Open and free to BMPA season ticket holders and members of the Bluefield College family, the Equinox concert is part of the 2016-2017 Blue Mountain Performing Arts and Bluefield College Fine Arts series. Individual tickets for non-BC and non-Blue Mountain members are $15 for adults and $10 for students.
Comprised of lifelong best friends and Louisiana natives Jeremy Davis and Clay Johnson, along with their “fiery hot” 17-piece big band, the Equinox Little Big Band is well known for its high-energy shows filled with hits from Motown, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and other musical legends.
Along with the greatest songs, the best original arrangements and phenomenal musicianship, Davis and Johnson bring their rich friendship and charm to the stage. Fashioned in the style and swagger of legendary entertainers, like Frank Sinatra, they are putting their own stamp on the Great American songbook with a freshness and relevance that speaks to every soul.
“Audiences enjoy when an artist takes time to speak to them from the stage,” said Janet Allen, artistic director for Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre in New Braunsfel, Texas. “Throughout the show, Jeremy and Clay incorporate some of their personal history as well as the history of many of the songs performed. They also include stories about how lyrics were inspired for certain songs, and the stories were as entertaining as they were enlightening.”
Davis and Johnson started playing music together first in junior high school band with Davis on saxophone and Johnson on trombone. Through high school and into college at Louisiana Tech, the two continued to perform, experimenting with all different kinds of genres, from rhythm and blues, jazz and rock-n-roll to classical, Christian and even hip-hop. After college and the start of families, Davis formed the Equinox Orchestra, moved to Savannah, Georgia, and asked Johnson to come along. Today, the Equinox Orchestra and Little Big Band performs all over North America and is currently working on its first ever nationally televised Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) special.
Before Equinox, Davis, who plays tenor sax and provides vocals for the group, led a variety of bands in more than 200 shows a year at festivals, theaters and venues all across the country, performing in conjunction with David Sanborn, Ellis Marsalis, George Clinton, The Allman Brothers, The Beach Boys, Wycliffe Gordon, American Idol alumni, and many more notable musicians.
Johnson, who sings and plays trombone for Equinox, has performed thousands of concerts, musicals and shows throughout the United States. Raised in a family of preachers, teachers, and folk and Southern Gospel singers, he also has a love for the Gospel in which he has shared as a musician, minister and missionary in churches and communities all around the country and the world.
The Blue Mountain Performing Arts Series is designed to foster and encourage public appreciation of music, the teaching of music, and the history of music. Through the support of donors and paying members and in an effort to support its mission, Blue Mountain brings a wide variety of quality musical programs to the community through its yearlong concert series.
Annual membership with Blue Mountain, which includes admission to all BMPA shows at a significant cost savings, is $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, and $15 for students. Family packages, including two adults and all children living within the home, are $85. Individual tickets to Blue Mountain events are $15 to $20 for adults and $10 for students. All concerts are general admission with no reserved seats. Box office and doors open one hour before show time.
In addition to Blue Mountain concerts, BMPA membership also provides admission to events that are part of Bluefield College’s 2016-2017 Performing Arts Series and concerts scheduled by the Beckley Concert Association. To purchase annual memberships or individual tickets, or for more information about the Equinox Little Big Band show, visit www.bluemountainperformingarts.com, call 304-324-3234, or e-mail [email protected]
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