Field of Dreams Concert - Otis and the Hurricanes

Schedule

Fri Nov 08 2024 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm

Location

Westhampton Town Hall | Leeds, MA

Otis & the Hurricanes bringing a bit of New Orleans funk, rhythm & blues to Westhampton Town Hall
Join Otis & the Hurricanes for a high energy show that promises a wildly good time with their musical mash-up of funk, rhythm and blues with a New Orleans flavor on Friday, Nov. 8 at Westhampton Town Hall.
On Friday evening of Nov. 8, the Westhampton Town Hall will be transformed into a raucous dancehall event, with the advent of Connecticut’s south shore-based Otis & the Hurricanes. The group was originally scheduled to play this past summer with an August date, but as fate would have it, a tornado warning carrying the threat of a power outage cancelled the event.
Otis & the Hurricanes, led by Chris Cross, feature a highly regarded group of musicians, whose members included membership in the Mavericks, and Robert Palmers’ and Debbie Davies’ touring bands.
Betsy-Dawn Williams of Northampton (aka Li’l BeeDee), the only local member (at whose request the band is making the trek up from the Connecticut coast), has been playing percussion with the group for approximately a dozen years.
Williams says, “people around the home front mostly know me as a guitar player & singer, and I’ve worked hard at learning how to be a rhythm guitar player, but percussion comes to me like breathing. I’m excited to have convinced the Hurricanes to come up here and play, and get to show this group to everyone. I’ve played with these guys for years now, but the band is busy on the CT/NY/RI coastal areas and never ventures up this way, so this will be the first opportunity to give people a glimpse of this band, how great these guys are and what I do as a percussionist. I also play with the Expandable Brass Band, but with a large group like that, my playing doesn’t have the same kind of presentation as it does with a smaller band combo.” Williams plays an instrument called the frottoir, or rubboard, which was created based on the old-fashioned washboard. The one Betsy-Dawn plays was made by Tee Don Landry the son of Willie Landry who made the original bib-style for CJ Chenier’s brother Cleveland Chenier. Chenier had the idea to make a rubboard with shoulder pieces like a bib and the legend goes that he drew his idea in the sand for master welder Willie Landry in 1946, and the rest became history as this design became the gold standard for the frottoir/rubboard onward.
Otis and the Hurricanes will unleash their magic on Friday November 8, 2024, from 7pm to 9pmin the Westhampton Town Hall, 1 South Rd, Westhampton, MA. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Sponsored by
Friends of Westhampton Library
Westhampton Cultural Council
Easthampton Savings Bank
Greenfield Cooperative Bank
Florence Savings Bank
Marek Builders, Inc.

Where is it happening?

Westhampton Town Hall, 1 South Rd, Westhampton, MA 01027-9661, United States,Westhampton, Massachusetts, Leeds

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Host or Publisher Westhampton Public Library

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