This free lunchtime concert series invites the public to enjoy live music in a historic venue.
WORCESTER, MA March 3, 2025 – Mechanics Hall and 90.5FM WICN Public Radio are pleased to announce the lineup for upcoming Brown Bag Concerts in March 2025. A Worcester musical tradition since 1983, Brown Bag Concerts feature regional and national artists performing a wide variety of musical genres, from traditional and contemporary jazz to Big Band, Latin, and integrations with folk, pop, and styles from around the world.
The next Brown Bag Concert on Wednesday, March 12th features genre-spanning singer and storyteller Cassandre McKinley; Wednesday, March 19th Grammy-nominated artist Harshitha Krishnan will perform her fusion of Indian folk traditions and contemporary western genres; and taking the stage Wednesday, March 26th is Jazz Stream, an ensemble known for their blend of mainstream and contemporary jazz. More information on these artists can be found below.
“The Brown Bags have been a favorite for decades, making exciting music and a historic space easy to access for everyone in the community,” said Mechanics Hall Executive Director Kathleen Gagne. “The March 19th concert happens to fall on the 168th anniversary of the Hall’s dedication, and I can’t think of a better way to commemorate the occasion than by welcoming the public to enjoy free, live music in this beautiful setting.”
WICN General Manager and Program Director David Ginsburg said, “WICN is thrilled to continue the 41st season of the Brown Bag Concert Series with our partners at Mechanics Hall! This spring’s lineup is particularly meaningful to WICN, given that Cassandre McKinley and Rich Flaco have long histories with the station, and Harshitha Krishnan is a rising talent demonstrating that jazz remains a vital, vibrant art form.”
Registration and tickets are not required – entry is free and open to the public, with cabaret-style seating on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 11:30am. Concerts begin at 12:00pm and end at 1:00pm. As the series name suggests, attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch, and additional food and beverage options will be available for purchase. Brown Bag Concerts take place in the Great Hall of Mechanics Hall, located on the 3rd floor of 321 Main Street, Worcester. The Great Hall is accessible by elevator from the Waldo Street entrance, or by stairs from both the Main Street and Waldo Street entrances.
Brown Bag Concerts are broadcast live on 90.5FM and at WICN.org. Concerts are subject to change without notice. For more information, visit MechanicsHall.org or call 508.752.5608.
The Brown Bag Concert Series is produced by Mechanics Hall in partnership with 90.5FM WICN Public Radio, and is supported in part by the Fred Harris Daniels Foundation, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Worcester Arts Council.
About the Artists
Wednesday, March 12, 2025: Cassandre McKinley
Boston native Cassandre McKinley is a singer, recording artist, composer, producer, vocal coach, and educator. As an artist and singer, she channels a vast spectrum of genres that include soul, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, and country, and has unwittingly unified them into a singular sound that is primitively hers. McKinley’s consensual freedom from stylistic boundaries has become her signature approach to making music. She is simply presenting a rich and acutely diversified mix of music by way of a sublime voice and a veritable gift for storytelling.
In her early youth, McKinley’s burgeoning career started with private voice lessons, intensive studies in dance, theater, and vocal performance and by 19, after attending Boston Conservatory, she was signed with an agent and entrenched in her work as an actor, singer, dancer, print model, and voice over artist. Today, McKinley is deeply rooted in a recording career, having released 5 solo albums, and is revered for her spirited and impassioned live performances illustrating evidentially her extensive range and vocal power. Her most notable collaborations include those with Peter Eldridge (New York Voices), Duke Levine, Dave Mattacks, Clay Osborne, Bernard Purdie, Herb Pomeroy. She appeared as a regular featured artist alongside the great J. Geils in his named Jazz & Blues Review to sold-out audiences throughout New England.
McKinley’s revealed a defined signature sound on her 2006 MAXJAZZ release “Til Tomorrow – Remembering Marvin Gaye” (MackAvenue) which generated an emphatic buzz of curiosity about the artist. JazzTimes Magazine hailed the work as “a rich, sensual salute” and institutionalized her national and international relevance as a prominent and salient new artist. Her 2018 release “Dragonfly” exhibits the same persuasive and robust vocal interpretations she has become celebrated for.
Her music can now be heard on hundreds of national and international radio stations, cable and internet music outlets including iHeartRadio, Spotify, Pandora and XM Radio. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in the Voice Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Berklee Online. She also continues to tour regularly as a solo artist and featured as a guest artist. Learn more at https://www.cassandremckinley.com/.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025: Harshitha Krishnan
Harshitha Krishnan is a Grammy® nominated performing and recording artist, music educator, and social justice advocate of Indian origin from Lagos, Nigeria. Hailing from a strong background in western classical music, she embraced soul, R&B, alternative, jazz, Indian folk and other world music styles, creating her own distinctive and eclectic sound: a fusion of Indian and contemporary western elements. Through performing her original music, arrangements of Indian and Pop tunes, jazz fusion pieces and more, Harshitha creates a singular musical experience that takes listeners on a journey of unfiltered emotions, exploring sounds and textures from around the world.
A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Harshitha has already worked with an impressive roster of renowned musicians including A.R.Rahman, Ilayaraaja, Gary Burton, Vijay Prakash, Michael McDonald, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Pablo Ziegler, Bill Whelan, Alejandro Sanz, Clinton Cerejo, Javed Ali, Sivamani, and Javier Limone to name a few, on various film, studio and live projects. She was a leading member of the Berklee Indian Ensemble whose debut album was nominated for ‘Best Global Music Album’ at the 65th Grammy® Awards, and performs with her vocal group ‘MuZù’, the Yotam Ishay Chamber Group and Utako Toyama’s ‘SkyBridge’. Since 2021, she has served on the Voice, Ensemble, Harmony and Professional Music Faculty at Berklee College of Music.
