On Saturday, June 11th, The Mainstay in Rock Hall is pleased to present Great American Songbook stylist Hilary Gardner and her band. National Public Radio remarked that Hilary Gardner “evokes memories of another time and place.” Her first gigs were in hometown Wasilla, Alaska, where she sang Patsy Cline tunes in dive bars (as well as singing with the Anchorage Opera), but she was always infatuated with New York City, her home for the last twenty years. In 2010 she appeared on Broadway in Twyla Tharp’s musical “Come Fly Away in which she sang solos and duets with the recorded voice of Frank Sinatra (with the blessings of the Sinatra Estate), backed by a 19-piece live big band. The performance was hailed by critics as “wonderful” (Huffington Post), “elegant” (USA Today), and “terrific” (New York Observer). Her career moved ahead with regular appearances with Mike Longo (Dizzy Gillespie’s pianist), at New York’s prestigious Café Carlyle, and in Errol Morris’s critically acclaimed Netflix documentary-drama, Wormwood. Hilary is also member of the vocal trio Duchess. The group pays tribute to The Boswell Sisters, the legendary close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras. The group also enjoys an ongoing collaboration with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, performing the music of the Andrews Sisters for Taylor’s seminal piece, Company B. She lists Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits among her influences.
Hilary will present a program at the Mainstay she calls “Trail Songs”, a tribute to the familiar Great American Songbook tunes associated with the country’s fascination with Hollywood’s musical Westerns from the 1930s through the 1950s. These are songs that have deep jazz / Songbook connections thanks to Bing Crosby, Johnny Mercer, Jack Teagarden, Benny Carter, Frank Sinatra, as well as the “singing cowboys”, Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey. As Hilary points out, “Everyone knows and loves these songs.”
Hilary will be joined by her band — Justin Poindexter on guitar and vocals; Aaron Thurston on drums, and Noah Garabedian on string bass.
Showtime for the live concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.
The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.
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