SATURDAY, JANUARY 4th Upstairs at RUBA We celebrate the birth of St. James with some good friends and tasty vinyl!

FREE SHOW // 21+ // Doors at 8pm Presented by Live Local

St. James & The Apostles This charismatic, soul-stirring power trio was named in Philadelphia Magazine in their 2019 “Best of Philly” issue, calling the trio “The Best Band You Never Heard of." Fronted by guitarist/singer, Jamie Mahon, St. James & The Apostles is a family affair with organist/multi-instrumentalist Mike Kiker and drummer Jeff Castner rounding out the lineup. "Black Psalms" is out now and will be available on vinyl for the first time at this show! http://stjamestheapostles.bandcamp.com

SLOMO SAPIENS Sludge Psych from Philly by way of New Zealand. Their debut LP "Cabin Fever Dreams" is coming soon. http://slomosapiens.bandcamp.com

PJ Brown & Her Resistance Experimental, dark soul and funk led by the sultry, songstress PJ Brown.

Keith Kenny If the audience at a Keith Kenny show were to close their eyes for the performance they would swear that there was a full band on stage. The audience, however, is too busy dancing to the one-man acts layered guitar riffs, foot stomping percussion, blues harmonica, and emotionally charged lyrics to even think about looking away. http://keithkenny.com

se join us for a performance by the electrifying trio Bandit65, featuring the otherworldly guitar tandem of Kurt Ronsenwinkel and Tim Motzer.

Bandit65 is a mesmerizing post-jazz sonic trio of breathtaking virtuosity, great power, boundless breadth, and astounding beauty. Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tim Motzer, and Gintas Janusonis explore the intersection of guitars, rhythms, electronics, soundscapes, experimentalism, psych-rock, free improvisation, and telepathic interplay. The trio explores a wide open canvas, searching and pushing the envelope live and discovering captivating mind-blowing multidimensional landscapes of sound in their improvisations.

Beside being two of the most inventive and adventurous guitar wizards in modern music, Rosenwinkel and Motzer both boast deep Philadelphia roots – Rosenwinkel a native who was a member of the miraculous CAPA class that also included Christian McBride, Joey DeFrancesco and members of The Roots; while Motzer has long called the city home, using it as a base for his expansive sonic explorations and all-encompassing collaborations.

“The closely worked textures and supple rhythms that infused this intriguing gig were conjured on the fly from two guitars, a drum kit and a battery of pedals and effects,” described The London Financial Times about a 2018 gig. “Each piece opened with a wash of electronica and evolved into a body-shaking groove, cued by a just-invented riff or a repeated beat. But though even the core of this multi-layered gig was left to chance, it had the clean lines and sense of order of pre-composed music.”

Rosenwinkel needs no introduction in jazz circles: one of the most influential musicians of his generation, he is a defining master, trailblazer, and preeminent international jazz guitarist-composer with a career spanning almost twenty-five years. With over 70 albums of credits, Motzer continues to traverse manifold territories in music and has developed a distinct textural guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques. Janusonis is a NYC-based, Grammy-nominated, internationally-acclaimed drummer, composer, and producer who has worked with a diverse range of world class artists, groups, and producers during a 20-plus year career, including Angelique Kidjo, Branford Marsalis, Lee Scratch Perry, RZA, Wu-Tang Clan, Bill Laswell, David Murray, Bilal and many more.

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We're back at it again! From burlesque to buskers – a night of live local performances to celebrate our Starman. Presented by Baphokiss Productions, this unique night is happening at the beautiful Ruba Club as part of Philly Loves Bowie Week.

⚡️A Black Celebration + Riot Nerd are back again to present the 2nd annual: Bowie Masquerade Ball⚡️

We are so happy to be a part of Philly Loves Bowie Week 2020!

DJ Baby Berlin (ABC) and DJ EBGIII (Transmission + Guitar Army) gather to celebrate Jareth the Goblin King as A Black Celebration embraces Labyrinth with a masquerade ball and dance party! There will be a magical costume contest and and sweet prizes – but sadly, no crystal orbs! Remember, I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave. But whatever you do, don’t remind me of the babe! Partial proceeds from the door benefit the Cancer Center at CHOP, in David Bowie’s memory.