An artist with a vision to affect positive change in attitudes towards women, mental health, the LGBTQIA+ and race, Harshitha aligns her social, philosophical and political views with the nature of the music she performs. Learn more: https://www.harshithakrishnan.com/
Wednesday, March 26, 2025: Jazz Streams
Jazz Streams features an accomplished lineup of musicians who have made significant contributions to the New England jazz scene. Trombonist Rich Ardizzone is a classically trained performer with experience in Latin jazz, big bands, and a variety of ensembles. Guitarist Rich Falco is a seasoned performer, educator, and jazz historian with a career spanning international tours, concert productions, and numerous accolades. Bassist Jerry Wilfong is an active Boston-area musician who has worked with a wide range of jazz artists and recorded extensively. Drummer Bill MacGillivray has been a fixture in the Worcester music community for decades, performing in jazz, rock, and blues groups while also serving as a dedicated music educator.
Rich Ardizzone is a classically trained trombonist with a bachelor’s degree in performance from Boston University and a Master of Education degree from Tufts University. He has performed with the Paul Fontaine/Jimmy Mosher Big Band, the Brass Menagerie and a variety of Salsa and Latin bands. While playing professionally in the Boston area in the early 1960’s he was a member of Conjunto Azul, a Latin Jazz ensemble that played at the legendary Paul’s Mall as the house band. He has performed over the years (so many years…) in Worcester with Sonic Explorers, the Rich Falco Quartet and JOMP Faculty. He is the retired Associate Director at Joy of Music in Worcester where he still teaches.
Rich Falco continues to share much with the jazz world. He is a performing guitarist, a university professor on the WPI faculty as Director of Jazz Studies (retired), a jazz concert producer who presented more than 60 jazz concerts and workshops, a frequent high school clinician and presenter at regional, national and international jazz education conferences, a popular jazz festival adjudicator, Jazz Worcester Festival co-founder and executive director, a jazz historian and private guitar instructor. As a performing artist and educator, he has conducted more than a dozen international concert tours to East, Central and West Europe as well as North Africa, The Caribbean and Canada. He has been recognized with several awards including “Jazz at Sunset Performance Award”, the “Boots Mussulli Jazz Educator Award” and the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the International Association for Jazz Education.
Jerry Wilfong is an active Boston area freelance bassist. Jerry studied in the early seventies at Berklee College of Music, and later with bassist Joe Holovnia. He has attended master’s classes by bassists John Clayton, Jr. and Harvie S. Jerry performed regularly around New England in a variety of styles with many jazz ensembles, including groups led by Paul Broadnax, Stan Strickland, Garrison Fewell, Steve Soares, Rich Falco, Ferdinando Argenti, Jane Miller, Maggie Galloway, Monica Hatch, and Jim Porcella. He is recorded on CD’s by Sai Ghose, Steven Kirby, John Wilkins, Phill Argyris and Chris Taylor, and has toured Russia, Romania, and France. Jerry has performed with distinguished jazz artists Leni Stern, John Stowell, Richie Cole, Joe Hunt, Greg Abate, Gray Sargent, and Jon Wheatley.
Bill MacGillivray is a long-time member of the Worcester music community. After studying drum set with Fred Buda and Joe Hunt at Berklee College of Music in the early ‘70s, Bill has played with many classic Worcester rock, blues, and jazz bands including Crockett, Mitch Chakour, The Trailers, Wilbur and the Dukes, and the Russo Brothers Jazz Quintet. He has also performed with Boston artists James Montgomery, WC Handy award winners Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, the Boston Music Award winning Dennis Brennan Band, and folk artist Carol Noonan. Bill has been the percussion consultant for the Worcester Public Schools since ’87. He teaches drums and percussion at Burncoat High School and Burncoat Middle School, as well as Notre Dame Academy, and Worcester State University. He is also a coach for the Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra.
About 90.5FM WICN Public Radio
Arts and culture contribute to a quality of life that keeps a community vibrant and economically alive. WICN Public Radio is a 501(c)(3), committed to this ideal through the presentation of authentic, independent music, on the radio and in the concert halls, preserving America’s living art forms of Jazz and other music for generations to enjoy. Learn more at WICN.org.
About Mechanics Hall
Steeped in the rich history of 19th century Worcester, Mechanics Hall is internationally regarded as one of the world’s great concert halls. Regionally, it is a meeting place beloved for the central New England location, its architecture, and the legacy of prominent figures engaged. The world’s most renowned orchestras and performers – including the London Philharmonic, Yo-Yo Ma, Ella Fitzerald, and Linda Ronstadt – have taken the Hall’s stage. Among the many luminaries who have spoken at Mechanics Hall are Charles Dickens, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain. In addition to serving as a premiere venue and recording site, Mechanics Hall offers inspiring cultural experiences for diverse audiences through a variety of creative initiatives, including free concerts, community events, a youth chorus, and collaborative programs with local colleges and nonprofit organizations.
Mechanics Hall is a nonprofit organization owned and operated by the Worcester County Mechanics Association, est. 1842. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more at MechanicsHall.org.