Levitt Pavilion closes its 2012 season with an
X-Factor finalist, songs from the Bayou and triple-fiddle magic. A film crew
working with the national Levitt Pavilions organization will also be in Arlington
for all three of the Levitt’s final concerts this weekend. It’ll be a chance to
show that Arlington knows how to rock, and pack the
pavilion for the audience shots!
The film crew and staff members from the Levitt
Pavilions also will be on hand to
interview random audience members on camera to
talk about the Levitt Pavilion and
free music under the stars. The completed film
will be shown all over the country
to organizations looking to add a Levitt
Pavilion to their community and to potential
sponsors.
See you this weekend, and on camera!
It's been the season of the "music
competition show artists" for the Levitt Pavilion
this fall with the winners of NBC's The Sing-Off
(Pentatonix), a runner-up from
America's Got Talent (Cas Haley), and during its
closing weekend, a finalist for
The
X-Factor, LeRoy Bell (pictured lower right photo). His concert is 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28. and made possible by a grant from the Arlington Cultural Tourism
Council.
Bell started his musical journey by writing
songs that were recorded by The Spinners,
The O'Jays, The Temptations, Rita Marley, and
most notably, Elton John. He decided
it was time to reinvent himself and emerged as a
singer/songwriter with his own
recording label. His first recording, an EP
called Spending Time, sold more than
15,000
copies. When The X-Factor made its U.S. debut last year, Bell found himself
in the top 10. His edgy music places him in a
league of performers who cross many
demographics, illustrated by the diverse list of
artists Bell has performed with,
including B.B. King, Van Morrison, Sheryl Crow,
Etta James, Al Green, Erykah Badu,
LeAnne Rimes, Michael McDonald, Idina Menzel,
Keb Mo, Taj Mahal, Leon Russell and
Los Lobos.
Great music begins with great songs, and great
songs are what the Honey Island Swamp
Band (top photo) is all about. Their distinctive
Bayou Americana sound kicks off the last weekend of free concerts for 2012 on
Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m., thanks to a grant from the
Arlington Tomorrow Foundation. The Levitt
Pavilion is located in downtown Arlington across the street from City Hall, 100
W. Abram St.
The band came together when Aaron Wilkinson and
Chris Mulé were marooned in San
Francisco after Hurricane Katrina devastated New
Orleans. After a chance encounter
with fellow New Orleans evacuees Sam Price and
Garland Paul, and with no prospects
of getting home any time soon, they figured
they'd better cook up something new
and quick! A few days later, they had a song
list, landed a weekly gig at San
Francisco's Boom Boom Room and settled in to
share a little taste of Southern culture with their
new West Coast neighbors.
Their seven-song EP debut was so well received
that the band decided to make the new group their priority when they moved back
to New Orleans.
Honey Island Swamp Band's music mixes timeless
songs with searing guitar, mandolin
and four-part vocal harmonies, all anchored by
the powerful groove of a Louisiana
stomp rhythm section. Most recently, the band
was named Best Roots Rock Artist of
2011 at the Big Easy Awards, New Orleans' most
prestigious arts and entertainment
honors.
When Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe raise their
fiddles and play, audiences marvel.
When the women sing their vintage-style
three-part harmony, audiences are blown
away. Add Joey McKenzie's rhythm guitar and Drew
Phelps' swinging upright bass,
and the Quebe Sisters Band (pictured lower left)
becomes a force of nature. They make a return visit to the Levitt to close this
year's concert season at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29, sponsored
by Vandergriff Auto Group.
The Quebe Sisters Band's music has taken the
Americana music scene by storm with
a
refreshing blend of western swing, vintage country, bluegrass, jazz and swing
standards, and Texas-style fiddling. The
band's performance highlights include
appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy
Center, Lincoln Center, the Ryman
Auditorium, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival,
and the National Folk Festival.
In addition, the QSB has appeared in concert
with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder,
Merle Haggard, Asleep at the Wheel, Larry Gatlin
& the Gatlin Brothers, Riders in
the Sky, and Marty Stuart.
(By: Cathy
O’Neal, LP release)
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