Twang! 1965 - Articles Page 8

Tribute shows to iconic entertainers celebrating a centennial birthday in 2015 seem to be all the rage this year. But nobody has been celebrated more in cabaret variety shows than Frank Sinatra—and rightly so. Wall Street Journal entertainment columnist Will Friedwald, also a producer and author who wrote the 1997 book Sinatra! The Song Is You—A Singer's Art, this past Saturday presented the biggest (and longest) tribute to “Ol' Blue Eyes” so far this year with Sinatra-Thon at The Cutting Room (co-curated with performer Cary Hoffman), a potpourri of events running from 10 am to an after-midnight jam, and which included varied live entertainment, rare film clips, and panel discussions.

The Public Theater just opened George Brant's Grounded, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Julie Taymor and featuring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway.

These days at Birdland, trying to channel Dolly Parton's bigger-than-life-persona is the sultry Natalie Douglas, a seven-time MAC Award, Nightlife, and Backstage Bistro Award winner, who (on April 20) brought her own hip, quick-witted, earth-mother persona--along with her smokin' hot vocals--in a joyful tribute show to the country music icon, Hello Dolly: The Music of Dolly Parton, as part of the Jim Caruso's Broadway at Birdland Series.

The Kropotkins, named after the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, create music that hearkens back to the timeless artistry of American roots music and North Mississippi rhythm & blues and fife and drum.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce BLACK & SPARROW and HOPEFULLY FORGIVEN, featuring two prominent bands in the music scene tonight, April 18 at 8 pm.

A new project, new music ALECTRO.

Ed Graczyk's 1976 drama 'Come back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean' has a simple premise: It's September 30, 1975, and a small town dime store in West Texas is hosting the reunion of a James Dean Fan Club to mark the 20-year anniversary of Giant, which was filmed nearby. The underlying premise is you can't go home again.

Capital Stage continues its 10th Anniversary Season with a special one-night-only music concert with local and internationally acclaimed duo Misner & Smith on Sunday March 29 at 7pm. For this very special concert at Capital Stage, Misner & Smith will be joined by Josh Yenne (The Easy Leaves, Mazzy Star) on pedal steel and electric guitar. General Seating Tickets are $26 and are available online, by phone or in person at capstage.org, (916) 995-5464, or 2215 J Street.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce BLACK & SPARROW and HOPEFULLY FORGIVEN, featuring two prominent bands in the music scene on Saturday April 18 at 8 pm.

The Kropotkins, named after the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, create music that hearkens back to the timeless artistry of American roots music and North Mississippi rhythm & blues and fife and drum.

Rachel Potter shows off her Nashville influence with a dynamic new album!

?Country-pop beltress Rachel Potter releases Not So Black And White, March 3rd, 2015, showing off the 'polished pep of her theater training and the twang of her Florida roots." (Rolling Stone Country) Potter became a household name starring on Broadway in Evita and The Addams Family, as well as the national tour of Wicked. She was also a top 12 finalist on The X Factor.

Playing her debut NYC solo show I Came From Jersey For This to a sold out house at 54 Below, Jessica Vosk took the intimate venue by storm. Dazzling audiences with her talent, energy, sincerity, and humor, she put up a perfectly crafted cabaret tribute to her journey from singing with her dad in the living room of their New Jersey home to landing roles on Broadway.

This was a workshop on the Blues, and then they stepped it up a few notches.

Tonight, February 13 at 10:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall, singer-songwriter Valerie June performs songs from her critically acclaimed debut album Pushin' Against A Stone (Concord Records) as part of the tenth annual WFUV Live at Zankel series. NPR describes June as a 'force of nature' with a 'voice that's now stopping traffic: a keening soprano that shows off its twang yet sounds totally contemporary.'

After performing two sold-out shows in mid-January that garnered rave reviews from New York cabaret critics, Pamela Lewis (a.k.a. Champagne Pam), again brings her unique interpretation of Long Island icon Billy Joel's songbook to the New York's Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues) on Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm. In New York State of Mind: The Songs of Billy Joel, you'll hear the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award Winner for 'Best Female Vocalist' deliver unique and stirring interpretations of classic Joel songs such as, 'The Stranger,' 'My Life,' 'A Matter of Trust,' 'Just the Way You Are,' 'New York State of Mine,' and many more beloved Joel hits.

Will Rogers, 'Oklahoma's Favorite Son,' was one of those do-it-all celebrities. Cowboy; trick roper; vaudeville performer; comedian; newspaper columnist; film actor; politician; husband to Betty Blake; and father to Bill, Mary, James, and Fred. The man did it all. Because Will's vaudeville trick rope act led him to headline the Ziegfeld Follies, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES tells his life story as if it were being told through one of Mr. Ziegfeld's productions. It's quite clever. It's also the rootinest, tootinest, knee-slapping, wholesome humored, and down right All-American show I've ever seen. And I loved it.

In her current cabaret show at 54 BELOW, Marin Mazzie is taking audiences on a whirlwind ride through her formative years in Rockford, Illinois. She deftly interprets the hit music from the 1970s, making each of the iconic songs her own. With her brand of majestic power, dazzling belt, and her supple alto instrument, Mazzie enchants with her song selections and stories alike.

Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as a mosaic of musical styles and humor, meaning any dream will do for design and concept. American Idol husband-wife team Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young bring a tech and color production to Sacramento this week. And Tuesday evening's audience devoured the show's original, energetic staging.

According to Deadline, Geoffrey Rush has officially signed on to play OLIVER! composer Lionel Bart in Vadim Jean's upcoming musical biopic CONSIDER YOURSELF.

On June 15, 2015, Karamu, the country's oldest continuously performing Black Theatre, will celebrate its 100th birthday.

The closing cast of Broadway's ONCE assembled at the gorgeous Highline Ballroom for a night of music for Fare-Thee-Well ONCE. To kick the evening off, Ben Hope and his rollicking country band The Uptown Outfit performed music from their upcoming album. Ben Hope and The Uptown Outfit rocked the audience with their twang-coated spirit.

Cosmic cowboys, country music and outer space fantasy will come together in Brooklyn on Sunday, January 11, when the Skinny Dennis bar presents Ijon Trichy and The Final Frontiersmen.

On Friday, February 13 at 10:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall, singer-songwriter Valerie June performs songs from her critically acclaimed debut album Pushin' Against A Stone (Concord Records) as part of the tenth annual WFUV Live at Zankel series. NPR describes June as a "force of nature" with a "voice that's now stopping traffic: a keening soprano that shows off its twang yet sounds totally contemporary."

John Schneider and Tom Wopat -- the original stars of 'The Dukes of Hazzard' -- have hit the Billboard Top 10 with their new album Home for Christmas. For the week of December 20, the recording debuts at #10 on the 'Traditional Jazz' chart.