the anger that ruled his life for so many years as a teen has all but gone. “That little, angry 17-year-old has grownup. I am a man now. I was angry when I was younger but I’ve had to let it go. I’ve left the cocoon, and now I’m a beautiful, black butterfly.”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.

As Mint Condition perseveres in its noble efforts to preserve the legacy of true R&B, the group has released "Music @ the Speed of Life," now available in stores and online outlets.

The self-contained band, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011 with the critically acclaimed album titled "7," lives up to its usual high standard on its new 13-track disc, and Stokley's recognizable lead vocals are as clear and compelling as ever.

"In the Moment," the opening track, is reminiscent of the R&B/Rock fusion that became so popular with true audiophiles in the 70s through artists such as the Chambers Brothers, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone and Buddy Miles.      

Mint Condition is comprised of superb instrumentalists, and their material is quite sophisticated musically. Unfortunately, such excellence is not routinely awarded in today's cloned, auto-tuned musical landscape, and I applaud their adventurous spirit as far as employing the captivating instrumental grooves and rhythms heard in "Blessed" and "Girl of My Life," although their tracks are missing the strong hooks present in their captivating hits, "Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)" and "What Kind of Man Would I Be," which demanded radio airplay and seduced you into singing along.

Even so Mint Condition never disappoints, and you can hear live renditions of the new material from "Music @ the Speed of Life" when the band comes to the Keswick Theatre, for one show only, on October 7 at 7:30 p.m. Their special guest will be singer/songwriter Vivian Green.    

Of their latest collection, the band says, "Life was our inspiration; fast-paced, multi-faceted, adventurous and ever-changing. Our music is drawn from various sources, and the lyrics speak to the hard knocks as well as the triumphs of life."

Prime Cuts:

"In the Moment"

"Blessed"

"Slo Woman"

"Be Where You Are"

Contact entertainment reporter Kimberly C. Roberts at (215) 893-5753 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

This year marks the 30th anniversary of his debut solo release which spawned two ground-breaking hits, “On The Wings of Love” and “I Really Don’t Need No Light,” as well as five platinum and gold albums.

This year also marks Jeffrey Osborne’s 40th anniversary in the music business, and along the path to his meteoric rise to fame, he collaborated with Whitney Houston co-writing the lyrics to “All at Once,” and Dionne Warwick to produce his highest charting hit ever, “Love Power.”

And now, to set the mood for Valentine’s Day, Osborne and special guest Jessy J will perform at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on Feb. 12.

From his humble beginnings as a drummer in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, to his association with the R&B group LTD, to his highly successful solo career, Osborne says he’s happy to be coming back to perform in Philly.

“Audiences at the Keswick will be hearing everything I’ve done over the years and still do, including LTD material,” Osborne says. “The people in Philly are incredible fans. They turn out and always support me. And I think audiences in general keep coming out because they want to hear those old ’70s songs as well as all the things I’ve done as a solo artist. So I mix it up during my shows and have fun with the audiences.”

The youngest of 12 children, Osborne says he was raised in a musical family. “My father was an incredible trumpet player, performing with such greats as Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Unfortunately,” Osborne says, “he died when I was just 13. So I would say growing up with my mother was definitely my inspiration. She always encouraged me and always chaperoned me when I would play in the clubs. She always pushed me in the right direction, and I’m very thankful she nudged me out there to go to follow my dreams.”

Initially, as a self-taught drummer, those dreams meant playing the drums, which he did for awhile with the O’Jays. Sometime later, he went on to play drums for a band known as LTD until he finally switched and went on to become the group’s lead vocalist, staying with them for eleven years before deciding to strike out on his own to establish his own solo singing career.

He remembers that he was “at the right spot at the right time. Drumming was the way I initially got into the business. It wasn’t until the third record I made with LTD that I emerged as the lead singer. Our love ballads became a major hit. And from that point on I became the group’s focal point as the lead singer.”

Osborne left the group in 1980 and produced his first solo album two years later. “Breaking away on your own isn’t always easy,” he points out. “You sometimes use the camaraderie within the group as a crutch. It’s not just you, so if something goes wrong you can look at somebody else to blame. But as a solo artist there’s no one else to blame, so it’s different in that respect.”

But a major difference, he continues, “is that when you look back at people who have left groups, you see it’s the songwriters who made it on their own. The ones who don’t succeed are the others. I wrote some great songs on my own, and with some great songwriters, so I was able to make it out there.”

