Local musical performers in TV
 

There seem to be an impressive number of very good musical acts performing in and around The Villages. I thought that I'd list a few of mine, and hope that others will pitch in with a few of theirs, particularly the lesser well known acts. I'll start with...

* Jeff Jarrett: an excellent singer and guitarist performing mostly classic rock and folk songs.

* The Mudds: a husband and wife duo who have recently started performing rock with several other talented musicians. I understand that they also perform as a jazz duo, which is something that I look forward to hearing.

* Johnny Wild and the Delights: while I'm not usually a big fan of the music from the 50's, they do such a great job of selecting material, performing it so well, while putting on an excellent and engaging performance that I really enjoy their shows.

* Gilly and the Girl: a really excellent singer and guitarist performing rock, folk, oldies, and most everything else, including a few songs that I hadn't heard before and really enjoyed.

That's the start of my list, but I'm always on the outlook for any of the other great performers who frequently play here in The Villages.

Some of my musical choices...
 

* Gilly and the Girl: a really excellent singer and guitarist performing rock, folk, oldies, and most everything else, including a few songs that I hadn't heard before and really enjoyed.

That's the start of my list, but I'm always on the outlook for any of the other great performers who frequently play here in The Villages.[/QUOTE]

I agree about Gilly And The Girl. Johnny Wild is a good one too whether 3 piece or 5 piece.

*One we just saw tonight was Anita Drink Band. Fabulous 3 piece doing mostly classic rock. Two girls (mother on guitar & daughter on bass) and guy on drums. Band did well, sound system not as well.

*Swing Theory - I am also a jazz fan. These guys did great. I'd like to see more like this. I don't think they are on the schedule very often.

My faves so far are the Hooligans, Spazmatics, Johnny Wild, Anita Drink and Uncle Bob’s Rock Shop, with the first three being the most outstanding.

By the way, Stephen, Johnny Wild does lots of songs from the ‘60s as well as the ‘50s and I agree they do an excellent job on all of them.

P.S. Paisley Craze are good too, but not "paisley" enough, imo. Kinda false advertising. I was expecting a psych/garage band. They might do Incense and Peppermints but that's about it.

Hello? Is there anybody out there? I've tried multiple times to reply to this thread and they seem to go to outer space.

Edit: Success!!! Finally.

*Anita Drink Band is my current fave. Did an outstanding version of "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zep and it morphed into 25 or 6 to 4 and then back. Three piece band. Mother on guitar, daughter on bass, guy on drums.

*Gilly and the Girl - also very good.

*Yes. Johnny Wild - good as 3 piece and 5 piece.

*Swing Theory - for those who like Jazz, very good. I would like to see more of them and bands like them.

I guess I am missing something. What is "morphed into 25 or 6 to 4 and then back."?

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"25 or 6 to 4". Well known song from Chicago's early years, about 1972? And then went back into "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You".

Clark Barrios and Rocky and The Rollers are favorites of ours

lots of really good talent around here

Gilly and the gal did a driveway party for neighbors a few months back...they did a nice job, Clark Barrios came and did a driveway concert for us, we have him coming back

Clark Barrios does driveway parties? How much does he charge?

Was wondering why it took so long to get Rocky and the Rollers on the list. Also we like Audio Exchange and MPire.

That is so true. I wish someone would get the word out to them to mix up the set list a little more. Don’t they realize a lot of people see them multiple times and presumably would like a little variety?

Personally I can’t see myself going to hear my 4 or 5 favorite bands month after month only to witness the same old songs over and over and over. I can understand why you got tired of Johnny Wild, John. And it’s a shame because he and his band are top notch.

Wow. You want bands to play four hour gigs and not repeat songs from previous shows?!?

I think you’re the one who doesn’t realize the work that goes into being a successful band and playing for four hours every show at the squares.

Hi Polar and thanks for reading my post and commenting. "Mix up the set list a little more" does not mean not playing songs from previous shows. But thanks for your input and interesting perspective. I appreciate it.

No problem with some, or even a lot, of repetition but let's not forget, for whatever it's worth, that the The Dead played for 3 hours a night and Bob Dylan for 2 hours a night for years and played a different set list each night.

Joe Hand is our favorite solo act. He also plays occasionally with “The Beautiful Bobby Blackmon”, and they’re great together. Joe is a real-deal musician. Has his own studio and creates all his own backing tracks for a huge song list, and they are truly excellent. His guitar talent is among the best we’ve heard, doing a wide range of covers and some very nice originals. We see him often at Edna’s’ and at Sip in Leesburg. Garvino’s and Lakeridge Winery are some of his other frequent gigs.

Yes, I’m a fan!

I can appreciate where you're coming from Walrus. I like to hear new songs too. And mixing up the sets is of course a good thing. You're right...I think our differences probably are in interpretation as much as anything. Heheh. Your last sentence almost makes it sound like Dylan and The Dead never played the same song twice. :) I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean. :icon_wink:

But I do think playing for four hours makes it more difficult. Most concert shows a band plays for an hour-and-a-half or maybe two hours. Filling four hours is a different beast. I'm not sure how many bands have enough songs...really good songs...in their repertoire to fill four hour shows without using most of the same songs. But of course they should jumble up the order to avoid too much repetition. :)

Man, I'd sure like to hear somebody play some Dead down here :pray:

So many of the bands that play in the squares are great. And I've noticed the talent has gotten a lot better recently. I was told that this is because a lot fo these great bands usually work in Orland bu because of Covid many of the venues that they usually play are closed so they come here.

What's disappointing to me is that there are a lot of great bands that are comprised of Villagers. I wish that The Villages Entertainment Dept would utilize more of the local talent.

I heard Ripple once at the square. I forget who it was. Maybe Uncle Bob's Rock Shop?

Great idea and we don't even have to wait for the Villages management to get on board. Nothing is stopping any of the Squares' restaurants/bars from having a weekly local showcase. Or Edna's.

It would probably be a smash.

No brainer if you ask me.

Many of them do have local talent playing. Unfortunately, most don't want to pay for a band, they pay for one person singing to tracks. It's a shame that so many Villagers accept that are great entertainment.