Captain Jack & the Strangers
Captain Jack & The Strangers started in Gloucester, MA in 2022 with an idea: assemble a group of the area’s most established and popular musicians to perform the full range of Billy Joel’s music with the energy and personality the songs deserve.
Since then, the band has steadily built a following throughout New England, mixing the songs everyone knows with deeper cuts that longtime fans don’t always get to hear live.
Captain Jack & The Strangers have grown from those early shows into appearances at theaters and music venues across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and beyond. They’ve successfully sold out some of the best venues around New England such as North Shore Music Theatre (Beverly, MA), Blue Ocean Music Hall (Salisbury, MA), Tupelo Music Hall (Derry, NH), Maine State Music Theatre (Brunswick, ME), and Jonathan’s (Ogunquit, ME). They’ve also graced stages like Toad’s Place (New Haven, CT), Lynn Auditorium (Lynn, MA), Nashua Center for the Arts (Nashua, NH), Soundcheck Studios (Pembroke, MA), the MET (Pawtucket, RI), and more.
One of the best things about Billy Joel’s catalog is how much ground it covers. A Captain Jack & The Strangers show can move from piano-driven rock and straight-ahead rock and roll to ballads, singalongs, storytelling songs and some of the more theatrical pieces in the catalog. That range gives each show plenty of room to breathe, with big moments, quieter moments, familiar favorites and songs that may surprise even longtime Billy Joel fans. The most common phrase from audiences is “I knew almost every song”.
There really isn’t an average age at a Captain Jack & The Strangers show. While not every venue or performance is all-ages, the audience itself doesn’t fall into one clearly defined demographic. Some people come because they grew up with Billy Joel’s records, some discovered the music years later, and others are hearing these songs performed live for the first time. It’s common to see several generations in the same room, which has become one of the best parts of watching the audience grow.
Captain Jack & The Strangers have never tried to turn the show into an impersonation act. The focus has always been on playing the music faithfully, bringing plenty of energy to the stage, and giving people a great night built around one of the strongest catalogs in popular music.
In just a few years, Captain Jack & The Strangers have gone from a new tribute band to a name that audiences across New England are starting to recognize on the marquee. Bigger rooms, sold-out performances, and repeat invitations have followed, but the real story is the momentum behind it all. Each show has added another chapter, another crowd, and another reason the band’s reputation keeps growing. Captain Jack & The Strangers are still building, but the path is beginning to look less like a run of individual shows and more like the start of something lasting.
Band Members
Jack Favazza - lead vocals, piano, harmonica
Steve Russo - drums, shakey shakey
Michael Parsons - bass guitar, vocals
Mark Pelosi - lead guitar, vocals
Jim Frontiero - rhythm guitar
and everyone's favorite
Michael Lindberg - tenor sax, soprano sax, synth, harmonica, vocals