Today, Osborne says although he loves all kinds of music, he believes his voice is best suited to ballads, and he‘s made a name for himself singing them. “I also think the most important thing for me, and the reason I‘ve lasted all these years, is the fact that people like performers who can perform live. If you can choose good songs and then deliver them live, people will keep coming back. I think it’s a lost art today because lots of young artists don’t even know how to perform in front of a crowd. The music business has changed a lot over the years, and I think that’s one of the reasons.”

He adds that the art of music is being lost, and someday, he’d like to help develop new, young singers. ”I’d really like to develop them, because no one seems to care about them anymore.”

For times and ticket information call (215) 572-7650.

Just returned from his tour of Japan, American funk bassist, signer and songwriter William Earl “Bootsy” Collins takes the stage at the Keswick Theater in Glenside on June 15.

After years of struggling, Collins is now a proven commodity, explaining that his music appeals to a worldwide audience. He says, “Audiences in Japan were so into my music, it was amazing. They knew every word and often sang along with us.”

Today, Collins is embarking on a U.S. tour, and hopes American audiences will prove as devoted as those in the Orient.

“And I think they will,” he says. “I’ve always tried to think outside the box when it comes to making music. I’ve never looked at the normal way of doing things. I’ve never tried to have a formula for how to put music together like everybody else. I’ve tried to have an original way of doing things, another point of view as opposed to what the commercial market would think or even want. And after all these years, it seems to have worked.”

Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the ’70s, Collins’ driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk. With his elder brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins, and Kash Waddy and Philippe Wynne, Collins formed a funk band called The Pacemakers in 1968.

The Pacemakers were hired as Brown’s backing band and became known as The J.B.’s. And although they only worked for Brown for 11 months, they played on some of Brown’s most intense funk recordings, including “Super Bad,” “Soul Power” and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothin,” among others. And the sound of funk would never be the same.

“Coming up, ‘funk’ was a bad word, and we simply had to learn to deal with that,” Collins explains. “We didn’t have a lot of money, so we dressed any way mother could afford to dress us. We got used to being laughed at early in life. Even with our music, we got used to that, too. We learned to do what we thought we needed to do. We got over criticism and laughter early in life. I think that’s a major setback for a lot of artists today. They can never get past that.”

Today, Collins says in making music he likes to think beyond what’s in it for him.

“My music is not so much about me as it is about giving people more of what they need in music and entertainment. And love. I come to give people hope as opposed just to seeing what I can get out of the deal. I know I’m in this to give back to people, so now I’m on a mission.”

And it’s a mission borne out of his own beginnings.

“I want my shows to be not only about that Bootsy but about those who influenced my life. In making music, I want to honor the people I grew up on. That’s what my newest CD, ‘Funk Capitol of the World’ is all about,” he says.

Collins also learned to conquer his own demons.

“Once I got delivered from the drug thing, my whole life took on meaning. I had to go through the desert to find that out. Now, I don’t like to tell people what to do, Id rather show them I’m still that brother who had all that rap on the corner. I just had to learn to put in the time and stay focused on what I needed to do.”

Additionally, Collins wants the younger generation who would like to follow in his footsteps to learn from his example, even learning how to take rejection.

He says, “I think that might be the most important thing to learn in life because we got so rejected coming up it began to be a joke to us. We said ‘funk it’ and that became a concept.”

But because they wouldn’t — or couldn’t — fit into the accepted norm — Collins says many radio stations wouldn’t talk about them or play their music.

“But we were just regular people trying to do what we knew how to do. We never wanted to be anything else. And you know what? I’m still that long-haired sucker from down the street.”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.

The PTL Club first took interest in BeBe Winans and his sister CeCe in 1982 as background vocalists for the show. After going to North Carolina to audition, they were accepted, moved to the PTL campus, and were on the show for about five years.

The duo recorded and released an album that did well on the charts, but later left PTL to pursue their singing career. Five successful albums later, the brother and sister decided to split up and pursue their own solo careers.

“CeCe and I were always very close,” says BeBe Winans, who will be taking center stage at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on Aug. 23. “My whole family is very close, and we sang together a lot. My mother, father and grandparents also sang, so music was truly a part of my upbringing.”

Part of a big family, Winans said his father always encouraged the siblings to be close. “And to this day, my sister and I live very close to each other in Nashville. We talk and see each other as much as possible. So singing with CeCe was always easy for me to do and I really miss it. There’s so much history with her, so much we accomplished with each other, that, at times, it’s much easier to sing with her than sing alone.”

