By Gillian Brunette
Join Freddy Vette and the Flames for a rock 'n' roll revival in Huntsville on Friday night, Oct. 3
The Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA) is bringing back the dynamic Freddy Vette and the Flames to the Algonquin Theatre on Friday, Oct. 3, beginning at 8 p.m.
Last here on Aug. 22, 2007, Vette will again be resurrecting the ghosts of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bill Haley and others when he and his musical entourage kick back to the 1950s and ’60s. The dynamic costumes and creative choreography allow audiences to relive this classic era with their favourite jukebox hits.
Following last year’s show, HFA general manager Rob Saunders noted: “After the show, our audience members left still singing and asking us to bring them back. Freddy is wonderful with the audience. Everyone loved the performance. It was a really great night.”
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! Freddy Vette, in this photo taken at last year's show, brings his band the Flames, plus three backup singers, to the Algonquin Theatre Oct. 3. [Photo by Jon Snelson.]
“Good music is good music, no matter what kind it is or when it was made. You don’t have to be from the 1700s to play Mozart, you don’t have to be from the ’30s or ’40s to play jazz, and you sure don’t have to be from the ’50s to play rock 'n' roll,” Vette says in reply.
“There’s such a huge audience out there who are hungry for this music and aren’t able to see it performed live. We continue to discover them, and they continue to discover us. It’s a great relationship that keeps rock 'n' roll alive.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Vette came from a musical family. His mother and father had a country music band, so there were always instruments around the house. The first thing Vette tackled was the drums, then guitar, and piano along the way.
At 14, Vette played with his parents on the road and that was the beginning of his performing career. He appeared in various bands playing various kinds of music, until the music of his childhood – rock and roll – came back to him.
Over the next few years, Vette joined several rock and roll bands, and during that time he re-acquainted himself with the piano, an instrument he had played as a child but gave up for guitar.
“Piano rock 'n' roll is such a big part of this music and I knew I had to learn that style of playing. As I started learning from those old recordings, it gave me a new love for the piano. Now, it’s my favourite instrument to play.”
In 2002, Vette formed his own band featuring drums, upright bass, sax, guitar, three female singers and himself on guitar and piano.
The show is a musical journey through the beginnings of rock and roll, not only featuring the biggest hits from the biggest artists, but telling the story of the music along the way.
The three women who share the stage with Vette perform all the great ‘girl’ hits from the rock 'n' roll era including songs from Leslie Gore, the Shirelles, the Shangri-Las and Patsy Cline. Four outstanding musicians round out this high-energy, exciting eight-piece act.
Tickets for Freddy Vette and the Flames are $25 for adults and $15 for youth under 18, plus GST, and are available at the Algonquin Theatre box office on Main Street, by dialing 789-4975, or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca. The festival blog at www.trumpeterhfa.blogspot.com also features past festival stories and photos.
