In an alternate timeline I would be boarding a plane this Friday morning to fly to Los Angeles to spend Labor Day weekend days poolside at the LAX Marriott and evenings DJ’ing and singing with my band and Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders at Camp Hollywood. In our current timeline, Hilary Alexander has put together an incredible weekend of competitions, classes, discussions, and music for a Virtual Camp Hollywood that will be streamed on YouTube for free and classes/events will be donation-based! Find the entire event streaming on the Camp Hollywood YouTube channel, starting at 8 p.m. PDT/11 p.m. EDT this Friday, September 4, 2020 through Monday, September 7, 2020.
I’ll be kicking off the music for the weekend with a DJ set on Friday from 8-10 p.m. PDT/11 p.m.-1 a.m. EDT, you can find me as part of the Bandleader Summit with Jonathan Stout and Michael Gamble on Sunday, September 6, 2020 from 4-5:30 p.m. PDT/7-8:30 p.m. EDT, and at some point over the weekend the Mint Julep Jazz Band will have a little surprise for everyone – tune in!
I’m excited to be profiled in the August 2020 issue of The Syncopated Times by UK writer, dancer, early jazz enthusiast, and Annette Hanshaw fan Dave Doyle. I suppose even without the pandemic we might have had to conduct this interview via FaceTime or Zoom, but it was lovely to connect with someone across the pond and to be featured in The Syncopated Times, one of very few publications focused on ragtime and pre-bop jazz. Enjoy!
One of the silver linings to the pandemic is that there are lots of opportunities to listen to music, both online and from my collection – let’s combine the two, shall we?
On Thursday, July 30, 2020 I’ll be taking another spin for the Global Online Social, an ongoing pandemic music series that runs every Thursday featuring swing DJs from around the globe. Tune in from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT for my set, tune in all day starting at 1 p.m. EDT for even more music.
On Sunday, August 9, 2020, I’ll be the featured DJ for Swing it Blue!, a series of Zoom parties featuring swing/blues DJs spinning tunes while participants (maybe you?) handwrite letters to swing-state voters who are likely to vote Democrat asking them to vote in the upcoming election. This method has been proven to be one of the most effective means increasing voter participation and many of the letter recipients will be from historically underrepresented groups. I’ll be DJ’ing for the letter writing party on August 9 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. For more information, visit the Facebook invite (for my date) or the Facebook group and its About page/FAQs (more general information and all the dates/invites)
While all of my in-person events are slowly being canceled amidst the pandemic, I am excited to report that there are two upcoming virtual events you can watch, enjoy, and interact with!
On May 23, 2020, I will be a part of Rhythm Relief: The Swingtacular Show, a large scale virtual swing dance and swing music live show, featuring a cast of some of my favorite musicians from the US and dancers from around the world. My fellow virtual band-mates for this show are Keenan McKenzie, Josh Collazo, Jonathan Stout, Paul Cosentino, Gordon Au, and Marquis Howell. The show will run from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. Rhythm Relief is spearheaded by Nick Williams and hosted by the Pacific Swing Dance Foundation. For information about the relief fund, how to donate, and how to apply, visit the Pacific Swing Dance Foundation’s website.
It’s amazing how time has seemed to stand still, yet fly by. I have remained busy, as my day job is deemed essential, but I have also been busier than I thought I would be with various music and other projects. Here’s a recap of the past month’s projects:
Gordon Au’s Tribute to Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars – Live at Lindy Focus was released on April 15 – this was such a special night of music and we are all very pleased with how this album came out, particularly since none of us had anticipated releasing the recordings from that night and we had only really run through half the tunes in rehearsal that day before performing Gordon’s wonderful arrangements. This album is full of joy, so if you need some of that in your life right now, this would be a great investment in happiness. Visit Bandcamp to download this digital release.
Keenan McKenzie put together a virtual collaboration of video/recording of his lovely song The Dwindling Light by the Sea, with yours truly reprising vocals, Lucian Cobb on trombone, Jonathan Stout on guitar, James Posedel on piano, William Ledbetter on bass, and Dan Faust on drums. Here’s another recording, this time with visual, to add some joy to your day. If you’d like to see more collaborations organized by Keenan, please consider donating to his virtual tip jar at VENMO: @keenanmckenziemusic OR
PAYPAL: paypal.me/keenanmckenziemusic
On another musical note, Bandcamp is doing musicians affected by the pandemic another solid and reprising their waiver of the revenue share for all sales on Bandcamp – this is in effect May 1, June 5, and July 3 (the first Friday of each month) from midnight to midnight PDT on each day. If you’ve been planning to buy music, you can do the most good for musicians by purchasing on these particular dates.
