Sedona, Arizona: “The 60’s aren’t dead” is a phrase that has been surfacing every decade since the 1960s. Trotted out by aging Boomers, it is about to have dramatic relevance within the adobe walls of Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village. The newly formed and high-energy rock opera, The Heavenly J's, will kick off the Labor Day weekend in Tlaquepaque’s Plaza de la Fuente on September 3, at 7 p.m. More than a revival band it is a unique experience of a 60s musical resurrection. And it rocks.
The brainchild of longtime Sedona resident, Henry Wingfield, the Heavenly J’s have been performing locally to sell-out crowds since their inception just a few months ago.
Audiences go nuts, dance in the isles, and generally flash back to the heyday of the Love Generation. Wingfield’s concept was to “bring back” the incarnations of some of the greatest performers of that era: Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and John Lennon to name a few. All entertainers with names that begin with the letter “J” who have passed on.
Local musicians of renowned talent have stepped up and stepped into the shoes of their former idols. When Susie Schomaker does Janice Joplin people gasp. She is Janice Joplin with every raspy, delicious utterance.
Dave Harvey as John Lennon is sublime and Sammy Davis as James Brown is off the charts. Backup band members, Gary Bettum on lead guitar, Frank Robinson on rhythm, and JD Duncan on keyboards anchor the energy with exceptional virtuosity. An evening like no other, it is not to be missed regardless of generational identity.
All Tickets are $15 and can be obtained from the Tlaquepaque information booth from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.
Home to more than 40 shops and galleries and four restaurants, Tlaquepaque, the Art and Soul of Sedona, now in its 37th year, is located at 336 State Route 179 in Sedona, Arizona. It is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information call (928) 282-4838, visit: www.tlaq.com and www.shoptlaq.com.
Article courtesy of Wib Middleton.
Posted August 6, 2009.
