Big Band Staff and tribute to Sammy Davis Jr, Blue Breeze Band
The free Idyllwild Summer Concert Series approaches the end of its 26th year, with the two last concerts of the season. Tonight, August 21, series founder and producer Ken Dahleen will lead his own Big Band Staff through a set before being joined by Alfredo Miller, who will present his tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. Next week, August 28, the Series will welcome back audience favorites the Blue Breeze Band, with In the Pocket opening.
Dahleen’s Big Band Staff draws upon Southern Californias finest “first call” session players, and his extensive library of classic arrangements allow them to cover a wide range of styles. After a set of instrumentals they will be joined by vocalist and “all-around entertainer” Alfredo Miller. Dahleen says it will be “a show not to be missed. Sammy Davis Jr. (Alfredo Miller) will tap and sing ‘Mr BoJangles’, ‘New York, New York,’ ‘Candy Man,’ ‘What Kind of Fool Am I’ and many others.”
Miller’s bio features two Los Angeles Drama Logue awards and four NAACP theatre awards. He has appeared on numerous television shows and commercials, including Spin City, Law and Order, and General Hospital. He has toured nationally with numerous “Rat Pack” revues in addition to his solo shows. He has performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York and sung with the Vienna Symphony in Austria. He promises a “high energy” show that channels the “incomparable style in the face of adversity” of Sammy Davis Jr, “and a voice that is recognized by millions…”
Next week, on the 28th, the Summer Concert Series will welcome back audience favorites the Dahleen brings back year after year. Guitarist and leader Harold Wherry has assembled a Motown review that covers the gamut of R&B and Soul, with lots of vocal talent and a dynamic horn section. They are one of the busiest R&B bands in Southern California, bringing audiences to their feet from San Diego to San Luis Obispo and beyond.
Opening for the Blue Breeze will be In the Pocket, Miles Thomas, Scott Bump, and Jeff Hixon, with their mix of modern roots and R&B.
Each year series producer Ken Dahleen brings the best working tribute artists from the region to Idyllwild for unforgettable summer evenings of music, and invites favorites of our local music scene to get the crowds warmed up. This is the Series 26th year, and the concerts have had the Butterfield Amphitheater for a home since 2019.
The Summer Concert Series is free and open to all, supported entirely by donations from the community. This year’s budget for nine concerts is $49,275, with $45,291 already raised. Contributions, checks payable to “Idyllwild Summer concert Org” may be sent to PO Box 1542, Idyllwild CA 92549, or call (760)413-4638.
Big Band Staff with Alfredo Miller, tribute to Sammy Davis Jr, Thursday August 21, Blue Breeze Motown review, with openers In the Pocket, Thursday August 28 music begins at 6 p.m. Butterfield Amphitheater, 54201 Ridgeview Drive.
