Monday Mashup: Back from the past and looking forward
Last weekend was one of the best openers I think we’ve had in a while.
First, we had Comeback Buddy
And they brought dancers!
Saturday was our first 3 Evenings For The Arts, and Joe Bourne was phenomenal. During intermission, he and his trio came out and said “Hi” to everyone. All around a class act.
Since I was occupied with other things, I was happy to pass off the role of photographer to another willing person, and here are a few of the shots he got from Saturday night.
As always, Monday Mashup doesn’t just re-cap the weekend, it preps you for the upcoming one! This Friday as part of our Free Summer Concerts, we’re bringing Firefly back! If you were an early reader, you may remember them from an interview I did last year when they opened for Steve Warnier, which you can re-read here.
They are three sisters from Gilbert with an amazing sound, and I’m so excited that we can give them their own show this year! They take the stage Friday night at 7:30. Reminder, doors open at 6:30, but you won’t be able to get a seat until 7:00. Suggested donations are $5/child, $10/adult and $15/family.
Weekend Preview: Here we go!
Today’s the day! We are back in the swing of performances since March! Yay!!
Sometimes I get way to excited about things. Sometimes it’s justified. This is one of those times.
If you haven’t heard, tonight marks the start of the Free Summer Concert Series 2012! We’re kicking it off with Comeback Buddy, which you have all previously met and heard much about in my interview.
The show tonight starts at 7:30. Doors open at 6:30, seating starts at 7 and its first come, first served. I’ve mentioned it before, but we do love when you show us some love (in the form of a few bucks) so suggested donations are $5 for kids, $10 for couples or $15 for families. Want to drop more our way? I won’t stop you.
But come and say hi! I’ll be wearing the blue dress at the raffle table. I love meeting Internet friends in real life, cause y’all are awesome.
Can’t make it tonight but still want something to do this weekend? Come see “Remembering Mr. Cole, A Tribute to Nat King Cole,” on Saturday (July 28) night! It’s starring the wonderful Joe Bourne & Trio, who you’ve also heard me talk about. With all of our 3 Evenings For The Arts shows, you get more than just a show. Prizes, wine tasting, yummy treats, the works. I’ve listed all the prizes up for grabs tomorrow night, and we still have seats available.
The show starts at 8:00pm on the 28, but the fun really starts at 6:30 in the foyer. You can snag tickets to just Joe’s show here, or call our box office for tickets to all three shows (480-782-2689).
Hope to see you this weekend!
Trying something new
It’s been a great year for trying new things at the Center.
We tried and succeeded at Eat Your Art Out.
We tried and succeeded with our Youth Advisory Council.
And we’re trying something new again starting on Saturday.
We needed something else in the summer. People tend to flee Phoenix in the summer, partly because of the heat, and partly because there is nothing to do because of the heat. We saw a void, and we’re trying to fix it.
3 Evenings For The Arts is a fundreaiser designed to fill that void, help kids and bring the community together, all in three shows. Once a month from now until September, we’re asking people to bring their friends, family or people they like to hang out with to the Center, take a chance for some awesome prizes, see a great show and help build Chandler into something stronger.
The prizes that you can win differ from show to show, so I’m asking that you come to as many as you can. The performers are top-notch, the wine from Chateau Ste. Michelle are phenomenal (they are sponsoring the wine tastings at each show) and it’s a chance to help the arts in Chandler become better than what it is.
Our first show, “Remembering Mr. Cole, A Tribute to Nat King Cole”, is this Saturday night and I have a list of the fan-tabulous prizes up for grabs here.
You can get tickets to each show individually, or the whole series if you like. Individual tickets can be purchased here, but series ones can only be bought at our box office, either in person or by calling 480-782-2680
Monday Mashup: Free Summer Concerts and 3 Evenings With The Arts
Less than 5 days until the Center is ready to rock another successful Free Summer Concert Series and our brand new never before seen 3 Evenings With The Arts fundraiser.
Friday (July 27) is our first Free Summer Concert show of 2012. The doors open at 6:30pm, but seating doesn’t start until 7:00pm, and its first come, first served. Comeback Buddy doesn’t take the stage until 7:30, so you’ll have plenty of time to get home, relax for a minute (maybe cool down) before you head out to see one of the best shows that CCA has to offer.
Yes, the concert is free, so you could just show up and watch the show, but we’d appreciate a little love in the form of a couple of bucks. The suggested donations are $5 per person, $10 per couple and $15 per family. Like I said, these are just suggestions, so do what feels right. The important thing is to come out, support local music and have a good time.
On Saturday (July 28) we start our first 3 Evenings With The Arts Fundraiser with Joe Bourne & Trio performing “Remembering Mr. Cole, a Tribute to Nat King Cole.” Joe is a great guy with an amazing sound, and he’s just what we need to get this fundraiser off to a running start.
But 3 Evenings With The Arts isn’t just about the show, it’s about raising money for our Connecting Kidz so that we can continue to offer an arts program to kids who may not have access to art. To do that, we’ve come up with a silent auction prizes that include:
Two Tour Tickets to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West
A Cigar Package
Phoenix Rock Gym day pass for two plus all the gear you’ll need
A Jeweled Pen Set
Two passes to Augusta Ranch Golf Club, including a cart & lunch
A Wine Package
A pack of 10 passes Stratum Laser Tag
A Cigar Box Guitar made right here in Chandler (If you’ve been to the Art Walk, you’ll have seen or heard these guitars.)
Two tickets to the Invisible Theatre
Black & White Photo Art from Heather Wilson Creates
Four passes to the Musical Instrument Museum
A limited edition Brighton Bracelet & Towel
Four tickets to an Arizona Diamondbacks game
One family pass to Desert Botanical Gardens
And a Raffle!
