Musicians Celebrate the Arts at Free Kennedy Center Concert

An American Playlist, final concert of a three-day
musical celebration of the performing arts
The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
July 20

photos of Robinson and Blackwell courtesy of Allison Perry

Music lovers usually flock to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage for free concerts but, for the past few nights, thousands of people were fortunate to hear a variety of music for free in the concert hall. On July 20, the third day of the “American Playlist” series celebrating the performing arts, four notable American musicians from different musical genres performed for a packed house, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra.

The 80-minute concert, which began at the early hour of 6 p.m., featured R&B legend Smokey Robinson, pop singer John Mayer, opera soprano Harolyn Blackwell, and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. The NSO opened the show, with conductors Hugh Wolff and Sarah Hicks taking turns, and then each artist performed a couple of songs. One inspiring moment came when out came a choir, the NEWorks Tribute Singers—comprising high school and college vocalists from across D.C.—sang a song written by their director, Reverend Nolan Williams, titled, “Life’s Inspired by a Song.”

Blackwell sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and then pulled out an aria from the country that does opera best: Italy. She sang “O Mio Babbino Caro” (Puccini) like an angel and brought tears to every eye in the house. Next up, Branford Marsalis played three jazz numbers on sax.

John Mayer at first took the stage to give a short speech about the importance of arts education. “In every generation, there are the same number of would-be legends born,” he said, adding that we just need to find them and help them uncover their talents. He then introduced Smokey Robinson, who amplified Mayer’s comment by singing “Don’t Know Why,” the Jesse Harris-penned song that Norah Jones made famous. He then closed with one of his own beloved songs, “Tracks of My Tears.”

Mayer then reappeared, to the relief of the many teenage girls sitting near me, and gave the orchestra a chuckle when he said he was honored to be around people who can actually read music. He then sang his “Waiting for the World to Change,” solo with just his guitar, followed by Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” with the orchestra.

While the music was spectacular, there were two missed opportunities here. One was the unfulfilled hope for a collaboration among these musicians who rarely share the stage together. Wouldn’t it have been grand to hear Smokey jam with Mayer or Marsalis accompany Blackwell? But each only appeared solo backed by the orchestra. Another missed opportunity was not compelling the crowd to take action. Should we call our senator and ask for more funding for arts in school? Perhaps tell us to go see a local youth orchestra or dance recital. We’re here in this beautiful, regal place watching this grand concert for free; empower us to help save the arts.

The orchestra concluded the show first with Michael Daugherty’s spiffy “Route 66” followed by Aaron Copeland’s “Hoedown.” And then several generations of music lovers streamed out, happy about getting even the briefest glimpse of the evening’s extraordinary talent.

Frankie Valli: Hanging on to What He's Got

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Wolf Trap-Filene Center, July 15

recommended beverage:
Water. Too damn hot for anything else.

76 is the answer to your first question. That’s Frankie Valli’s age; it also was, predictably, the median age of concert-goers at last night’s show at Wolf Trap.

Yes! This answers your next question: Can he still hit the high notes? Valli’s voice sounded fairly strong, his falsetto intact. Of course, he had a huge band behind him, including a five-piece horn section, and his Seasons to back him up. During some of his biggest hits, he deferred to the audience to sing the chorus. Valli also seemed in great spirits despite the stifling temperatures. A couple of times, he referred to the outdoor venue as “a big Jacuzzi.”

No, answers your next question: Were any of the original Four Seasons there? His backup boys looked about the same age as those in the cast of Jersey Boys. The four provided solid backing voices and the same kind of cheesy choreography that makes you wince and smile at the same time. It turns out that none of the original Seasons have played with Valli for at least three decades so it’s always a changing cast. One original Season, Nick Massi, died in 2000, a year after they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Valli’s 90-minute set included several songs from an album he released a few years ago, titled, Romancing the ’60s, on which he covers the songs of other artists from that era. He introduced the medley by saying when approached to do another record, he listened to the radio for a few months but couldn’t find anything he liked so he went back to his roots and revisited some rock ‘n’ roll classics. If anyone wanted one, he said had about 400,000 copies with him for sale. He gave a copy to a lady in the front row, while failing to notice the woman in the fourth row feverishly waving her 33 LP of “Sherry.”

Folks in the pavilion clapped along and finally got to their feet midway through when the band erupted into “Oh What a Night.” The night included the requisite schmaltz, such as his 1975 solo hit, “My Eyes Adored You.” But much of the set stayed upbeat and he strung together a number of his most beloved to close the show, such as “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Let’s Hang On.”

When the show ended, the 80-year-old gentleman seated next to me asked, “Is this the intermission?” Am still smiling about his enthusiasm. He seemed ready to keep rocking out. That feeling, of wanting more, is always a sign of a fine night of music.