It was only two cities, but I'm still calling it our Florida tour, especially since it involved me driving the entire band in a van, Partridge Family-style, from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando.
I don't think we realized we'd be arriving in Ft. Lauderdale at peak Spring Break time, so the streets (and our hotel) were flooded with peacocking shirtless frat boys with backwards baseball caps and giggling drunken Kardashians-in-training in heels and bikinis, but all the classy folks were hanging out with us at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center (where the tour of Hell's Kitchen was playing in the adjacent theater). One of the most fun parts of this trip was welcoming a new singer to our merry troupe, the sparkling Carrie St. Louis, who was able to squeeze in these dates before starting rehearsals for her new role in Just In Time on Broadway.
Truth be told, Carrie wasn't entirely new to me; fifteen years ago, Carrie was one of my students when I taught at USC! Clearly, all of her phenomenal success is due to my transformative teaching.
Carrie stepped seamlessly into what is already becoming an almost psychically connected ensemble, featuring my remarkable band and the dazzling Nasia Thomas.
After Ft. Lauderdale, we headed north to the absolutely gorgeous Judson's Cabaret inside the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, where we did a slightly abbreviated version of the show so that we could perform it twice in one night!
I also did a masterclass for some sensational Orlando students, put together by the great education team at the Dr Phillips Center.
We got to make a lot of great music for a lot of wonderfully enthusiastic Floridians, we survived riding the elevators in Ft. Lauderdale with heavily-cologned Lotharios, I managed not to crash the van or get a ticket, so I'd call our Florida tour a smash success!
Hope from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
KPR (2022)
NASIA & JRB: The Shed Shack from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (2024)
Shiksa Goddess from The Last Five Years (2002)
CARRIE: Another Life from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
NASIA: I Can Do Better Than That from The Last Five Years (2002)
It All Fades Away from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Boat from Less (2021)
CARRIE: Mary Mallon (2021)
NASIA: You Don’t Know This Man from Parade (1998)
The Voice of My Generation from The Connector (2024)
CARRIE: Cassandra from The Connector (2024)
Sanctuary from Coming From Inside The House (2022)
NASIA: Zohra’s Song from Less (2023)
The Western Wall from The Connector (2024)
Wait Til You See What’s Next from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
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All Things In Time from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
JRB: piano & vocal
Carrie St. Louis: vocals
Nasia Thomas: vocals
Alison Shearer: flute, saxes and percussion
Jamie Eblen: drums, percussion and guitar
Hidayat Honari: electric and acoustic guitars
Sam Minaie: electric and upright basses