St. Paddy’s Day revelry in Delray Beach, a Byrd soars at Old School Square, and jazz and R&B titans descend on Miami Gardens. Plus, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “Amadeus” with live orchestra, Judy Carmichael and more in your week ahead.
WEDNESDAY
What: Roger McGuinn
Where: Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $57-$92
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
Don’t “Turn! Turn! Turn” away (sorry for that groaner) from this founder of the Byrds, one of the most influential folk-rock bands of all-time. McGuinn has been active in the music business for 60 years, initially climbing the studio ladder as a sideman for Judy Collins and other folksingers. Later with the Byrds, he helped fuse folk, rock, jazz and country into a plangent stew we now call Americana. Songs like “Eight Miles High” and “Mr. Spaceman” have become the standards of their generation, and at 74, McGuinn still captures their harmonic, youthful spirit.
What: “Amadeus” live with orchestra
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $25-$99
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
There’s no better way to re-experience “Amadeus,” Milos Forman’s Oscar-winning saga of the young Mozart and his jealous rival Salieri, than at this concert/film hybrid. Positioned in front of a vast high-definition screen, a full orchestra and choir will perform the movie’s exquisite soundtrack live and in person, from the requiems and concertos to samples from “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni.”
What: “Celebrating David Bowie”
Where: Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $31-$58
Contact: 954/462-0222, parkerplayhouse.com
Ever since David Bowie left a cosmic, impossible-to-fill void in the music world on Jan. 10, 2016, his former bandmates have been helping to preserve his legacy through innovative live performances. Their tribute to the Thin White Duke, straightforwardly titled “Celebrating David Bowie,” is stocked with professional musicians familiar to Bowiephiles: Among them are longtime keyboardist Mike Garson, whose tenure stretches back to the Spiders From Mars tour; Adrian Belew, of King Crimson and various Bowie projects; guitarist Gerry Leonard, an alum of Bowie’s music from the aughts; and Angelo Moore, also of Fishbone. They’ll honor their bandleader’s legacy by performing what might have been a typical Bowie set list in 2018, with hits and surprises spanning from Space Oddity to his masterful 2016 swan song, Blackstar.
THURSDAY
What: Zakir Hussain
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $15-$85
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
This concert presents a rare stateside appearance from Hussain, a living legend of the tabla—a deceptively simple-looking instrument, consisting of two hand drums, that dates back centuries. Hussain’s father, Alla Rakha, mastered the tabla, and Hussain has followed suit, winning Grammy awards, performing on the “Apocalypse Now” soundtrack, and collaborating with the Grateful Dead. At his Kravis set, he’ll perform alongside flautist Rakesh Chaurasia.
FRIDAY
What: Judy Carmichael
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $30-$45
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
If you have SiriusXM or you listen to NPR online, you may have stumbled upon pianist Judy Carmichael’s show “Jazz Inspired,” in which she engages celebrities of all stripes—from Neil deGrasse Tyson to Billy Joel to Robert Redford—about their love of jazz. Carmichael has been fostering this love her entire adult life, spending more than 40 years behind 88 keys. A slender ex-beauty queen and self-described “surfer girl from California,” she surprised the jazz world in the early ‘80s by mastering the stride piano, a, archaic and physically demanding instrument usually played by booming men like Fats Waller. Count Basie even nicknamed her “Stride,” and one jazz critic commented, “How ironic that the last man standing is a woman, as this kind of playing was long considered the private, competitive domain of people who smoked cigars and wore derbies.” Her concerts continue to honor the music and legacy of Waller and early jazz/swing legends, performed with Carmichael’s distinctive, sultry, Grammy-nominated vocals, and supplemented by anecdotes from her dramatic life.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
What: St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
Cost: Free
Contact: 561/990-6125, stpatrickmarch.com
As the legend goes, ever since local Irish pub owner Maury Power grabbed his shillelagh and his green-painted pig, circa 1968, and strolled down the center of Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach has been Ground Zero for Paddy’s Day frivolity in Palm Beach County. That lone act of revelry has expanded into two days of signature events for Downtown Delray Beach. Visit Friday for a cultural festival featuring live music by Gaelic Brew, an Irish folk band from Cork, and return Saturday for an 11 a.m. Fun Run, more live music, bagpipe bands, the famed parade at 2 p.m., and a closing performance from the School of Rock. Do arrive early: Parade-watching spots begin to fill up by 10:30, as do Delray’s paucity of parking spaces.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
What: “Million Dollar Quartet”
Where: Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $75-$85
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
As the story goes, for one fraught night in December of 1956, four musical titans descended on the Sun Records studio in Memphis: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Gathered at the behest of Sun impresario Sam Phillips, the members of this impromptu jam session were not known for playing nice together, and this jukebox musical dramatizes both the great music and the inflated egos, and the internecine squabbles and thrilling collaborations. Though the show isn’t new to South Florida—Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables produced a gangbusters version last year—it’s never played Delray before, and this touring version is a real treat for such an intimate theater.
What: Jazz in the Gardens
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Drive, Miami Gardens
When: Begins at 4 p.m. daily
Cost: $96-$244
Contact: 561/681-5645, jazzinthegardens.com
Miami Gardens’ premier annual cultural event has produced another robust and eclectic lineup of talent for its 11th year. Headliners include soulful romantic balladeer Anita Baker, in what she has called her farewell tour; R&B royalty Smokey Robinson; the “Queen of Funk,” Chaka Khan (pictured); “American Idol” alum and Billboard chart-topper Fantasia; Big Easy brass virtuoso Trombone Shorty and his band, Orleans Avenue; and a special “Jazz in the Gardens Loves the ‘90s” mini festival with hip-hop crossover artists Salt-N-Pepa, Kid ‘n Play, Biz Markie and Trick Daddy.
