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The Vegas Showroom Is Forever!  

 

Why have the entertainers that worked the strip during the classic Vegas era held our attention all these years? While working on my new album and creating the new concert evening “Micah Barnes At The Sands” I have been thinking about that question a whole bunch.  

 It feels like the answer lies in what Vegas has represented in our collective memories all these years. 

 It’s certainly fun to imagine Vegas crawling with swingers out for a good time, theres an argument to be made that Vegas was where the American personality and culture found its greatest expression! In fact the romance of that bygone era with its atmosphere of sin and smoke and sex seems like the last time we were classy and lowdown at the same time, especially as we look back through the prism of decades of loosened morality, shorter hem lines and a much more casual approach to night life.  Now “dressing up to get down” is a quaint look back at another era. Back then it was an expression of sophistication! 

 For many decades we looked back at that “Mad Men” moment in the 50’s and early 60’s as last gasp of the old guard before a younger generation toppled the establishment and took over the pop cultural landscape.  The teenage revolution that gave us Elvis, The Beatles and The Supremes seemed to suddenly make Frank Sinatra your father’s music, but in fact there was a time when The Rat Packers were the hip new thing!  

 Frankie, Dean and Sammy encapsulated a fascinating moment of masculine cool and non conformity that expressed a new kind of new swagger that poked fun at the rules of the old establishment. But back when Broadway shows and Hollywood movies still gave us our hit songs the heppest cool cats and chicks of the day like Judy Garland, Lena Horn, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett and  Mel Torme played the Vegas showrooms on a regular basis. 

 It’s been an awesome adventure uncovering some of the lesser known songs from these great entertainers and finding my own way to express that exciting moment in time when the biggest names lit up the big showrooms of Las Vegas!

 

Charity Season Is Here Folks!  

 
Being able to sing in support of a cause or a charity is something that I take very seriously these days. In fact from the very beginning of my career the charity component has been an important focus, but recently with the success of "New York Stories" there have been so many more opportunities to give back, in fact last year the holiday season was my busiest in terms of charity concerts! Yahoo! 

This year has presented an deepening of that commitment and it is with great pride that I announce having taken on the artistic directorship of the LOFT Community Services "Home For The Holidays" annual fundraising concert. LOFT is a charity that I have been involved with for a few years performing for their annual concert along with folks like Molly Johnson, Billy Newtown Davis and Jackie Richardson and I have seen first hand the incredible ways in which they house and support folks in the Toronto area who would otherwise slip  between the cracks of the health care system. From older people with mental disabilities to young folks with addiction issues and all kinds of "at risk" and vulnerable people,  LOFT is dedicated to making sure their programs give people a sense of dignity and respect and a place to call home. For more information about what they do have a peek here http://www.loftcs.org 

This year "Home for the Holidays" will be held on Monday, December 5, 2016 at the beautiful St. James Cathedral in downtown Toronto and I've been lining up some top notch talent including Musical Theatre star Thom Allison http://www.thomallison.com, the delicious Jazz harmonies of The Ault Sisters http://www.aultsisters.com and the incredible Hogtown Brass Quintet http://www.hogtownbrass.com among many more.  We hope you will join us for this beautiful holiday concert to kick off the season and enter the real spirit of giving back!  

Tickets are only $40 for the general public!  Home for the Holidays 26th Annual Christmas Concert Monday, December 5, 2016 St. James Cathedral (downtown Toronto)  Ticket purchase and more info here: http://www.loftcs.org/support-loft/events/christmas-concert-2016