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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