The excitement returns to Manila
In March 2014, Earth Wind & Fire Experience sold out its show at Solaire Resort & Casino and turned the grand ballroom into a virtual dancefloor.
At a time when performing to recorded tracks or lip-synching is an accepted norm in live performances, Al McKay’s Earth Wind & Fire Experience remains faithful to the true sense of the word “live” sans any prerecorded voices, instruments or harmonies.
Al McKay — the songwriter, guitarist, producer and arranger of Earth Wind & Fire — left the group in the early ’80s when it went on hiatus. Group leader Maurice White embarked on a solo career charting a Top 10 single I Need You. Simultaneously, lead singer Phillip Bailey did the same and came out with a No. 1 hit Easy Lover, which was a duet with Phil Collins who also produced the song. Al McKay formed his own band the All Stars, which included Earth Wind & Fire members Verdine White, Johnny Graham, Rahmlee Michael Davis, Andrew Woolfolk, Mike Harris and Freddie White (younger brother of Earth Wind & Fire founder Maurice). Back then, their repertoire included jazz music and Earth Wind
& Fire songs, particularly McKay songs he co-wrote with Maurice like September, Saturday Nite, Singasong, I’ll Write A Song For You, Let Me Talk, etc. Currently, the Al McKay All Stars, also known as Earth Wind & Fire Experience, performs a solid two hours of Earth Wind & Fire songs including the hits September, Let’s Groove, Boogie Wonderland, Singasong, Saturday Nite, Got To Get You Into My Life, In The Stone, That’s The Way Of The World, Can’t Hide Love, Sun Goddess, After The
Love Has Gone, Reasons and more, plus a 45-minute dance medley that’s guaranteed to get you up and dancing.
Earth Wind & Fire Experience’s current line-up features some of the best musicians in the industry, including Tim Owens (KC & Jojo, Friends of Distinction), DeVere Duckett (Stevie Wonder, Barry White, Temptations, Vanessa Williams), Claude Woods, Ed Wynne (the Doobie Brothers, Platters, Bill Medley), Aaron Haggerty, Freddie “Boom Boom” Flewelen (Emotions, Deniece Williams), Ben Dowling (Madonna, Michael Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, the Whispers), Dean Gant (Anita Baker, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield), Aaron Haggerty (Wicked Wisdom, Eric Gales, Stoney Curtis), David Leach (Earth Wind & Fire, Phillip Bailey), Justin Kirk (Jason Mraz), Luis Gonzales and Omar Peralta.
This month, there will be two concerts: Oct. 14 dinner concert at the newly-opened Novotel at the Araneta Center and Oct. 25 at the Solaire Resort & Casino Grand ballroom. Tickets are available at Ticketworld, Ticketnet and the concierge of both Novotel and Solaire. The shows are presented by Solaire Resort & Casino, Novotel, Araneta Center and Steve O’ Neal Productions in collaboration with Hard Rock Café, Business
Mirror, HDI, IBC13, Telenovela Channel, Mossimo Music, Dream Satellite, Aristocrat Restaurant and RJ100.3 FM.