Feeling Good About Their Music: Winthrop Ralph Tufo and Squeezbox Stompers Host CD Release Party May 19

There will be a concert, a dance, and most importantly a CD release party.

Winthrop’s Ralph Tufo and his award-winning Americana roots band, The Squeezbox Stompers, will release their newest CD – “What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?” – at a concert-dance-party at the Me and Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead on Friday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.

The venue is the perfect setting for the band’s release of its fifth CD that features 11 songs.

“It’s a great place and we always get a great reception [at Me and Thee],” said Tufo.

The band’s large following has reemerged after the pandemic. The Stompers are booked solid for a busy summertime schedule that stretches from Saugus Ironworks, Kelly Greens Golf Course (Nahant) and the Lynn Museum to Plymouth, Sherborn, and Cranberry Island, Maine, where they’ll perform at a Fourth of July Celebration.

“We have a lot of outdoor summer dates scheduled, Tufo reported happily. “We’ll be performing at town concerts, festivals, and holiday events.”

Tufo is very pleased with the surging interest in his band. “I’d say our fan base is increasing all the time because we’ve been around for 20 years, and we perform a lot throughout Massachusetts. But we’re also performing a few gigs in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine, so we’re developing a following each year.”

Tufo is coming off a successful run of his play, “Beyond The Blues,” a musical which was staged in Lynn last November. A man of many talents, Tufo was the playwright, director, songwriter for the play, in addition to his band performing the songs live on stage.

Tufo began playing the accordion at the age of five while growing up in the Brickyard neighborhood in Lynn. From there, he’s mastered several musical instruments including the accordion, keyboards, and the hexagonal-shaped concertina.

“Pinocchio’s father, Geppetto, played the concertina in a children’s movie,” recalled Tufo.

He formed his first band, the Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society that played traditional Irish and English music and sea shanties.

Tufo, who genuinely loves to perform music and entertain audiences, invites Winthrop residents to join him and the Stompers at the CD release party.

(The band’s new CD will be available for purchase at the release party in Marblehead. The CD is also available on the band’s web site and at other sites such as Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and Radio Airplay. Ralph Tufo will be interviewed on Salem State University Radio WMWM on Saturday, May 13 at 1 p.m.)