All this month we’ve been telling you about plans for our big “Flood at 50” Birthday Bash. Well, kids, tonight’s The Night, and, as Cousin Brucie used to say on good ol’ WABC, “Hey, be there or be square!”
The fun starts at 7:30 at Alchemy Theatre, 68 Holley Ave. Unfamiliar with the location? No problem. Click here for a Google map.
Or you can see it on our “The Venue” page on the web site at FloodAt50.com, which also has information on tickets, recent media coverage, the back story on the celebration and much more.
It will be wall-to-wall live music tonight. The Flood will start the festivities with the opening set when the doors open.
Then we’ll get friends in the room — folks like our pals Douglas Imbrogno, Jim Rumbaugh and Karen Combs of 5$Red, Karen and Steve Byington of Wiley Dew and others — up on stage to do sets of their own.
The Big Jam
And after The Flood’s second set comes the climax of the evening. That’s when all the players in the house will gather around one of the tables and jam until midnight. Think of it as a 21st Century hootenanny! If you’ve ever sat in with The Flood — or if you always wanted to — bring your instrument and be part of this historic open jam.
But remember, you don’t have to be a picker to part of this party. On the contrary, listeners are the guests of honor. This bash is part concert and part jam session, part reunion and part a celebration of the future. You gotta be at this once-in-a-lifetime event when we cheer in the new year!
How We Got Here
As we reported earlier, The 1937 Flood traces its roots to a New Year’s Eve party in 1973, when Charlie Bowen and the late Dave Peyton first started working out some tunes together.
Since that chilly night a half century ago, the band has had dozens of members over the decades, each with his or her own varied musical interests. It is a devotion to diversity that has inspired people to call The Flood “West Virginia’s most eclectic string band.”
Today the band embraces a repertoire ranging from folk songs to jazz, from blues to ballads, from songs of Bob Dylan and John Prine to those of Hoagy Carmichael, Fats Waller and George Gershwin, hokum tunes and old rock ’n’ roll and everything in between. And you’ll hear a bit of it all tonight at Alchemy Theatre.
So, Come on Out!
The fun starts at 7:30. It’s family-friendly. Tickets are $20 and include all the live music you can handle, plus finger foods and that toast at midnight!
Feel free to BYOB, soft drinks and snacks as well!
Join us for a great, safe way to start the new year!
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