The Fripp Island Friends of Music are presenting yet another fabulous musical event: singer-songwriter Kathy Tugman and her trio will perform at the Fripp Community Center on Sunday, March 26, at 5:00 pm.
In the last two decades, Kathy Tugman has amassed a colorful palette of music: soul-warming spirituals, sweet lullabies, jazz –proving that the timeless is also the current – popular tunes in contemporary hues, festive new Christmas songs, and, in her latest release, “Love Song Nineteen,” gritty, ear-catching bluebilly music.
Bluebilly music? What’s that? Come hear for yourself! You will be enthralled. When Vladimir Putin heard a pirated download of “Love Song Nineteen,” so the story goes, he turned to the low-browed, wide-shouldered, scowling compatriot next to him and said, “Pussycat, make damn sure these people never play here. The regime would crumble like five-day-old cornbread.” (Russians know cornbread?)
Kathy has developed her versatile vocal chops not just in several musical genres, but in many venues, especially in and around Chattanooga, such as the Riverbend Festival, with the David Walters Trio, the Chattanooga Symphony, Rhythm & Brews, the Barking Legs Theatre. She has done, and still does, many, many private parties and charitable fundraisers. Anyone who has ever heard her knows she can deliver a song, whether she wrote it or whether she tapped the Great American Songbook for tunes by Cole Porter or Johnny Mercer, classic pop or country. Her own work has grown lyrically and musically, and she remains a vigilant student of her instrument, her riveting voice.
On Fripp, she will be performing with three accomplished musicians, beloved by many: drummer Jo Whitaker, pianist David Walters, and bass player Gordy Nichol.
Whitaker has been a part of Kathy’s bands forever and engineered her earlier records. He also plays in the David Walters Trio and in Lumbar Five, and he held down the prog rock band Somnambulist. The Tub Doctor, he cures all rhythmic ills.
David Walters, a classical and a jazz pianist, has given many formal recitals and played his share of jazz gigs. He teaches classical and jazz piano at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State, and McCallie School.
Multi-talented Gordy Nichol plays bass in the David Walters Trio and gigs with several other jazz bands — a man in demand. His first instrument, though, is the pedal steel guitar, which he plays in country bands and on Kathy’s previous album.
Fripp Island Friends of Music present Kathy Tugman March 26 at 5:00 pm at the Community Center, 205 Tarpon Boulevard. Tickets at the door: adults $25, students free, thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. You get a free pass at the Fripp gate and are invited to join the musicians at a catered reception after the performance. For more information, visit www.frippfriendsofmusic.com or call 843-838-1777.
By the way: The price of $25 for your ticket not only covers the concert and a complimentary reception with outstanding food, but it helps the Friends of Music with two commendable efforts enriching our community: Monday morning after almost every concert, the musicians visit a Beaufort County school. They tailor their performances to their young audiences, invariably captivating the students while introducing them to a magical world beyond the Sea Islands. In addition to these school visits, Friends of Music supports local musicians with scholarships and other financial aid. So, come, enjoy the concert and know that you are helping expose our students to the art of music.
