On Saturday, March 11th, The Mainstay in Rock Hall is pleased to present the return of American Songbook vocalist Hilary Gardner.
National Public Radio remarked that Hilary Gardner “evokes memories of another time and place.”
Hilary grew up in Alaska, where she sang with the Anchorage Opera Company (and also sang Patsy Cline tunes in dive bars), 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 to Frank Sinatra “Come Fly Away” in which she sang solos and duets with the recorded voice of Sinatra (hand-picked for the part by Sinatra’s daughter). 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. Hilary lists Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, and Joni Mitchell among her vocal influences.
Hilary Gardner
Hilary describes her program at The Mainstay as “evoking a truly intimate, late-night NYC jazz club vibe”. Her program will highlight some of the Great American Songbook singers’ “story-driven songs” with selections by Julie London and Peggy Lee. She will be accompanied by Steve Einerson on piano. Music critics claim that Einerson has “a near-encyclopedic absorption of modern pianists, including McCoy Tyner, Harold Mabern, Bill Evans, Sonny Clark and Oscar Peterson.”Rounding out the group will be Dylan Shamat on bass, and Ken Fowser on saxophone.
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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