The roof is on fire!
The Ed Palmero Big Band will kick off the 2016 Rooftop Music Series at Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City on Thursday, May 19, at 6 p.m.
Admission is free, but there is a $20 minimum cover charge per table and reservations are required. For the first hour, women drink for free and men have a buy-one-get-one offer on beverages.
With a jazzy base and alto-saxophone player Ed Palmero in charge, this group uses traditional big band instrumentation, but its arrangements and live songs can go in any direction, and the members can jam to a Jimi Hendrix tune just as easily as they can take an unexpected turn to the blues.
Since 1980, this 18-piece ensemble has been playing unique arrangements of Frank Zappa songs. The group has actually developed an international following for its irreverent take on this truly irreverent musician.
The rest of the Thursday night series is scheduled as follows:
- Solomon Hicks on May 26 at 6 p.m. This 20-year-old, Harlem-based prodigy has been the lead guitarist with the All Stars Band since age 13. Also known as “King Solomon” and “Lil BB,” Hicks has toured all over the world and is a mainstay on the NYC jazz scene. His new album is Carrying on the Torch of the Blues.
- Nikki Pope on June 9 at 6 p.m. This British entertainer actually moved to New York City to act in a few off-Broadway plays. But she has also forged an enviable singing career as the front person in a swing band.
- More concerts will be announced soon.
Melrose Ballroom’s roof features a 1,800-square-foot enclosed lounge and a 1,400-square-foot open deck.
The series is actually Melrose Ballroom’s first major attempt to establish itself a premier concert venue. Using its 5,000-square-foot ballroom and 2,250-square-foot mezzanine, it recently hosted two live tapings of Cheap Trick and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler for the public television series “Front and Center.”
