LAKEPORT, Calif. – Director Cindy Strong has set the play list for the 15 acts that make up this year’s Winter Music Fest, and there clearly will be much great material to live up to its theme, which this year is “Makin’ Music.”
Shows will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.
For more than two decades, the Lake County Arts Council has presented the Winter Music Fest in order to promote local music-makers and bring the best of the emerging artists to the public stage.
In this case, many of the “emerging artists” have already established sterling reputations for first-rate entertainment.
Among the most flamboyant and spectacular acts in the show will be the a Capella singing group, My Divas, made up of eight excellent singers presenting Renaissance songs.
They appear in court dress singing courtly songs in the first half of the second act, and in what they call “wench costumes” to sing tavern songs of the time at the end of the show.
Though the music they use has complex harmonies in several languages, they are wonderfully lively and always turn on the audience.
In the last year, Kevin Village Stone and Lindy Day have exploded on our musical scene with a huge variety of musical styles, from Native American flute music to rocking blues by way of classical guitar. Recently Day also has been playing blues-rock guitar with singer Kayla Bell.
In addition, the “Three Cathys” – Cathy Mallow, Cathy O’Connell and Kathleen Escudé – well known for putting popular songs across, will be appearing in various combinations.
The glorious Barbara Clark is appearing, as well as Suna Flores, Reiko Hattori of the amazing voice, Megan Smith and Dan Springer. These names are all rapidly becoming well-known around here.
Rounding out the musical palate will be the Mendo Lake Singers, whose many costumed members, singing four-part harmonies and winning competitions around the state, are solid senders we can be proud of.
Tickets are available now. All seats are $15 and available through the Soper-Reese Web site, www.soperreesetheater.com , or at the box office at 707-263-0577, at The Travel Center on S. Main in Lakeport, or at the door at the time of the show.
The Winter Music Fest is one of two fundraisers that the Lake County Arts Council presents each year, the other the Spring Dance Festival in early May.