By Journalist Dr. Ms. Jones
MARLBORO – On Saturday, May25th Grammy Award Winning Corey Glover returned to The Falcon with his Soul Experience. This platinum selling vocalist sang R&B and soul classics that had the crowd on their feet. The audience sang along as he “took them back” with the hits he grew up on like “The Ghetto,” “Backstabbers,” and “Takin’ It to The Streets.” He also sang songs from his album “Hymns” which is not a “Gospel” album.
“It’s kinda Gospel. It has a Gospel thing to it… I’m the grandson of a storefront preacher… My grandfather was from the south, from Georgia,” said Glover whose rifts made it evident that he has roots in the church.
Glover used local musicians to play with him at The Falcon. They included Neal Spitzer on the saxophone, Dan Kottman on the guitar, Benny Harrison who plays the keyboard, Ivan Bodley on the bass, and Russell Worrell who plays the drums. They began the concert with a tribute to the founder and visionary of The Falcon, Anthony “Tony” Falco. He passed away on October 28, 2021 due to COVID-19 complications.
“Tony was the heart and soul of this place. Lee, his son, has taken on the responsibility and is doing a really good job,” said Glover. “Keeping that spirit alive is amazing here.”
The Falcon began as a house concert series. Tony bought a church in Marlboro in the 1980s. His goal was to make it a performing arts center. Later, he sold it to the post office and decided to rebuild it in their family’s backyard. He began to do shows there in 2000 and later opened The Falcon. He started doing shows there beginning in 2009. The Falcon has been a staple in the community providing live music and food in the heart of Marlboro. The Falcon’s shows are always free. Patrons are asked to be generous and contribute to the donation box as 100% of donations are given directly to performing artists.
“That’s the model here… support living artists. That’s the idea that everybody’s equal and nobody’s excluded. If they can pay just five dollars, the box is anonymous. And so that’s how we do it and then the money goes 100% to the artist. So, all we get is the bar and the food… Usually people are really generous. Most of the time they’re happy,” said Julie Falco, Tony’s wife, as she showed the artwork on the walls by local artist Barbara Masteron.
“These are the migrant workers that work in the fields of Marlboro… and Highland… The exhibit changes probably every four to six months.”
The artwork on the walls of The Falcon is locally sourced. Patrons can purchase the artwork. This is another way that The Falcon supports living artists.
Glover has a residency at The Falcon and performs there every month. Each concert features different songs and allows patrons to receive a new experience. Glover is also still the lead singer of The MTV Video Music Award Winning, multi-Grammy Award Winning Group Living Colour whose sound is influenced by hip-hop, funk, jazz, punk, heavy metal, and alternative rock. They released their first recording in 1989. They are on tour and will be at The Hard Rock Café New York located in Times Square in Manhattan on June 19th.