In 2009, they got a chance to do just that, doing the album “Still Together.” On it was the song “Close to You,” which won a Dove Award in 2010 in the category of Urban Recorded Song.

Along the way, Winans’ own solo career was on the upswing. In 1989, he won his first Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male for his contribution to “Abundant Life,” a track on his brother Ronald’s Family & Friends Choir.

More were to follow, “but that’s not why I sing,” Winans says. “When I look at the awards they remind me of the people who listen to my music. I love people, and they are the reason I do what I do. I definitely want to touch people through my songs. I want them to lift their heads up and be OK. I think music is love and the method through which we can accomplish our dreams.”

Over the years, Winans went on to accomplish many of his dreams. By 2003, he had started his own record label, The Movement Group, and partnered with Still Waters, an inspirational and gospel imprint of Hidden Beach Records.

He made his film debut in 2004 in the remake of “The Manchurian Candidate” with Denzel Washington.

He also appeared on Broadway in “The Color Purple,” and is looking forward to returning to the Great White Way soon in a musical he’s writing about his family.

“After doing ‘The Color Purple,’ I said I might never return to Broadway because it’s such hard work,” Winans explains. “But looking back, I realized how much I actually enjoyed it so I’m looking forward to producing my own show there.”

One of Winans’ most recent projects is the release of his latest CD, “America America,” featuring such songs as “Star Spangled Banner,” My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and others. “People wondered why I was doing something like this. There’s not even a genre for it,” Winans says. “But the reception has been absolutely wonderful. I wrote three songs for the CD and the others are all classics. I just wanted to remind people of how wonderful our country is and how blessed we are to live here.”

To coincide with the release of that CD, Winans decided to write a book describing his friendship with Whitney Houston titled “The Whitney I Knew.” In it he talks about the late star’s final days and more. “Her death was quite a surprise to me,” he said. “We had walked through some of the darkest times in her life, so many of us were caught off guard when this happened. But she was such a wonderful person, and will really live on forever in all of us through her extraordinary work.”

For times and ticket information, call 215-572-7650.

Even though he always dreamed of a career in music, Keith Sweat says he planned for an alternative career — just in case.

“I think everyone should have an alternative plan. In my case, I went to the City College of New York and got my degree in communications. So I had a backup plan so that I didn’t lose out on a decent future,” says Sweat, about to take the stage at the Keswick Theater in Glenside on Aug. 18.

As it turned out, Sweat needn’t have worried. In a career that has spanned decades, the New York-born songwriter/record producer/vocalist/actor/radio personality has broken records and blazed many trails as he contributed to the pop and R&B genres. He is also coined as the genius behind the New Jack Swing phenomenon of the late 1980s.

New Jack Swing incorporated hip-hop with contemporary soul, high-tech funk and, in some cases, rap. It lasted for approximately six years. Sweat was considered one of the stars of the New Jack Swing era, and many historians studying this form of music feel that it was his debut album that kicked off the genre.

That debut and now classic 1987 album, “Make It Last Forever,” sold more than three million copies, producing several R&B hit singles, including “I Want Her.”

Sweat explains that he was able to write the majority of songs on that album, gaining inspiration, as he does even today, from a combination of situations. “Sometimes I’m inspired by conversations I hear, or things I feel, or chords I like from something I’ve heard. There are many things that come into my ability to write songs.”

His second album, ‘I’ll Give All My Love,” was released in 1990 and reached the top of the charts, and contained the hit, “Make You Sweat,” which reached number one on the R&B charts.

More and more top-selling albums followed, as did accolades and awards, including his being named Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist for the American Music Awards in 1997.

He’s also appeared on a variety of talk shows and sitcoms, and a handful of independent movies. For example, he appeared on television in an episode of the hit show “New York Undercover,” and the TV show, “Martin.” He says he might take that part of his career further, if the right offers come his way.

“But right now,” he explains, “I’m a little too busy just trying to do my music thing. I have a relationship book coming out in February. I have a syndicated radio show in about 21 markets and other things as well. I wouldn’t mind acting some more, but right now, I look at all my achievements and feel pretty happy about them all.”

Sweat has four children, and says his two sons seem to want to follow in their father’s footsteps. “But I don’t push them. I allow them to do whatever they want to do, and be whoever they want to be, as long as it’s all good. If anything, at times I try to get them thinking about being doctors or lawyers because the music industry is a crazy industry now. So I’d like them to think about careers that will last them a lifetime.”

