Interlude - February 25
February 25, 2021
More local livestreams, meet our talent booker, tips for singers and more
Welcome back to Interlude! Has it already been a week since the Center’s last roundup of cool arts events? Don’t worry – there’s more where that came from. See below.
Livestream series adds shows through June
The Live at the Center series sponsored by Allied Solutions keeps gaining steam with artists and audiences alike. For local bands, it’s a paying gig for a fresh crowd, resulting in a professionally produced video to share with fans. For viewers, it’s a chance to catch top local talent from the comfort of home, with multi-camera HD video, lush stereo sound, cheap refreshments and no cover charge.
The series continues at 7:30 tonight with Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery and next Thursday, March 4, with Highland Reign, an Indianapolis band that has staked out unique territory with its Celtic-inspired folk-rock, drawing rave reviews even on tours of Scotland and Ireland. For a sense of the sound, read about Highland Reign in Current and check out this video.
If that’s not exciting enough, the Center announced just today that Live at the Center will continue through June, with six new dates including a couple rescheduled from earlier in the season. Read the announcement.
Meet the man who books the shows
One of the Center’s behind-the-scenes heroes is VP of Programming Doug Tatum, a mild-mannered and witty gent who navigates the perils of the global entertainment industry to bring you an eclectic calendar of performances in jazz, classical, pop, rock, country, folk, Great American Songbook and any other genre that might suit our Center Presents patrons.
A performing-arts professional for over three decades, Doug has been at the Center from its start. Hear more about his career in the latest episode of Serving You, the staff profile series sponsored by The National Bank of Indianapolis. Watch the clip now!
February playlist includes pop, jazz, country …
And speaking of variety – another month, another Shepherd Insurance Rewind Playlist! Every 30 days or so, our staff looks back over a decade of dates to find the coolest artists who performed at the Center during that particular lunar cycle.
This week, our last 10 years of Februaries bring you flashbacks from Motown stalwarts the Temptations and the Four Tops, country stars Martina McBride and Sara Evans, jazz heroes Joe Lovano and John Scofield, chamber music, opera and much more. Listen to the list.
Pocket-sized wisdom from the Songbook Academy
Happy Digital Learning Day, everyone! To mark the occasion, our friends at the Songbook Academy® are sharing “Pocket Lessons” with top tips and tricks from the program’s world-class mentors. Start your morning like a Songbook Academy all-star and warm up with Elaine Moebius. If you're a singer – or if your voice is especially important in your profession – Catherine Walker will show you how simple tools like a cup, a straw and some water can change your life. Lynne Rothrock reminds musicians that: “The way that YOU communicate as a person is going to be the most authentic way that you can put that into a song.”
If you know a high school student who loves to sing and could gain something in five minutes from these Pocket Lessons, imagine what they could learn in eight days! Songbook Academy applications are open on Acceptd through March 15.
This week in performing arts history
February 21: On this date in 1958, singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter was born in Princeton, New Jersey. One of just 15 women voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, she has sold over 15 million albums and won five Grammy Awards from 15 nominations. Carpenter has performed twice at the Palladium, in October 2011 and October 2019.
February 25: On this date in 2009, President Barack Obama honored Stevie Wonder with America's highest award for pop music, the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize. The former president had described the Motown legend as a personal hero and played his song “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” on the campaign trail. The SFJAZZ Collective performed The Music of Stevie Wonder at the Palladium in October 2011.
February 26: On this date in 1917, the Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the first commercially released jazz songs, “Dixie Jass Band One Step” and “Livery Stable Blues,” for the Victor Talking Machine Company. (“Jass” was an early spelling variation.) The Great American Songbook Archives include a 1926 Victor release, a 10-inch single of Rudolph Valentino singing “There’s a New Star in Heaven To-night.”