On April 9, 2020, I DJ’ed (along with several of my fellow swing band leaders- Jonathan Stout, Michael Gamble, Brooks Prumo, Jonathan Ng, and house DJ Rickard Johansson) for the Global Online Social, a DJ’ed virtual dance party on Zoom and Twitch organized by Paul Riding that features new DJs every Thursday, playing swing music for a good portion of the day. Maybe you dance, maybe you just need some swing music to keep you motivated as you work, but it’s a lot of fun – consider tuning in!
Finally, I’ve released three more episodes of Lindy Shopper’s Closet, the YouTube series spinoff of my Lindy Shopper blog, covering the topics of moth prevention, my favorite swing dance shoes, and dance undergarments, all posted below – please subscribe to my YouTube channel (I’ll eventually get back to posting music, too) and enjoy!
Be sure to tune in to “What Makes This (Swing) Song Great?” this Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. EST, where Jonathan Stout, Michael Gamble, and I will reprise our panel discussion/musical geek out session from Cal Bal in an online format so that more people can enjoy this during these isolated times! Thanks to much to Pasadena Balboa and Jam for sponsoring this – the cost is $15, for more information and to register in advance, visit the Facebook invite.
I am excited to announce that the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s recording of Trebuchet, Keenan McKenzie’s original tune featured on our second album Battle Axe, will be featured in the Amazon original series El Juego de Las Llaves! Tune in for the hot story line and some hot jazz…
Always a huge highlight on my calendar, Lindy Focus did not disappoint this year. I performed at each main dance with the Jonathan Stout Lindy Focus All-Star Orchestra, but also did two late night dances – one with Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders and another with Gordon Au‘s tribute to the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. Dance performances kicked off each late night social dance, with the performers having the option of doing a routine with the live band of the night. I was delighted to be a part of three of these late night performances: first, with the Rhythm Serenaders performing Mildred Bailey’s “Lover Come Back to Me” with Peter Kertz and Elze Visnevskyte dancing; second and third with Au’s Armstrong tribute, performing “Squeeze Me” and “All That Meat and No Potatoes” with co-vocals by Jim Ziegler and a cast of Lindy Focus instructors and performers.
I’m posting the three late night performances below. If you’re looking for a nice, long listen, you can revisit the live stream broadcasts for each of 5 nights of big band music (Basie, Ellington, Webb, Hampton, and anything goes on NYE) on the Lindy Focus YouTube channel.
A Bull City Holiday, an album of Keenan McKenzie’s original holiday swing and jazz music featuring 30 Triangle area musicians, will be out on November 25! You can pre-order the album on Bandcamp and check out one of the tracks as a preview of things to come. If you will be at the Keenan McKenzie and the Riffers show in Richmond on November 16 or at the International Lindy Hop Championships over Thanksgiving weekend, you can also pick up a copy there.
I am one of seven vocalists on this album, check out the incredible list of album personnel on the Bandcamp page – you can find me singing on four tracks: Santa’s Cap, You Can’t Lock the Chimney, As the Nights Grow Longer, and A Charming Winter Town. Enjoy!
Kick off your 2019 holiday season with some original and classic swinging holiday music – Motorco Music Hall plays host to the album release of A Bull City Holiday on December 3, 2019! The show will feature Keenan McKenzie’s original holiday swing tunes as well as some holiday classics, with a cast of Triangle musicians in configurations from trad combos to big band, including vocalists Shana Tucker, Tamisha Waden, Mark Wells, Dave Wright, and yours truly.
Doors open at 7:00 p.m., show starts at 8:00 p.m. – get your tickets now on Motorco’s website, $12.00 advance, $15.00 at the door.
You’re going to love this music – Keenan’s creative lyrics, melodies, and arrangements – don’t miss this one-time, one-of-a-kind show!
In an alternate timeline I would be boarding a plane this Friday morning to fly to Los Angeles to spend Labor Day weekend days poolside at the LAX Marriott and evenings DJ’ing and singing with my band and Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders at Camp Hollywood. In our current timeline, Hilary Alexander has put together an incredible weekend of competitions, classes, discussions, and music for a Virtual Camp Hollywood that will be streamed on YouTube for free and classes/events will be donation-based! Find the entire event streaming on the Camp Hollywood YouTube channel, starting at 8 p.m. PDT/11 p.m. EDT this Friday, September 4, 2020 through Monday, September 7, 2020.
A Bull City Holiday, an album of Keenan McKenzie’s original holiday swing and jazz music featuring 30 Triangle area musicians, will be out on November 25! You can pre-order the album on 
Laura Windley 