20 Mar LI Winterfest: Week 7 – In a Couple of Days They’re Gonna Take Me Away
Week Six was a roaring success, thanks to Jeff LeBlanc and The Dinny Keg Band! We look forward to seeing them again as we continue our Live Entertainment at Hotel Indigo East End! Looking to this coming weekend is bittersweet, because we’re extremely excited to be having Bakithi Kumalo fill Bistro 72 with his famous bass-playing, and Miles to Dayton taking the stage in the Hotel Indigo Ballroom, but it means that Long Island Winterfest 2014 is officially coming to a close.
Bakithi Kumalo was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has been playing bass since age seven. Restricted by a life under apartheid, he couldn’t pursue the career of is dreams in his war-torn homeland. He was working as an auto mechanic when Paul Simon came to play in South Africa; someone gave Simon a cassette of Kumalo playing, and he was sold. When Simon first saw Kumalo play the fretless bass, something completely new to him, he knew he had to bring Kumalo back to New York with him.
When he arrived in America, Kumalo didn’t speak any English. He lucked out, and Robbi Hall, who worked for Simon, took him under her wing to help him get around and facilitated general errands for him, such as banking and shopping. The two wound up falling in love, and were married in 1993. Kumalo calls his wife his “life teacher.”
Kumalo has been touring with Paul Simon for the last 30 years, and loves being in America. He says America has always been a part of his dream. The two actually just concluded a short tour at Madison Square Garden at the beginning of the month. Now that he has some off-time, Kumalo is coming to Bistro 72 to close out Long Island Winterfest Live on the Vine for 2014.
Returning to Hotel Indigo East End, we have Dave March on Saturday LIVE AT THE INDIGO, but he’ll be bringing the whole band with him this time! Miles to Dayton is a unique group, their marriage of musical styles actually stems from the marriage of two of its members! Vocalist Krista Preddice and her husband, guitarist, cellist, accordionist, and trumpeter Jonathan Preddice, brought their families together to bring life to Miles to Dayton. The band’s truly one-of-a-kind sound is due in large part to Krista’s brother, Dave March, and Jon’s Sister, Leanne Strom, as they work together to blend his deep bass lines with the heights of her soaring violin. Their newest addition, Brian Kroll on drums, gives the band an exciting, funky edge. We look forward to having everyone at Hotel Indigo East End this Saturday for a great time LIVE AT THE INDIGO!
Stay tuned for next week when we recap all seven weeks of Long Island Winterfest Live on the Vine 2014!