March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 39 F

Well known expat musician brings it home and gives back with latest release

“Everything’s gonna be alright, it’s a Naptown Saturday Night.”
So goes the chorus of the latest release from Ray Weaver, a Pasadena-raised musician and long-time fixture at local venues. Although Weaver has lived in Denmark for most of the past twenty years, he gets back to the area frequently to perform. 
And he has never forgotten his roots.
“‘Naptown Saturday Night’ is a song about me trying to break into the Annapolis music scene back in the 70s,” said Weaver. “It mentions places like Charlie’s West Side and bands like Telluride that bring back a lot of memories for people that played and partied during that era.”

Weaver said ‘Naptown Saturday Night’ had been gathering dust in his guitar case for about twenty years. He revived it when he was invited to play a Bruce Springsteen tribute show at the Ram’s Head in Annapolis presented by the Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians (AMFM).

LoFi teaser for Naptown Saturday Night:

“AMFM puts on these shows called ‘In the Vane of’ to raise funds to provide temporary financial help to Annapolis musicians who cannot work due to sickness, injury, or other circumstances that leave them unable to perform,” said Weaver. “The idea is to do a song by the artist being spotlighted, and then do an original in their style. It’s a cool idea and a great cause.”
Sean O’Neill, one of the organizers, mentioned to Weaver that the evening’s show had enough slower songs and recommended that he do something more upbeat.
“I was so unsure of the song that I thought the crowd was poking fun at me when they started laughing and applauding when I finished the first verse.”
In fact, the crowd loved Naptown Saturday Night. 
“About a dozen people asked me where they could buy it, and three local radio and podcasting outfits wanted to play it. But it didn’t exist past that night’s performance!”
The reaction encouraged Weaver to record a full band version of the song with his Danish producer and cowriter Michael Skotte. Since Naptown Saturday Night was conceived as part of a Springsteen tribute, the team wanted to maintain that special feel.
“Michael is a brilliant producer, and I think we capture Bruce’s early style, with a little Van Morrison and Tom Petty mixed in.”
Naptown Saturday Night is available for download at all of the popular music sites, including iTunes and CD Baby.
“I hope people actually spend a buck on this one instead of just streaming it,” said Weaver. “A portion of the proceeds are going to help AMFM continue their work giving musicians a hand. Most of the players I know have no health insurance and live from gig to gig. Missing even one can be devastating.” 
Weaver will be returning to the US in December and January. Performances are scheduled for:
Thursday, December 28 – Brian Boru Irish Restaurant and Pub
Saturday, December 30 – Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub
Sunday, December 31st – Pirates Cove Restaurant
Thursday, January 4 – Brian Boru Irish Restaurant and Pub
Friday, January 5 – Brian Boru Irish Restaurant and Pub
Saturday, January 6 – Killarney House Irish Restaurant and Pub
Sunday, January 7 – Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub
Thursday, January 11 – Brian Boru Irish Restaurant and Pub
Friday, January 12 – Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub
Saturday, January 13 – Killarney House Irish Restaurant and Pub
Sunday, January 14 – Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub
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