4th Saturday Swing with LoneStar Retrobates plus Dance Lesson with Cheryl McBride and Michael Marangio in Berkeley

4th Saturday Swing with LoneStar Retrobates plus Dance Lesson with Cheryl McBride and Michael Marangio

Dance lesson with Cheryl McBride and Michael Marangio at 8:00 pm; Show at 9:00 pm The Lone Star Retrobates bring some of the best Western swing extant to tonight’s edition of “Swing in the Fall,” Ashkenaz’s two-month series of swing dances with lessons taking place every Thursday in October and November. “Swing in the Fall” covers the gamut from classic big band sounds to jump blues and New Orleans R&B. Discounted series passes are available. The series concludes with a Saturday night party with Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers on November 26! Each night starts at 7 pm with a choice of beginning/intermediate dance lessons with Karen & Michael or a guest teacher (included in the ticket price), followed by the evening’s live band at 8 pm. Visit http://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com for more about all dance lessons, teachers, and performances in the series! This may be the Ashkenaz debut of the Lone Star Retrobates, but since 1990 or earlier, some version of the Retrobates has existed (check the band’s website for famous alumni from Billy Wilson to Tony Marcus). The current Western swing big band is, by its own admission, “a boot-scootin’ wingtips-flyin’ dance band specializing in authentic West Coast Swing. If jazz is America’s musical taproot, then this roadhouse-swing fusion is its west-facing branch.” Some of the members are leaders of their own bands; some have played with the likes of Bob and/or Billy Jack Wills, Bill Monroe, Ray Price, and others. The bring authenticity and excitement to such classic tunes as “Mood Indigo” and “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette.” Featuring trumpet, sax, twin fiddles, both standard and pedal steel guitars, drums, and standup bass, rich four- and five-part vocal harmonies and even trick yodeling on demand, the Retrobates sashay from hot swing to honky-tonk. With a freshly retooled show featuring a kicking all-star horn section – each horn man a bandleader in his own right – the Retrobates are making a stir in the Bay Area alt-country and retro-roots scene, with singer-songwriter Emily Bonn, swing veteran Mylos “Boogie” Sonka on pedal steel, and big-band vocalist and trumpeter Ray Green, saxophonist Dale Alstrom, fiddler Ray Landsberg, bassist Michael Price, and drummer Pete Lind. www.lonestarretrobates.comhttp://swingatashkenaz.comteams.com/  

Categories: Concerts & Tour Dates