Frank Ardino understood the significance of Savannah Center’s “Music Lover’s Showcase” on Thursday.
“This is our Woodstock,” said Ardino, who performed with Mary Diamonds. It was an apt description of a two-day event (it continues Friday) that features nearly 50 local music acts.
Ardino and Diamonds teamed up for such songs as “Brown-Eyed Girl,” and “Play That Funky Music.” But it wasn’t just the music that made this day special.
“I feel like a new kid on the block here and this is a great way to reach people,” Ardino said. “A day like today is all about exposure,” Diamonds added. “This is a chance for everyone to see you.”
It was that way from the time The Butterbean Band took the main stage at 9 a.m. until The Jam Factory closed the music at 6 p.m. And in between, a variety of acts and styles of music were featured in the different ballrooms of Savannah Center.
Remember When offered some vintage doo-wop music right after lunch. Gerri Orlando roamed the aisles of the main theater while singing lead on “Be My Baby.” The rest of the group features “Uncle” Pepe O’Baid, Rich Crismale, Al Paparesta and Cliff Moody.
“This means the world to us,” Orlando said. “To play in front of this many people is so exciting. I was born and raised on this music. It is my life, and I love sharing it.”
“We’re the kind of group that feeds off the audience and they feed off us,” Paparesta said. “It was that way today and you could just feel the energy.”
Broadway and Beyond Entertainment turned to show tunes featuring regular members, Bonnie Williams and Barry Corlew, with guests Carol Wiltman and Tom Carlyon.
Whitman was sufficiently sultry on “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” and teamed with Williams for a feisty duet on “Friendship.” Williams made like Ethel Merman on “Anything Goes.” Then the whole group joined for a rousing finale of “Manhattan.”
“This is a wonderful day for all of us,” Corlew said. “We love every minute of it. It’s a great opportunity.”
Tony Alger lives in The Villages and is a music fan.
“You can’t beat this event,” Alger said. “It’s free; it lasts all day and the music is great.
“I like it because I can see all kinds of different acts. It’s not just the music I like, but I can hear other kinds of music. All you have to do is look at the schedule.”
Two performers with a busy schedule were singer Billie Thatcher and harmonica maestro Phil Caltabellotta. Thatcher appeared as a solo artist and later joined the Kevin O’Connell Trio.
Caltabellotta also performed with that trio, as well as with The Jazz Connection with Bob Wilson and Al Cheatham.
“It’s great to jam with talented musicians,” said Caltabellotta, who played masterful harmonica riffs on “Autumn Leaves.”
Thatcher, meanwhile, was in fine vocal form on such numbers as “Over the Rainbow,” She brought Broadway theatrics to a couple numbers, “No Time At All” from “Pippin” and “The Ladies Who Lunch” from “Company.”
