New York City’s Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches can be fairly described as “the only band infusing Gullah-Geechee rhythms with folk, roots, 1920s, country and originals. ” Tomorrow night, September 30, at 7 PM, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 will host the group’s CD release event in support of their new album, Very Next Thing (Tickets are available here and include a copy of the album).

The four members of Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches each bring impressive pedigrees and varied skill sets to the project. Bandleader and composer Nick Russo, has worked with Jimmy McGriff, Teddy Charles, and Antonique Smith. Vocalist/guitarist Betina Hershey has appeared as a principal dancer in such films as Enchanted and Mona Lisa Smile and also in the touring companies of such shows as Phantom of the Opera and Pump Boys & Dinettes. Gullah-Geechee percussionist and composer, Dr. David Pleasant has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Cecil Taylor and many others. Miles Griffith, who utilizes his voice as a percussive instrument, joined Max Roach, Reggie Workman and T.S. Monk over the years and he also took on the lead role in Wynton Marsalis’ jazz oratorio ”Blood On The Fields,” which premiered at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

Today we present the premiere video of their original song, “I’m Getting Married,” which Russo wrote on the occasion of his marriage to Hershey. He explains, “Betina and I recorded an entire wedding album to give to our family and friends each a CD as a “take home” gift at our wedding. We wrote ‘I’m Gettin’ Married’ for our wedding as a fun song with the lyrics literally describing how we met. I actually learned 5 string banjo for “I’m Gettin’ Married” and had to really shed for the recording and our wedding!”