Adult Programs
Family Programs
Spiritual Programs
Arts In Education
Symphonic Pops
House Concerts
Multifaith
Adult Programs
MUSIC FOR ADULTS/GENERAL AUDIENCES
From soothing ballads to powerfully polyrhythmic tunes; from laughter to soul stirring inspiration. With daring harmonies, and a mix of homemade "re-percussion" and conventional instruments (guitar, bass, marimba), all are invited to a realm of expanding boundaries, wonder, and life-affirming embrace. Click on the Look+Listen tab above for audio and video.
Concerts: shows occur at festivals, theaters, clubs, universities, schools, synagogues, churches, conferences and retreat centers.
Workshops: master classes in our particular brand of style-blending, genre-bending funky folk music, and multi-voice harmony, as well as creating and playing non-traditional percussion. For more detailed information please contact Loyd Artists booking agency (Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518-647-5916).
Family Programs
MUSIC FOR FAMILIES / KIDS
inherent intelligence, and desire to learn in young folks, as well as their elders;
to inspire them, apart and together, to question and play --
and to see these two things as inseparable pathways to joy."
Sophisticated fun for all ages....
Spiritual Programs
Spiritual Programs
Billy Jonas has been part of the Sacred Music Team and a cantorial soloist at Congregation Beth Ha Tephila in Asheville, NC since 2012. Through this work Billy has had the opportunity to combine and grow two important aspects of his life: Judaism and his love for music. He has been performing worldwide in both secular and faith-oriented contexts.
For more detailed information please contact Loyd Artists booking agency (Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518-647-5916).
Arts In Education
SCHOOL PROGRAMS - Elementary to College
Billy and the Billy Jonas Band believe that creating a bright future starts with kids. Using homemade and recyclable "re-percussion" instruments, songs that celebrate community, as well as personal and planetary ecology, their think-outside-the-box educational performances occur at schools, colleges, universities and libraries around the country. The goal: to plant musical seeds, that will help grow creative, open-minded, engaged and open-hearted citizens of the world.
Elementary Schools (K-5)
Concert: "Who's Gonna Make our Music?!" Participation is the name of the game. Concerts include sing-alongs, bang-alongs, and an improvised song with audience suggestions. Instruments include voice, guitar, and recycled "re-percussion." This show proves to each and every participant that they are indeed a musician. Themes include ecological awareness, community connection, personal responsibility, and various curriculum-related songs.
Workshop: "Music From Anything: Recyclable Object Instruments," "Bangin' & Sangin' 101," "Songwriting/Songmaking."
For more detailed information please contact Loyd Artists booking agency (Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518.647.5916).
Middle School / High School
Concert: “The Troubadour Tradition." A concert, presented in lecture-demo style, the role of the singer / songwriter throughout history. Billy’s original songs and improvisation will help students gain an understanding of the role of the “musical historian / storyteller / news bearer” in various cultures throughout history, and to realize their own potential, and responsibility, to share their truth.
Workshops: “Performance Tools and Techniques,” “Songwriting/Songmaking”, “Bangin’ & Sangin’ 101”
For more detailed information please contact Loyd Artists booking agency (Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518.647.5916).
Colleges / Universities
Concert: "Heart Beat, Soul Beat, Drum Beat." Voice and percussion-based explorations of life and love, through a singer-songwriter lense. An engaging, sometimes participatory, often heart-warming, and always thought provoking collection of songs and stories that Dirty Linen Magazine has called "wild-winded word magic." As always, these performances feature a combination of experimental and homemade instruments, as well as adventurous use of voices, guitar, bass, and multicultural percussion.
Workshops: "Songwriting Master Class," "Performance Master Class," "Foraged, Found, and Freaky: Crafting Homemade Instruments." Participants in daytime workshops and residencies are invited to join the evening performance.
For more detailed information please contact Loyd Artists booking agency (Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518.647.5916).
Symphonic Pops
BILLY JONAS BAND WITH ORCHESTRA
a sonic celebration of community and creativity.....
Billy Jonas, with the Billy Jonas Band, brings his energetic and engaging brand of participatory folk music to a new level of sonic sophistication in his symphony collaborations. Augmenting Jonas’ multi-textured homemade "re-percussion," the orchestra, paired with Jonas’ songs and stories, gives a performance that is exciting both visually and aurally.
Jonas is known for his ability to bring the audience fully into the performance through his accessible songs and leadership from the stage, creating an artistically adventurous atmosphere enjoyed by all ages.
- Ron Clearfield, Conductor and Music Director, Blue Ridge Orchestra, Asheville, NC
With 22 symphonic scores to choose from, Billy Jonas’ orchestral programs explore exciting new arrangements of Billy's songs, as well as bring new life to altered arrangements of Bach's "Jesu Joy" and Ravel's "Bolero," each performed with new, original lyrics composed and performed by Billy. Throughout all of the shows, audience members will be asked to variously sing-along, percuss-along, move-along (with choreographed hand-motions), and for the finale, kazoo-along with the Billy Jonas Band and the orchestra. Concerts offer plenty of room to personalize the show with antics, unique homemade instruments, added voices and dance.
- John Ellis, Managing Director, Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville, NC
If you want to reach out to new audience, find unique collaborations, and present performances offering something new and totally different, Billy Jonas and the Billy Jonas Band have three offerings to shake it up! (some of the pieces can occur in more than one program):
House Concerts
HOST ONE IN YOUR HOME
In addition to traditional venues, Billy Jonas & the BJB occasionally present concerts in people's homes. For some, it's the chance of a lifetime -- up close and personal with your favorite musicians and music. The intimate, relaxed and interactive experience of such a gathering is one that will never be forgotten!
How does a 'House Concert' work?
House Concerts are focused, seated, listening events -- very different than a party with live music. They usually occur in a large living room, or nearby private space such as a recreation room/commons of an apartment complex, studio, social hall, comfy barn, or private backyard. House Concerts are mostly (though not always) acoustic, and typically have 30 to 80 people depending on the space. Often they involve a potluck. Sometimes they are public, sometimes by invite only. People expect to pay to attend (unless the host has covered it), and to sit and listen. House concerts are a wonderful way to spend time with the artists, as well as to meet neighbors and folks with like-minded interests. There are as many variations on the theme as there are people hosting them!
For more info, or for booking, contact Susan@LoydArtists.com, 518.647.5916.
For general info about the idea of House Concerts visit: www.concertsinyourhome.com
Multifaith
CELEBRATING DIFFERENT TRADITIONS
Billy and the Billy Jonas Band LOVE working with different faith communities, especially when it involves more than one religiion at the same time. Their songs are born out of a deep reverence for all expressions of spirituality. They seek to enhance whatever gathering or worship context has invited them, and their programs are tailored to the specific needs and demographics of those present. At the core of each and every event: an acknowledgement of the beauty and wisdom in each separate path, and a celebration of the Oneness connecting them all.
ABRAHAM JAM
Left to Right: Billy Jonas, Dawud Wharnsby and David Lamotte