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Javier Colon with special guests Matt Cusson & Jeff Howard with Jeff Howard

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Here’s your chance to see/hear Connecticut’s own winner of NBC TV’s “The Voice”. And what you may not know is that prior to taking that title he was the lead singer of The Derek Trucks Band, toured with them for nearly two years, left to pursue a solo career, was signed by Capitol Records, went on to release two critically acclaimed solo albums and was featured as the singer/songwriter for "October Sky", on Vanessa Williams' vocal album, The Real Thing. It was only after all these accomplishments that he finally landed the opportunity to win it all on “The Voice”.

Matt and Jeff will open with a 30 min set for Javier

Following his winning “The Voice” and parting ways with Capitol Records, he released Come Through For You on Universal Republic and is currently working on a new solo album for The Concord Music Group.

Javier has performed with such diverse acts as Joss Stone, Darius Rucker, the Indigo Girls, Stevie Nicks, Adam Levine and Anthony Hamilton ( to name but a few ). On stage, Javier's primary instruments are steel and nylon stringed acoustic guitars by Larrivée and Taylor Guitars.

Javier Colon

Connect with this artist:

www.javiercolon.com

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Artist Bio

"I wanted to make an album where I could be free to be myself, with no walls or boundaries," Javier Colon says of his new album Gravity.  "I wanted the freedom to be myself musically, and I was surrounded by people who encouraged me to do that."

Blessed with a stunningly soulful voice, an uncanny songwriting talent, a charismatic personality and a commanding stage presence, Javier Colon has already won the attention of an international fan base that's embraced his personally-charged, acoustic-textured blend of pop, rock and R&B, an effortlessly distinctive style that he's dubbed "acoustic soul."

Having been introduced millions of TV viewers as the winner on the inaugural season of NBC's The Voice, singer-songwriter-guitarist Colon is set to take his recording career to the next level with Gravity, his fourth album and his first for Concord Records.

Indeed, the 13-song Gravity, on which Colon wrote or co-wrote all but three songs, marks a creative milestone for the artist.  Such musically compelling, emotionally resonant tunes as "For A Reason," "Clear the Air," "Walking Blind" and the memorable title track demonstrate the breadth of his talents, matching his distinctly expressive voice with irresistible melodies, insightful lyrics and Colon's own distinctive acoustic guitar work, which sets the tone for the album's spacious instrumental arrangements.

Recorded in Brooklyn, Nashville, Los Angeles and Utah as well as the artist's home state of Connecticut, Gravity marks a turning point in an eventful musical journey that's taken Javier Colon to a lot of interesting places.  The son of a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother, Colon emerged as a musical prodigy early in life.  His gifts took him to the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music, where he founded an a cappella R&B quintet that performed at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater.  Soon after graduating from Hartt with a degree in Music Education, he became lead singer of the neo-funk group EmCQ.

When EmCQ opened for funk-jazz luminaries Soulive, Javier's talents drew the attention of Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno, whose recommendation led to him becoming lead singer of the Derek Trucks Band.  Colon spent two years touring with Trucks' group, with the band's eclectic rock/soul/blues/jazz brew providing an impressive vehicle for his talent and versatility.  After striking out on his own and signing a solo deal with Capitol Records, Javier released two well-regarded albums in urban-R&B mode, before making the audacious move of casting off that commercial direction in order to pursue a more personal approach to music-making.

After releasing the acoustic EP The Truth on his own label, Javier's career took an unexpected but propitious turn in 2011, when he became the winner on The Voice's first season, receiving a recording contract with Universal Republic Records. The new deal yielded the well-received album Come Through for You as well as the holiday-themed EP A Very Acoustic Christmas.  But disagreements over creative direction caused the artist to once again make the decision to seek out a label situation better suited to his musical goals.

"I'm grateful to The Voice for allowing me to be myself in front of tens of millions of people," Javier notes.  "It was the greatest thing that could have happened to me, and the experience gave me the confidence to fight to be my real self musically.  I was happy with the album that I made for Universal, for the most part, but it was kind of an arranged marriage and it didn't work out. But that's OK, I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason.  Now I'm in situation with Concord where I can make the music that I've always wanted to make.

The new label association yields substantial creative results throughout Gravity, which finds Javier Colon delivering some of his most accomplished songwriting and most inspired performances to date.

"It's always been my goal as a songwriter," he says, "to write songs that people can relate to their own experiences, or to get people to step out of their own shoes for a few minutes and see what somebody else's life might be like."

Colon set the stage for Gravity's release with some recent overseas successes, including a run of shows in Japan with renowned jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, and a series of concerts in Mexico and South America with Maroon 5 (whose frontman Adam Levine was Javier's coach on The Voice).

"Those were two of the most amazing experiences of my life," says Colon. "On the Maroon 5 shows, I was just the opener, but the audiences were so affectionate and appreciative that there were times on stage that I was moved to tears.  I sang a song or two in Spanish, and the reaction was so incredible that I'm planning on recording some songs in Spanish for my fan base in Latin America."

Those experiences helped to ignite Colon's excitement about getting back on the road and bringing Gravity to his loyal and growing fan base.

"I get emails and messages from fans, saying that my music has moved them or touched them, or helped them when they were in a dark place," he says. "That's something that I take very seriously.  Knowing that other people are listening on that level makes me feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

"Music is powerful," Colon continues.  "It can make you cry, it can make you laugh, it can make you dance, and it can make you feel like you're not alone.  It can allow you to confront your life, or it can make you forget about life for awhile.  My songs have always come from the heart, and from a place of wanting to move people or make people feel something inside.

"I'm glad to be in a position now where I can put music out there that reflects who I am as an artist and a person," he concludes.  "As an artist, you live and die by the songs that you sing, and if you sing a song that you're not fully invested in, or a song that you don't really feel, then you're not doing your job as an artist.  With Gravity, I got to make an album that I really love from start to finish, and I'm willing to fight for that and live with the consequences."

Jeff Howard

Jeff Howard is the founding guitarist of the CT jam band trio THE McLOVINS and was a regular guest guitarist for the national band BAREFOOT TRUTH.  Jeff has headlined at Infinity Hall, The Kate, Fairfield Theater Company ,The Calvin theater as well as The Gathering of the Vibes over the last four years. He released three CDs with the McLovins and played guitar on Will Evans’ “Wishin' Well” CD which went to #4 on Billboards Heat Seekers chart. Jeff is presently a student at the University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music. Jeff, Will Evans & Jay Driscoll have been playing together for many years.  Their first collaboration was at Infinity Hall in 2011. They always look forward to returning to this special venue.

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Matt Cusson

Connect with this artist:

www.mattcusson.com

Matt Cusson, an award-winning singer/songwriter and pianist, continues to wow audiences and prove that he is the real deal. He is a gifted self-taught musician who excels in jazz, pop and soul, as demonstrated by his expert writing and arranging skills on his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album of 2009.

He cites many musical influences, such as James Taylor, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Djavan, Miles Davis, and John Mayer, just to name a few. Even more impressive is the list of artists he has performed with, including Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, the Roots, Babyface, Christina Aguilera, and Livingston Taylor. Matt has been working and touring with his mentor and friend, Brian McKnight for the past several years. He also performs regularly with Javier Colon, the 2011 winner of the hit NBC show “The Voice”. Matt performed with both Javier and Cee Lo Green for the 2011 Rockefeller Tree Lighting show. Javier sings the soulful duet “Same Old Song” on Matt’s debut album, and Matt is a featured pianist on Javier’s upcoming album with Universal Records.

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