The KSO’s Summer Park Series continues this weekend, with Blues’ Muse, tracing the formation of the blues, ragtime, Dixieland and early jazz by composer/musicians who set the stage for Swing, Big Band, R&B, Rock & Roll, and popular styles to come.
The Newport Ragtime Band with vocalists Deondra Means and Tangernika Wyatt will offer an authentic mix of tunes. From “His Eye is on the Sparrow” to “St. Louis Blues,” “The Entertainer” to the “Queen Rag,” and “Dark Town Strutters Ball” to “Minnie the Moocher,” the KSO will have audiences clapping and singing along with American classics dating back to more than a century ago. Betty Boop cartoons originated via the music from this era. International child star Esther Lee Jones provided the inspiration for everyone’s favorite flapper and her signature “boo-boopy-doo.”
Join the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra’s Newport Ragtime Band 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 2 in Devou Park in Covington, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 3 at Tower Park in Fort Thomas. Bring blankets, picnics or lawn chairs.
Concessions are available in Devou Park. Food trucks will be on-site in Tower Park. For more information, registration (for weather updates), program, and directions, visit the KSO at www.kyso.org or call (859) 431-6216.
For those who wish to avoid crowds, the dress rehearsal on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in Devou Park (Covington), is open to anyone, and the Sunday evening concert will be live-streamed.
Admission is free, though donations are encouraged.