Petrella sings ‘Songs of Many Colors’
Petrella, “The First Lady of Country-soul,” returns to Arkansas next week with a homecoming tour that includes six shows in nine days, starting with an appearance at the Mrs. Arkansas America Pageant at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
Petrella and Ron Hall, keyboardist, music director, former United Methodist Church music leader and well-known Hot Springs musician, will be performing two songs at the pageant, a news release said. Petrella was a contestant in the Mrs. Arkansas America Pageant in 2008, when she won the Miss Congeniality Award.
Petrella and her band Mixed Influence will follow up with two community outreach shows, at Quapaw Nursing & Rehab Center at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, and Brookfield at Oak Tree at 2:30 p.m. July 1.
“As a part of Dreams of the Heartland (DOH) Foundation, Inc. for over 30 years Petrella has performed for senior citizens throughout the United States,” the release said.
On June 30, Vapors Live will host Petrella and Mixed Influence as well as a few of the many charitable and community organizations DOH has worked with, such as Entre Nous Club, Pocket Theatre, P.H.O.E.B.E., Lupus Foundation of Arkansas, Difference Makers of Hot Springs, Miss Ida’s House of Care & Love, Cutwell 4 Kids, Webb Community Center, Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic, Literacy Council of Garland County, Garland County C.A.S.A., and Habitat for Humanity, it said.
“Petrella is also excited to be headlining the Vapors where both Petrella’s father, H.T. Bonner, and her brother, Harry Bonner, worked. Throughout her life, Petrella has heard stories of the well-known and infamous people who her father and brother served, including Liberace, Bart Starr, Bear Bryant, Johnny Carson and many others,” the release said.
The show will be from 8-10 p.m. on June 30. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now at http://www.vaporslive. com for $10 or at the door for $15. Petrella’s guest emcee and opening act will be Little Rock’s own Denaro Cook and Big Mike’s BBQ food truck will be in the parking lot.
On July 2, Petrella and Mixed Influence will perform at a celebration of Children & Community at Arkansas State University’s Fowler Center in Jonesboro. Children of all ages are welcome to attend a “fun afternoon and will inspired not only by Petrella’s music but also by special guest speakers inspiring stories.”
The event is hosted by Every Child is Ours (ECIO), founded in 1997 by Jan Paschal, a former Hot Springs resident, and will be held from 3:30-5 p.m.
Petrella and Mixed Influence will close out the Arkansas homecoming tour with a free show on July 3 at the Coronado Center in Hot Springs Village from 3-5 p.m. Petrella lived in the Village for several years, performed at the Woodlands and Balboa Park and was Mrs. Hot Springs Village as part of the Mrs. Arkansas 2008 Beauty Pageant.
Throughout the tour, Petrella will be performing songs from her recently eighth nationally released album “Song of Many Colors.” Two songs from the album. “Bring It Here Baby” and “Bebop Hoedown,” “have well over a quarter of a million streams on Spotify.”