$5 each or 5 for $20
The Fishermans Retreat, a signed lithograph by artist Graham Foster
A Waterford Crystal Clock
Crown Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort one-night stay for 2 including breakfast
We’re also going to have wine tasting from Chateau Ste. Michelle, hors d’oeuvres and The Crawford Brothers performing in the lobby starting at 6:30. If those aren’t reasons to be here and help kids, then I don’t know what is.
See you this weekend!
Weekend Preview: Starting again
Oh Weekend Preview, how I have missed you.
This weekend we don’t have any shows at the Center, but we do have something you should check out. Tonight I’ll be at the Plaza San Marcos hanging out with some of the most talented people in Chandler as part of the monthly Chandler Art Walk. This month it’s INSIDE. I know shouting isn’t polite, but we all know the weather, and we all know how awesome it is when a normally outside event is inside. I can’t wait! I’ll have more information on our shows and be ready, able and willing to give out any updates (and maybe swag) if you come say hi.
Besides, I’m awesome, you’re awesome, so lets just hangout and be awesome together. And snack on Paletas Betty. Nomnomnomnom.
A week from today (July 27)is the start of our Free Summer Concert Series! Yay! It’s a yearly free concert series to introduce people to the Center, to music they like but aren’t sure if they want to pay for it just yet and as a good way to gear up for a packed season. Comeback Buddy is in charge of getting the series started like it should be, and they are up for the challenge. Mike Randall was kind enough to sit down with me (over the phone) and answer all my pesky questions about Comeback Buddy, and that was a blast. Plus the whole band is super nice and talented, so we’re going to be in for a real treat. The doors open at 6:30 pm, seating starts at 7:00 and the concert starts at 7:30. Seating is done on a first come, first served basis, so get here as soon as you can if you want up close and personal seats. The concerts are free, but we will have several donation boxes out and we’d appreciate it beyond measure if you could throw a couple of bucks our way. That way we can keep on keepin’ on.
That whole weekend is a blast from the past, and on Saturday, July 28, is the start of our never before had 3 Evenings With The Arts fundraising series with “Remembering Mr. Cole, A Tribute to Nat King Cole,” starring Joe Bourne & Trio. Joe told me a little bit about the show and his history with Nat King Cole in an interview that I posted yesterday. Give it a read, if you missed it.
3 Evenings With The Arts is a series of three shows over three months that aim to bring together the Chandler community and help us help our kids. The proceeds from the series (the show, the live and silent auctions and the raffle) will go into the Jerry Brooks’ Legacy Fund, which keeps our Connecting Kidz programs available to everyone. You can buy tickets to each show individually, but I recommend buying tickets to the entire series. You’ll save money, get some great entertainment, have a chance to win fabulous prizes and help out some of the best kids you’ll ever meet. The only way we could make it any better is if we added fire-breathing dragons playing guitar in the parking lot. I did all that I could, but we just couldn’t get that last part to jive, so it was scrapped. Something about “Mythical creatures can’t play guitar, Caitie.”
Psh. So you think.
Joe Bourne Takes Us Back
I’ve mentioned it several times, but I grew up with music that was made by people before my parents were born. Frank Sinatra was my lullaby. My girlhood crush was Buddy Holly. My glasses even look like his did. I remember listening to Nat King Cole when I did my homework, just loud enough so I could hear it, but not too loud so my Mom wouldn’t come in and bust me.
Next weekend starts out with an old-school-but-totally-cool vibe on Saturday, and we’re keeping it going with “Remembering Mr. Cole: A Tribute to Nat King Cole”, starring Joe Bourne & Trio as our first show in our 3 Evenings With The Arts fundraiser.
Joe has been playing professionally since 1968, and got his start in Cambridge, Mass. He made his way down to Atlanta in 1975 and then made the Netherlands his base for the next 25 years before coming out to Tucson. During his career, he’s recorded and performed with The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, and Ms. Natalie Cole herself.
It’s safe to say, the man knows his music.
Joe keeps his music simple, like the crooners of the 40s, with a piano, bass and guitar. That’s actually what helped him come up with the idea of “Remembering Mr. Cole, A Tribute to Nat King Cole.”
“I met a piano player who had studied the instrumental side of Nat King Cole, and we decided to put together a tribute to him about 6 years ago,” said Joe. It’s been going strong ever since. All the members of his trio have degrees in music and a deep understanding and appreciation of the musicianship that is required to pull off a 40’s soul song.
So what is it about Nat King Cole that first drew Joe to him and his music?
“I’ve always loved him, and his music,” Joe said. “I really like it all, Nat King Cole, Motown, even Disco.” From the sound to the stories that the songs tell, Joe says it’s like telling a history of a person.
It’s that combination of history and music that audiences find so appealing. Joe said that where ever he goes, he always finds an appreciative audience, even some repeat concert goers.
“In Arizona, people are from everywhere, so sometimes I’ll do a show in Arizona and then a show in the Midwest, and I’ll see some familiar faces. No matter where I go, people like the same kind of music, even if they don’t realize it yet,” he said.
When you come see Joe next weekend, you’ll be in for a treat.
“I hope people leave with a big smile on their faces, from music they remember from their younger days, or music that they remember from listening to their families,” Joe said. “It’s music they can remember, and lyrics they can understand.”
I wholeheartedly agree, Joe. If this is your first experience with 1940’s and 50’s crooners, it’ll make for an Unforgettable experience that will make you fall in love with his music.
You can get tickets to the entire 3 Evenings With The Arts fundraiser series, or just to Joe’s show here. He takes the stage on Saturday, July 28 at 8pm, but only after a live auction, a silent auction, a raffle, wine tasting and so much more.
Chandler Center For The Arts 