Submitted photo Tano Jones Revelry will play at Westside Bowl in Youngstown on Friday as part of Brad’s Savage Birthday Bash.

Tano Jones Revelry’s “What About Me” was one of the 40 most played songs on The Summit radio station in 2025, and the band will be playing it and other tracks from its album “Spinning North” as part of Brad’s Savage Birthday Bash on Friday at Westside Bowl.

“That was really cool,” Tano Jones said of the song’s high ranking. “That’s really humbling. That’s all you want to do, right? When you create music, you want to connect, and you want to touch folks in a good way.”

The “Brad” the bash is for is Brad Savage, program director for the public radio station, which is based in Akron but simulcast on WKTL-FM (90.7) in Struthers. Also playing on the bill are The Shootouts, Rolling Box Car International and Bad Hooks.

“Tano Jones Revelry is a great Detroit act that’s starting to break out nationally,” Savage said. “We’ve been playing them for the past year or so, and they did a great show last fall at the Rialto Theatre in Akron for the station and our listeners. The band has expressed interest in playing more often in this region, especially thanks to their airplay, so I asked them if they’d come back for my birthday party event, and they said yes.”

The affection is mutual.

“I just love Brad and Chad (Miller, The Summit’s music director),” Tano Jones said during a phone interview on Tuesday. “They’re really good dudes. We’re excited to come play and meet some different folks. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Youngstown.”

Jones is hitting a lot of new cities these days. After years of making music in the Detroit area, “Spinning North” has gotten national and international attention. The album’s songs have been streamed more than 40 million times worldwide, led by the singles “What About Me,” “Daisy” and “Light It.”

Working in the studio with producer Andy Patalan, guitarist for the band Sponge, Jones said he tried to tap into something that felt honest and authentic to him.

“He (Patalan) would always ask me, ‘What are you trying to write towards?,’ meaning what playlist or format or whatnot. I said none and all of them. I wanted to just be honest. I wanted to feel good. He talked to me a lot about different co-writers and whatnot, and I couldn’t really connect with any co-writers because, for me, it’s very personal. I’m going to be up on stage singing these songs, telling these stories tens or hundreds or thousands of times over decades.

“I think a lot about the meaning, I think a lot about the feeling. I’m still an album guy In today’s music world, where everything is so single oriented, I’m still drawn to this connection of a deeper story tapestry, if you will.”

Jones started writing the songs on “Spinning North” before the COVID-19 pandemic and much of the recording was done during the lockdowns.

“What About Me” is one of the songs that changed through that experience. He described it as intentionally misnamed. The title of the song may be “What About Me” but the spirit of the song is “What About We.”

“‘What About Me’ came out of the understanding that generations before us did really difficult things, from settling in new lands to establishing communities to surviving, to fighting in world wars and so forth and so on,” he said.

“The legacy of our geography, whether it’s Ohio or Michigan, goes back to those people that fought and died for this country. So when one thinks about what they did for this turf, this land, this garden, whatever you’re gonna call it, I think that there’s great lessons to be learned by looking at former generations and taking clues on toughness and taking clues on fortitude, taking cues on sticking together, working together, teamwork, love. We do a small thing through our Soup and Seeds initiative (which raises funds for local charities in the cities where the band plays).

“We try to pay it forward and work together with others. It’s about us having a history of looking after each other to get through hard times.”

The band echoes the communal feel of the lyrics with a sound that draws from different styles and genres, all of which will be a part of Friday’s performance.

“They’ll get a little grooving, a little bit of rocking, a little bit of soul,” Jones said. “They’ll get stories, they’ll get some melodies, they’ll get some tales, some harmonies, and what I call loud love. It’ll be a feel-good vibe with songs from our album, “Spinning North,’ and we’ve got a couple of other tunes we throw in there for good measure. It’s punchy, but it’s not too loud, and it’s soulful, but it’s not too mellow. We like to think that we’re in a sweet spot where people are shaking their hips a little bit and vibing.”

If you go …

WHAT: Brad’s Savage Birthday Bash with The Shootouts, Tano Jones Revelry, Rolling Boxcar International and Bad Hooks

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $15 in advance through Eventbrite and $20 at the door.