The Shinolas and Indivisible CT will hold a get-out-the-vote concert at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Infinity Music Hall, 32 Front St. in Hartford, reviving a band tradition that mixes live music with election-season organizing. The show is titled “Songs of Hope and Change,” the latest entry in a run of concerts the band has staged over the years under similar names.
According to ctnewsjunkie.com, the concert continues the Shinolas’ “Songs of Hope and…” series and will see the band joined by national, regional, and locally known musicians for the night. The listing describes the band as having backed up dozens of national acts over the years. Infinity Music Hall’s own events listing also names the show, confirming it as “The Shinolas present Songs of Hope & Change,” according to Infinity Music Hall.
Who Makes Up the Shinolas
The current Shinolas lineup includes Jim Chapdelaine, Lorne Entress, Paul Kochanski, Jim Henry, and Joe Grieco, per the same ctnewsjunkie.com listing. Chapdelaine, a West Hartford resident, works as a composer, producer, recording engineer, and guitarist, and has produced recordings for hundreds of artists, including Phoebe Snow, the Allman Brothers, and Paula Cole, according to his University of Hartford faculty page. He has taught at the Hartt School since 2002.
The two sources diverge on just how many Emmys Chapdelaine has collected. The ctnewsjunkie.com listing states he has won 13 Emmys for television music and has been nominated twice for Grammys, while his University of Hartford biography describes him as a four-time Emmy-winning composer. Neither account reconciles the discrepancy, and both versions are presented here as reported.
A Series With Roots Going Back Nearly a Decade
The band’s politically themed concert series dates back years. As ctnewsjunkie.com put it, the concerts are a way to bring joy and activism together with a particular focus on getting out the vote this election season. An earlier edition, “Songs of Despair and Hope,” was presented in June 2017 and billed as a concert meant to unite and uplift people, sponsored by IndivisibleCT with help from other grassroots groups, per Infinity Music Hall’s listing for that show. That 2017 concert was also described as bringing together musicians from across the musical spectrum while helping rally resistance groups from across the state.
By May 2019, the series had reached its third annual installment, “Songs of Hope and Conviction,” staged at 5 p.m. on May 5 at the same Hartford venue, according to We-Ha. That lineup drew a deep bench of regional and national talent, including Big Al Anderson, Jonathan Edwards, Christine Ohlman, Jon Pousette-Dart, Dennis Brennan, Winterpills, Tang Sauce, Kat Wallace, and Kerri Powers. We-Ha identified the band’s four original members at that time as Chapdelaine, Kochanski, Entress, and Ed Iarusso.
What to Expect Monday Night
For this year’s show, the Shinolas will again be joined by national, regional, and locally known musicians, though a full guest lineup has not been released. Tickets and additional information are available at the event website, organizers say. Whatever shape the night takes, it arrives as the latest chapter in a concert series that has, for nearly a decade, paired Hartford-area musicianship with calls to action at the ballot box.
