Known for powerful live stage performances with acts like the Nth Power and the Jennifer Hartswick Band, the New York-based guitarist is swapping out his usual multi-piece projects for a more intimate stage experience.
Cassarino’s stripped-down acoustic tour will kick off in Columbus, and will make a stop in Dayton on Nov. 14 at the Brightside.
Dayton guitarist Tim Pritchard (The Boxcar Suite), a virtuoso in his own right, will open with a solo acoustic set.
Originally from Vermont and born into a musical family, Cassarino started singing publicly at five, and started playing guitar at 11. He eventually (and extensively) studied jazz by way of punk rock, classic rock, folk and jam bands. That jazz-forward approach thoroughly seeps into his guitar tone, as do myriad adjacent genres.
“In a perfect world, I’m somewhere between bluegrass and Bach and D’Angelo and Joni Mitchell,” Cassarino said, on his style.
After moving to New York, Cassarino joined 10-piece hip-hop collective Lifted Crew and toured alongside rap icons Slick Rick the Ruler and Big Daddy Kane.
In 2013, he formed his current touring outfit, the Nth Power, with Nikki Glaspie (Beyoncé) and Nate Edgar (John Brown’s Body). The group has been touring nationally and internationally since 2014.
Cassarino can shred and play in the pocket. He knows how to hang loose behind his bandmates, too. But this time around, without the Nth Power to back him up, Cassarino is forced to maintain the groove and fill the space solo.
But fear not, there will still be shredding.
Cassarino says he’ll also be playing with a looper pedal for this upcoming show.
But fear not, it will not be the whole time.
When he accompanies Jennifer Hartswick on stage — a trumpeter and original member of the Trey Anastasio Band — Cassarino is in charge of all of the orchestration. He takes that same approach with the acoustic guitar.
Much like with the Nth Power — which has played Dayton on numerous occasions, including at the Levitt Pavilion and the Brightside — the audience will get a full spectrum of covers and genres: from pop to folk to soul to jazz to reggae to blues.
Plus, Cassarino will be debuting new original music on this tour, which he describes as “Americana 808″ — a blend of Americana with electronic drums and more contemporary production.
Singles from this new venture are set to be released sometime next year.
“The goal is to have the guitar be a complete and fluid extension of my musical self, my musical ideas,” he said. “It’s really all one at the end of the day.”
Contact this contributing music writer at branberry100@gmail.com.
How to go
What: An Evening with Nick Cassarino, with special guest Tim Pritchard
When: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 14
Where: The Brightside, 905 E. Third St. Dayton
Cost: $15 pre-sale, $20 at the door
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