Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
First Ladies of Rock and Soul returning to Uptown!
The First Ladies of Rock and Soul return to Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center for a third time Saturday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. Their tribute to the “Girl Groups” of the 1960s consistently delivers on their promise to turn the clock back to the time and place in pop music history when the Dixie Cups were going to the “Chapel of Love” and the Crystals did “Da Doo Ron Ron”.
The first appearance by the First Ladies of Rock and Soul at Uptown! was at the young organization’s 2013 Gala. Folding chairs and tables filled the Armory’s gymnasium floor, but the stage was set for great things to come. In 2018, the group returned for a sold out show with the Mainliners Men’s Chorus in the new theater. This year, the spotlight is all theirs when they bring their “Heat Wave” to Uptown!s Main Stage with all the sass and style of Martha and the Vandellas.
With incredible stage presence, four vocalists and their nine piece band of top notch professional musicians have built a reputation on authentic, note-for-note, live re-creations of timeless classics. Lou Ballezzi, Originator/ Producer, and Rick Bell, Musical Arranger have created a phenomenon that this is not an average cover band. They are “So Fine” (The Chiffons) that audiences will want to “Stop! In the Name of Love” (The Supremes).
The group performs throughout the tristate area at venues including Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and the Kimmel Center. They have shared the stage with artists like Bobby Rydell, The Duprees and The Four Aces, and vocalists have sung back-up for such celebrities as Celine Dion and Michael Bolton.
Lou Costello, of WLVT in Vineland N.J., says the group is “Simply Fabulous!!!” “Every song had the sound and feel of the original. Not since the original has any band captured the feel of ‘Heatwave’ so well. The bandstand presentation had all believing they were back in the Sixties. A real first-class performance.”
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center is conveniently located near parking, shopping and restaurants at 226 North High Street, West Chester. Purchase tickets at UptownWestChester.org, at the box office or call 610.356. ARTS(2787).