Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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16 APRIL 6-11, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM This year, Communit y Concer t s celebrates 80 years of music, f un and enter t ainment . It 's been a stellar season t hus far w it h performances by Dar yl Hall and John Oates, Peter Cetera and Boy z II Men. On April 15, f unny man Jay Leno t akes t he st age at t he Crow n Theat re to close out t he season. "He's a legend," said Communit y Concer t s At t ract ions Director Michael Fleishman. "He put s on an excellent show." A long t ime late night T V host, Leno has not slowed dow n a bit since leav ing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In fact, he has an Emmy Award w inning webshow called Jay Leno's Garage. Here he shares his love of cars and gives rev iews, compares cars and more. Never one to sit st ill, Leno st ays busy t raveling , w rit ing children's book s, performing and suppor t ing his favorite causes. He's ser ved as Master of Ceremonies for causes suppor t ing t hose af fec ted by 9/11, t he Tsunami in Thailand, hurricanes in t he Gulf and more. Ever y year, Leno leads t he Love R ide in California, which benef it s humanit arian organizat ions t hat ser ve people w it h aut ism and muscular dyst rophy as well as at hletes who compete in t he Special Oly mpics. W hile Communit y Concer t s' season performances don't usually have an opening act, t he audience is in for an ex t ra t reat at t his show. " We added an opening act — Emily West . She's f rom Nashv ille and was f inalist on season 9 of America's Got Talent ," said Fleishman. "She won t he crowd over w it h covers she does, one of t hem is a song f rom The Wizard of Oz." Fleishman was looking to add a musical element to the show and knew he had the right act when he heard West. "She is great. She will do a show for about 30 minutes as an opener. She's worked with Jay before and he loves her." Community Concerts went all out this year choosing to bring fewer shows but bigger names to the community. It was a calculated move but one that the organization felt was right. "We had fewer shows this year, but actually spent more," said Fleishman. "This has been a really good season." W hile he wouldn't commit to a specif ic number of performances for nex t season, Fleishman added, " We always want to keep it f resh and we are act ively work ing on nex t year 's program. We want to bring t he best ar t ist s we can to Fayet tev ille." Of fering top-notch enter t ainment to t he communit y is t he Communit y Concer t s mission — and it 's somet hing t he organizat ion does exceedingly well. W hat drives t his all-volunteer group is t heir love for t he communit y. Since 2008, ever y season, Communit y Concer t s induc t s a person or group into t he Fayet tev ille Music Hall of Fame. Wit h such a t alented and diverse communit y, it just made sense to honor t hose who make t he Fayet tev ille music communit y st ronger. Prev ious Hall of Fame inductees include Charlot te Blume, ow ner of Charlot te Blume School of Dance; Laura Stevens, founder and director of Voices of t he Hear t; jazz educator and performer Malachi Sharpe; and t he 82nd Airborne Div ision's A ll-American Chorus. This year Communit y Concer t s chose to honor t hree people. The inductees were announced at t he Boys II Men concer t on March 11. Fouad Fak houri is a composer and t he conductor for t he Fayet tev ille Sy mphony Orchest ra. This is Fak houri's last season w it h t he FSO. "He has done a lot for Fayet tev ille and t he sy mphony," said Fleishman. Doyle Wood ow ns Da x wood Product ions and joined Fak houri as an inductee. "He's a singer and a song w riter and a producer. He has produced more t han 1,000 songs," said Fleishman. Ly nne Rober t son O'Quinn was t he t hird inductee. "She has worked w it h Wood for almost 30 years," said Fleishman. "She has helped him on lyrics for songs he's done. They did a song called 'Stand Proud,' which is being used at military ceremonies and as a tribute to the armed forces. They also worked on 'Our Hometown,' which is played a lot locally and is an homage Fayet teville." A lways look ing to encourage new musicians, Communit y Concer t s a lso awards college scholarships to loc a l st udent s. T he prog ram was founded in 2004. Since it s incept ion, t he organizat ion has awarded 24 scholarships. A not her way t hat Communit y Concer t s suppor t s loc a l musicians is t hrough it s loc a l ar t ist showc ase. T his prog ram is desig ned to build communit y involvement and music awareness. In the past, local groups performed at shows during the Communit y Concerts Season. Voices of the Heart opened for Gladys Knight and students from Linda Kinlaw's School of Dance performed during Mar t ina McBride's show. Local count r y music ar t ist Trae Edwards performed at t he R ick y Skaggs show. Communit y Concer t s believes in t he power of music and st rives to make music available to ever yone. The organizat ion prov ides f ree concer t oppor t unit ies to dif ferent groups including children and seniors. The Vision Resource Center, Urban Minist r y, The Sunshine Center, members of local f ire and police depar t ment s, high school t heater ar t classes, members of our milit ar y and many ot hers have benef ited f rom t his program. To find out more about Communit y Concerts or to purchase ticket to see Jay Leno at the Crown, visit w w w.communit y-concerts.com or call 888.267.6208. Community Concerts Presents Jay Leno at the Crown by STEPHANIE CRIDER STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 484-6200 www.upandcomingweekly.com Turn to our calendar every Wednesday and see what's happening!