BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The lead singer of a Radiohead tribute band that has played at Musikfest, a folk-jazz singer known to the Lehigh Valley, and a popular Valley comedian will headline a local music podcast's year-end show at Godfrey Daniels.
The third annual Winter WonderJam, presented by the "Your Next Favorite Band" podcast, will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 at the listening room venue at 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem. Doors open at 7.
Tickets, at $25.50, are available on the Godfrey Daniels website.www.godfreydaniels.org
Tickets, at $25.50, are available on the Godfrey Daniel website.
The show doubles as an effort to raise awareness for the local shelter and food bank New Bethany.
The show will feature Joe Edelmann, a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Asbury Park, New Jersey, who plays the role of singer Thom Yorke in There, There (A Tribute to Radiohead).
The group has performed since 2018 throughout the Northeast, including several gigs at Musikfest.
Edelmann also is host of a YouTube channel for cover songs, original music and instructional content with more than 5 million views.
Also on the bill will be Emma Bockrath, a 2022 Moravian University graduate who started her music career where she grew up in Northport, New York.
Her music showcases her background as a jazz vocalist, inspired by singers and songwriters such as Madison Cunningham, Lizzy McAlpine and Chappell Roan.
She plays frequently in the Lehigh Valley area solo and with original music project Fuze State, as well as in jazz contexts. She recently released a full-length album, “Spectacle.”
Rounding out the show will be Kate Hughes, a finalist in the 2019 season of the comedy competition "Standup NBC."
Hughes has headlined shows at clubs including Helium in Indianapolis, Indiana; Goodnight's in Raleigh, North Carolina, Laughing Skull Lounge in Atlanta; Hilarities in Cleveland, Ohio; and Chameleon Comedy Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
She was the headline performer at Godfrey Daniels' first headline comedy show in its 48-year history last May.
'A hope to reflect'
Philip Reese, host of "Your Next Favorite Band," said Winter WonderJam "came together out of a hope to reflect on the various interviews from the year and invite any prior guest of the show to provide a message and a recording of a seasonal tune for the audience to enjoy."
All have been at Godfrey Daniels.
"We feel so grateful for all of the incredibly talented musicians who set aside time with us and all of the people who tuned in throughout the year, that we wanted to find a way to acknowledge that and say, 'Thank you,'" Reese said.
"We also like to remind ourselves how fortunate we are and advocate to help those less fortunate.""Your Next Favorite Band" host Philip Reese
"Your Next Favorite Band" also has brought New Bethany "to highlight all the amazing things they do for the community, and this year "we will learn more about who supports them."
"Regionally, it's Second Harvest Food Bank and nationally it is Feeding America, which is where they get 70 percent of their food from," Reese said.
"We also like to remind ourselves how fortunate we are and advocate to help those less fortunate. So we hope to encourage donations to any of these types of organizations countrywide."
A request from listeners
While most episodes of "Your Next Favorite Band" are livestreamed, Reese said in its early phase, he had listeners ask if they could attend the Winter WonderJam in person.
"It was 2022, and we were coming out of the pandemic restrictions, and I think people wanted to gather in the spirit of the season in a safe way," Reese said.
"We invited two local musicians, Emily Drinker and Bobby Siegfried, to come and perform live and asked Godfrey Daniels if we could host it all in their wonderful space."
"Our hopes for Winter WonderJam this year and every year is to bring people together and share in moments of gratitude, merriment and tidings of great joy centered around music.""Your Next Favorite Band" host Philip Reese
Last year, the show returned with performers Fig For A Kiss and Tyler Asay of The Tiburys.
"We also had some fun holiday shenanigans, like translating pop song lyrics into Aramaic and a reading of a Hallmark holiday movie script generated by A.I.," he said.
All three of this year's performers "have some special songs and sounds planned for all to enjoy. And of course we will bring more shenanigans," he said.
"So our hopes for Winter WonderJam this year and every year is to bring people together and share in moments of gratitude, merriment and tidings of great joy centered around music."
