Centrestage - Entertainment Port Elizabeth

The Folk Lords !

Centrestage brings a 2 night return season of The Folk Lords to the Playhouse Theatre at the Uptown Theatres Complex in Rink Street from 23 to 24 Jan.

With only 550 seats available for the show which sold 3500 seats in its Easter run last year, tickets should be quickly snapped up at Computicket at their R115 price tag.

The change in genre struck an emotional chord amongst music aficionados in its opening run, with the much-loved music of Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, Cat Stevens, John Denver, Jim Croce, James Taylor, Bread, The Everley Brothers, Leonard Cohen, The Mamas and the Pappas, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan being featured.

While once again musically directed by Donovan Hattingh, this time a new lineup of talented musicians pay tribute to the Lords of Folk.

The experienced 10-piece Folk Lords band is headed up by Jefferies/St Francis Bay music legend Sam Mienny, along with Neil Thompson, Roger Gilson, John Dickin and Alan Kozak. Derick Badenhorst is behind the drums, Robert Wheeler tickles the ivories, while Andrew Bryson is on lead guitar. Backing vocals are handled by Centrestage regulars Lani Botha and Eloise Potgieter.

Theatre stalwart Colin Ward plays the linking character Grumbledorf, who seamlessly mixes the worlds of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, summonsing the Lords of Folk to reclaim their dominion and put folk music back onto its rightful throne.

Sam Mienny lends his thunderous voice to Rodriguez, Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan, while the Folk Lords version of Crosby Stills and Nash is made up of Thomson, Dickin and Gilson, with Alan Kozak as Neil Young. The set includes favourites such as Teach Your Children, Southern Cross, Heart of Gold and Suite Judy Blue Eyes.

The other half of Simon and Garfunkel is portrayed by folk stalwart Neil Thomson, who also tips his hat with Gilson to the Everley brothers with Bye Bye Love and Wake Up Little Suzie.” Simon and Garfunkel fans can look forward to evergreens such as Mrs Robinson, Sounds of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Waters and The Boxer.

Gilson is a pharmacist by day, co-owning the Provincial Pharmacy, while Thomson is Head of the English Department at Grey High School.

The Folk Lords represents a full circle for Neil and Roger, reuniting the duo who performed together some 35 years ago in the Rhodes University dance band, Medium Shag, between 1971-74! Thomson is also a John Denver look-and-sound-alike, singing Annies Song and Country Roads in the Denver set. Similarly, Gilson has the David Gates Bread sound down pat in Everything I own. Says Thomson “I have been singing these songs all my life - the loveliest thing about being involved in this project is that I don’t have learn any new words, I just have to remember the old ones!”

Clapton fans can look forward to the extraordinary vocals and dynamic guitar style of Alan Kozak, who along with Badenhorst and Bryson, have performed together in the popular PE band “Skin Trade”. Slow Hand hits such as Wonderful Tonight, Layla, Cocaine and Before You Accuse Me are also included.

The music of the ultimate Folk Lord, Bob Dylan, will be celebrated in majestic style, featuring the classic 1979 Live at Budokan arrangements of Mr Tambourine Man, Blowing in the Wind, Like A Rolling Stone, All Along the Watchtower and Knocking on Heavens Door. So Long Marianne, You’ve Got A Friend, Bad Bad Leroy Brown and California Dreaming are also included in the 2 ½ hour show which is bound to contain many nostalgic moments for baby-boomers and flower-children alike – and introduce a younger generation to a style of music which remains timeless!