February 16, 2011

Philadelphia rockers Free Energy (Astralwerks) will headline this year's MAD Dragon concert on Thursday, March 3rd at the Mandell Theater (33rd & Chestnut St). Free Energy, named by Rolling Stone as a 2010 artist to watch, will be joined on the bill by MAD Dragon recording artists The Spinning Leaves, Hezekiah Jones, Toy Soldiers and hip-hop MC Kuf Knotz. Doors open at 7 PM and admission to the event is $10 to the general public or free for Drexel students (with valid student ID). All ages are welcome. Click here to purchase tickets.

Free Energy grew out of indie band Hockey Night and are a mainstay of Philadelphia's increasingly hot indie scene. This is a fun band combining "Thunderstruck" type guitar leads with a catchy dance rock groove. The Spinning Leaves are steeped in traditional American melodies with touches of psychedelic folk and new weird Americana. Spinning Leaves' new album, a collaborative record with fellow MAD Dragon artist, Hezekiah Jones, is due out in March 2011 on MAD Dragon Records. Hezekiah Jones features Raphael Cutrufello and a band of like-minded musicians crafting alternative folk music. Cutrufello's songs are filled with outlandish, imagined landscapes, ringing harmonies and baroque instrumental flourishes. Toy Soldiers was originally a two-piece with Ron Gallo as the primary songwriter, alongside former drummer Mike Baurer. Though the band's sound was initially lo-fi and sparse, they eventually expanded to as many as ten, including keyboards, horns, and backing vocalists. Their debut album, Whisper Down the Lane, was released by MAD Dragon Records. Kuf Knotz is no stranger to Philadelphia's live music scene. He has accompanied national tours with The New York Dolls and became the first ever hip hop act to open up for Bruce Springsteen. Kuf went on to record "Unstoppable," the official song of 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies, with local artists G. Love and Chuck Treece. Kuf found a home for his cohesive 14-track LP Boombox Logic on our label and he incorporates everything from folk, rock, jazz, soul and the blues.

The annual concert is made possible by Westphal’s MAD Dragon Records (MDR) and student-run concert promotion’s arm, MADKO Concerts.  The concert will be recorded for broadcast at a later date on DUTV, Drexel’s television station that is distributed throughout Philadelphia by Comcast and FIOS. The MAD Dragon concert and the DUTV broadcast are made possible with the generous support of the Kal and Lucille Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies.