Crawfish Boil at Greystone
Greystone Golf and Country Club hosted their annual Crawfish Boil this past Saturday night with entertainment provided by Perfect Events Music and our Chankayrie band.
Guests were greeted at the door by Greystone’s Joshua Harvey who directed them to the sumptuous tables of red beans & rice, jambalaya, peel & eat shrimp and of course…boiled crawfish! All expertly prepared by Greystone’s Chef Mooney.
Chankayrie is one the region’s top Cajun bands. Several years ago they were known by the name La Nuit Blanche, after slight personnel changes the group took on the name Chankayrie. (News is, that an easier to pronounce name may be forthcoming!) The five-member band plays traditional French Cajun music with a little bit of swamp-pop thrown in for fun.
Some 100 guests attended and had a great time. Apparently even Flat Stanley did a bit of dancing and sat in with the band! According to Joshua, the event was “Fantastic!”
Our New Blog!
I wish we’d started sooner! In the last 15 years Stan and I have personally performed (as Dolce Duo) for hundreds of events and weddings. And we’ve been graced to provide ceremony musicians, bands and entertainment for an equal number of other very special events. Through the years, getting to know our clients and working closely with our musicians, vendor colleauges and venues has been a true pleasure. I’ll try to play “catch-up” and chronicle as many of these events as I can. In the meanwhile, I hope to hear from you… the wonderful people that have helped to make this all possible!
Magic City Art Connection
In the past few weeks, I’ve received a number of calls from musicians concerning the status of music at this year’s Magic City Art Connection.
Perfect Events Music been the primary provider of entertainment for the annual art show for ten+ years. It’s an impressive show. Held annually in downtown Birmingham’s Linn Park, it’s one of the largest and most successful in the Southeast. The festival’s director, Eileen Kunzman deserves credit for this. She started it all as a back-yard festival at her home.
During my associations with the festival I’ve had the great pleasure of arranging performances by the musical greats of our area: bluesman Willie King, guitarist Eric Essix, Hunter Bell’s Khasma, Just A Few Cats (I want you at my party), chanteuse Marian McKay, The Martini Shakers (hot rock-a-billy!), The Connection Band, AfterClass, Chankayrie, the Herb Trotman Band, Blue Galaxy String Quartet, SO MANY OTHERS!
But musically speaking this year is different…budgetary issues…the economy, “etc…”. It’s possible that the MCAC ‘s music will be back on more solid ground next year, but who knows! So for now, I’m concentrating on business at hand. And despite the economy, “etc…” there’s a lot of it.
If you’re one of my MCAC musicians, thanks for all you’ve given the Magic City Art Connection (and me). Let me hear from you. I so very much appreciate all you’ve contributed.
Wedding Preview Day at Cates House
Sunday afternoon’s Bridal Show at Alabaster’s Cates House was deemed a success by all who were involved.
For many years, the Cates House was reknowned as the Meadowlark Restaurant. Recently, Kingwood Church in Alabaster bought the facility and is now offering it as a venue for garden weddings, corporate meetings and other special events.
Our Dolce Duo has had the pleasure of providing music for a number of weddings at Cates House and with each meeting, our admiration, respect and affection for executive director Brenda Lee continues to grow. Brenda is professional, warm, and genuinely caring towards her clients and vendors.
And what a great group of vendors it was on Sunday! Having worked on past weddings together I so enjoyed speaking again with Gary of Rush Video. And it was a pleasure to get together once more with Stacie and Dana of Stacie Collins Photography. Tiffany’s floral arrangements (Studio Flowers) were as creative and charming as ever and Charles Side’s displayed photography was impressive. Ron Marko (Vintage Auto), along with his latest purchase (Rolls? Bentley?) was on hand to talk cars. Personally, I’m dreaming for a ’57 T-Bird. Mr. Burch’s groom’s t-shirts were a big hit. Hair styling and make-up were being offered by Amy Ledford, Candy Gonzales and Denise West.
When all was over…we ate! What wonderful food…attractive and tasty. For dessert: decadent cakes (chocolate ganache and white almond) by Amanda Combs. A nice day.
Thank-you so very much Brenda!
Flashback and The Vanities
“One of the Best Parties…Fabulous…Exactly what we wanted!” These were the words describing The Vanities’ dinner dance this past Saturday night featuring the band Flashback.
Hosted by Mountain Brook Club, the evening touched on slow dances and lively music from the ’50’s, ’60’s and ’70’s. According to Alice S., “more people danced than ever!”
A little bit about Flashback: although the band is “recently formed” it’s actually an smaller (4-piece) incarnation of the popular band Streetkar. Lead vocals by Mark Custer are expertly backed up by the Streetkar rhythm section and instrumentalists. Perfect Events Music has been working with these musicians since our inception in 1988. We’re delighted to have such loyal and long-term relationships with our crew.
Tara and Joey’s Wedding
The Carraway-Davie House’s fantastic view overlooking the Cahaba River was the backdrop for Tara and Joey’s wedding this past Saturday.
Out-door nuptials can be a risky, but in this case, the weather couldn’t have been better! Storms cleared just in time to leave behind a stunningly dramatic cloud structure and lighting that was a photographer’s dream.
And certainly the handsome couple deserved the camera’s eye! It was great to see Vann Cook (CAM Video) and our other colleagues recording the beautiful occasion for the history of the new family. Our special thanks to Amber Ford of Amber Ford Photography for sharing her wonderful shots! Dr. Joe G. officiated over the ceremony and music was provided by vocalist Kim M. and our Dolce Duo.
We really enjoyed working with Tara in her wedding planning…she was a delight! Best wishes to the new couple!
Andrea & Shane’s Wedding
The Chapel at the Alabama 4-H Center was the truly beautiful setting for Andrea and Shane’s March 28th wedding ceremony. Music was provided by Dolce Duo.
The 4-H Center is located about 45 minutes south of Birmingham and provides meeting facilities for groups of all sizes. Nestled amongst the trees and separate from the rest of the Center’s activities and buildings, the chapel is a gem: surprisingly private and touching in its simplicity. The grounds are beautifully kept as is the wood and flagstone chapel itself. The selection of flowers and decor were so appropriate for the setting…very tastefully done.
Fr. Aaron performed a ceremony that was contagiously uplifting and inspiring to the some 150 in attendance.
We were honored to be a part of Andrea and Shane’s very special day.
USTA’s 2009 Davis Cup
Perfect Events Music is proud to have been selected to assist in providing entertainment for the United State Tennis Association’s 2009 Davis Cup. Featured performances were by Dolce Duo, the Joe Breckenridge Duo, The Martini Shakers and Good Fellas. Venues included the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena (site of the tournament).
It was a delight to work with the professionals at the USTA who made our job all the easier. Our congratulations and thanks to all (especially our musicians!) that made this wonderful event a great success.