Not everyone is cut out for this business, he continues. “It’s not easy to have a career in the music industry, and you have to really want it to, hopefully, one day achieve it. You don’t do it because you want to be rich or famous. You do it because you have to, because you love it.”

As for Sweat himself, however, he concedes that music has been one of the best things that ever happened to him. He says, “I find music very therapeutic for me, for everybody. One thing about music is that it makes you smile and feel good. That’s why it’s so universal. And my music has made me a household name for a lot of people.”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.

Wanda Sykes may be one of the funniest comedians of all times. But she’s also a ground-breaking revolutionary, becoming the first Black female entertainer at the White House Correspondents dinner, the first openly gay comedian to host that dinner and the only Black woman to make the list of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest stand-ups of all times.

“Yes, that’s me. I’m Black, gay and a female comedian. I feel as though I’m wearing a uniform, that maybe I didn’t have enough strikes against me so I should add a few more. Life just wasn’t hard enough for me,” laughs Sykes, who will be taking center stage at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on Oct. 9.

On stage, the comedian, best known for her raspy voiced opinions and razor sharp sarcasm, will cut through things that spark her anger and her curiosity, and discuss everything and anything from the latest news to the lady zone.

Sykes says she’s looking forward to her performance since this author, activist, talk-show host, film and television actress and stand-up comic readily admits that with all that she’s done and continues to do, going on stage in front of a live audience is the thing she enjoys most. “Being a stand-up continues to be my first love,” she says. “I love walking out on stage and never knowing for sure what’s going to happen. It’s a challenge, and I continue to push myself as hard as I can. I have also done several TV shows and enjoyed them all, but they didn’t always turn out as well as expected. Besides, I’ve never gotten cancelled in the middle of a show when I do my stand-up.”

Raised in the Washington, D.C. area, after graduating from Hampton University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Sykes began working for the government. “I thought that’s what everybody did, so I did it, too. But I was bored silly and so I began to question what it was that I really wanted to do with the rest of my life.”

She knew she was funny because she always seemed to be able to make people laugh. So she decided to give comedy a try. She entered a radio contest, submitted some of her own jokes, and won. And that’s when she decided to take on stand-up comedy for real.

In 1987, she began her career at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience. “But my first real break came when I opened for Chris Rock at Caroline’s Comedy Club. He remembered me, and when he began his own TV show, he hired me to join his writing team, and also gave me the opportunity to appear on the show.”

From there, Sykes’ star continued to rise. She has appeared in such films as “Evan Almighty” and “Monster-in-Law” and on TV shows such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and others.

Today, Sykes, a four-time Emmy Award winner, is married to her female partner, Alex, and has twins: Olivia Lou and Lucas Claude. And all that, she insists, has changed her life considerably and the way she looks at it.

“You know, as comedians we’re pretty self-absorbed because we get paid to stand there and talk about ourselves. I think this new phase in my life has helped me step outside myself and look at things from a different perspective.

“Of course,” she adds, “my kids don’t care who I am. Even if I told them I was on ‘Sesame Street’ with Elmo, that wouldn’t impress them. They couldn’t care less. But then again, they’re French babies and don’t even know Elmo so what can you expect?”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.

Loni Love, an electrical engineer turned stand-up comic, was named among the Top 10 comics to watch according to Variety and Comedy Central. And now, one of the comics/panelists on the hit late-night talk show “Chelsea Lately,” Love will join others of the “round table” for one night only Oct. 7 at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside.

Getting ready to launch the next season of “After Lately,” the round table regulars provide a preview of the funny, fast-paced barbs shooting straight towards the people we all love to hate.

“I think the reason Chelsea’s show continues to grow in popularity “is because it speaks to a certain group of people,” Love says. “Women have been ignored for a long time in the industry, and we finally have someone who speaks to various groups. The show speaks to women, speaks to gays, speaks to minorities. That in itself makes it different.

“Just look at all the other late-night shows,” she continues. “They are all hosted by men, by white men. And the shows all feature the same format: An A-list personality, a singer and so on. We present something totally different. Hopefully the networks will realize soon that other people watch TV and begin to appeal to them as well.”

Growing up as a latchkey daughter of a hardworking mother in one of Detroit’s housing projects, Love always had a strong work ethic. Working on the General Motors assembly line in high school, she found she had a passion for electrical engineering, which landed her a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Texas. It was there she first took to the stage at a nightclub that was offering a $50 prize to the person who could tell the best story.

