Local stars to shine bright for Rotary Club Sunrise with Starlight Lounge

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The stars will be  shining bright for the Rotary Club of Lethbridge Sunrise as Fran Rude and Ken Rogers bring  “the Starlight Lounge,” back to the Yates Theatre, Oct. 12 and 13.

Fran Rude and Ken Rogers bring back Starlight Lounge for the  Rotary Club of Lethbridge Sunrise. Photo by RichardAmery

“This time it focusses on the three Bs— Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Michael Bublé,” said Sunshine Rotary Club co-president Don Robb.

 

 This will be the third iteration of Starlight Lounge, which was part of the Lethbridge Jazz and Blues Festival at the Sandman Signature in 2016 and a fundraiser for the LSCO in 2015 at there Yates Theatre.

 

“ It looked like a fun project to do that is a good match for some different age groups,” Robb said.

 

 Adding the proceeds will help fund a variety of  projects including the lunch program at Westminster School, youth camps, a plethora of youth projects and  to help the new sexual assault centre.

 

The event  features an 18 piece band including five saxophones, four trumpets and four trombones and a full  rhythm section of piano drums, bass and guitar.

 

“It’s typical for a big band concert,” said music Ken Rogers.

 

 “ There are a lot of great players. They are all gigging musicians and people I’ve worked with before,” he said , noting they start rehearsing on Sept. 25.

Fran Rude is starting rehearsals with a brace of talented singers today, Sept. 6.

 

 There will be a lot of familiar faces on stage including Jillian Bracken, Jessica Ens, Jordana Kohn, Sheena Lawson, Anna McBryan, Mark Campbell, Jeff Carlson, George Gallant, David Mikuliak, Ken Rogers and Mark Ward.

 

“ It’s been a long time since we’ve done this. So I’m really excited about the next couple of months,” Rogers enthused.

 

“Everybody sings one or two songs. It’s a generational mix of music,” Rogers said.

 

 Fran Rude noted, in addition to everybody being familiar with  the music of the three Bs, it is also a nod to their philanthropic contributions.

 

“ Between them, they’ve raised over $100 million for charity,” Rude observed, adding she worked with Rogers to determine the set.

 

“ I had a lost of songs and Ken suggested who had the best voices for each song. So it’s been a real collaborative process,” Rude said.

 

 Tickets are on sale now for the two shows, which begin at 7:30 p.m. each night, Oct. 12 and 13.

 Tickets are $50 at the Ticket Centre at the Yates Theatre and Enmax centre as well as online at http://www.enmaxcentre.ca.

There will also be a students only preview of the show, Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. for $10 at the door.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 October 2022 10:30 )