Love won the prize and wound up falling in love with stand-up comedy, routinely getting gigs throughout college. After graduation, she landed an engineering job in California and headed west.

“One night I went to a comedy club and saw one female doing stand-up,” Love recalls. “And I wondered if that was the only choice we had. I thought there’s got to be more than just this one female doing comedy among all these men, and that’s when I decided to try to get back into it.”

Not only did she get back into comedy, but she managed to succeed beyond her wildest dreams. She become a regular at the legendary Laugh Factory, and was chosen for the comics showcase at HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. Soon after that, Love won the Jury Prize for Best Standup, and was a finalist on the revival of “Star Search.”

Her skills won her a role in the major motion picture “Soul Plane.” She has continued honing her acting craft in such theater productions as “12 Angry Women,” “Loveside,” “Sister Girl” and “Devil’s Journey.” She’s also appeared multiple times in various roles on the small screen.

“With it all, I do enjoy doing my own show or going on tour,” Loni admits. “Sometimes a woman still has to deal with sexism, but I try to avoid all the craziness. I want to be respected. I’m only one of a handful of women closing the shows and touring on my level. And I do enjoy it very, very much.”

Television, she concludes, sometimes gives audiences the wrong idea. “On TV people think they know you but what they know is just a part of you. It’s a character, not the real me. So I like them to see my standup and get to meet the whole Loni Love.”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.

Five-time Grammy Award winner and a founding member of the super-group, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Victor Wooten gets ready to take the stage at the Keswick Theater in Glenside on Friday, June 8.

The talented bass player is gearing up for the release of two new albums on his own label, VIX Records later this year, and promises a new sound and new experience you can hear from no one else.

“We have a vocal record and an instrumental one featuring lots of the same songs. The instrumental is called ‘Sword and Stone,’ but if you take the letter S off each word and put it at the end, it becomes ‘Word and Stone.’ That’s the name of the vocal record,” Wooten explains.

Born in 1964 in Idaho, the youngest of five Wooten brothers, Victor Wooten learned to play when he was just about two years old, learning from his oldest brother, Regi.

“I think from the time I was born they already knew they needed a bass player to complete the band. And that became me,” Wooten laughs.

But Wooten had ambitions like other young boys. “Growing up I thought about becoming a fireman or a policeman. But by the time I got into junior high school it dawned on me that I could keep playing music and not have to do anything else to make money. So I started to do just that.”

While his parents played no instruments, they were very musical, according to their young son. “They loved to sing. They sang in church a lot. They were always playing records around the house. As kids, they would take us to concerts. It was through them that I learned that you don’t have to play an instrument to be musical.”

But, Wooten claims, his brothers were smart. “They had me playing with them before I was actually playing bass. They just had me strumming on a toy so I was playing songs with them, even though I wasn’t really playing an instrument.”

But as time went on, Wooten began playing many instruments, learning mostly on his own. “I was surrounded by people from birth who could already play. So although I had no formal lessons per se, I learned the best way possible, by playing with people who could already play. Also, I was always in a band so I had a band to play in and a place to play.”

By the time Wooten was six years old, he was touring with his bothers as the opening band for soul legend, Curtis Mayfield. Later, Wooten hit the worldwide stage in 1990 as a founding member of Bella Fleck & The Flecktones.

“Bela was asked by someone to film his life’s story for TV. To go along with that, we became a group and were only supposed to last for a year, for one show. Well, here we are over 20 years later and still going strong,” Wooten explains.

“Over the years, I’ve grown musically, developing a solid foundation by playing with my brothers,” he continues. “But when I joined the Flecktones it gave me the opportunity of portraying a whole new variety of music with other musicians, and I began playing in a musical style I never knew about.”

Looking back, Wooten, a composer, arranger, innovator, producer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, lecturer, naturalist, author, teacher, magician, husband and the father of four, acknowledges that his life has been very satisfying. But not without its challenges.

“I believe there are challenges to be faced in every career,” he states. “Growing up in the late ’60s, I faced racial issues. Oh, as the youngest in my family I went through the least, but still I had to face them.”

He says he also grew up at a time when becoming a professional musician was not a viable choice. “People tried to talk us out of it in school. We listened, we just didn’t agree.”

“We also grew up at a time when there was already a five-piece Black group out in California by the name of the Jackson Five,” Wooten continues. “But we faced all there was to face and eventually succeeded.”

For times and ticket information, call (215) 572-7650.