{"id":45208,"date":"2026-02-12T09:57:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45208"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:59:17","slug":"on-stage-a-bit-of-gumbo-for-your-holiday-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45208","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: A bit of ‘Gumbo’ for your holiday week"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff, <\/span><\/strong>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
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Philly Gumbo<\/p><\/div>\n

The upcoming week is a week for celebrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Valentine\u2019s Day is February 14. Mardi Gras is February 17. The Asian Lunar New Year is February 17.<\/span><\/div>\n
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This weekend, two of these holidays will be celebrated simultaneously at 118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, 118northwayne.com<\/a>) when Philly Gumbo plays a Mardi Gras\/Valentine\u2019s Day show.<\/span><\/div>\n
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On February 14, the venue on Philly\u2019s Main Line hosts \u201cPhilly Gumbo: A Mardi Gras Party.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll be leaning more on a Mardi Gras vibe than we do in our regular shows,\u201d said Philly Gumbo\u2019s Randall Grass, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his home in Mount Airy.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cIn addition to \u2018Iko Iko,\u2019 which is always in our set list, we be playing songs like Irma Thomas\u2019 \u2018I Done Got Over It,\u2019 The Meters\u2019 \u2018Hey Pocky Way,\u2019 and \u201cBig Chief\u2019 by Professor Longhair.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Philly Gumbo has long been associated with New Orleans. The music of the Crescent City has been an integral part of the Philadelphia-based band\u2019s sound for four decades.<\/span><\/div>\n
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When people think of New Orleans, they think of Mardi Gras and the wild celebrations along the city\u2019s Bourbon Street.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Mardi Gras refers to events of the\u00a0Carnival\u00a0celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the\u00a0Epiphany\u00a0(Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before\u00a0Ash Wednesday, which is known as\u00a0Shrove Tuesday.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Mardi Gras\u00a0is\u00a0French\u00a0for \u201cFat Tuesday,\u201d reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual\u00a0Lenten sacrifices\u00a0and\u00a0fasting\u00a0of the\u00a0Lenten\u00a0season.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Mardi Gras in New Orleans includes days of partying in the streets and bars, marching bands, parades, beads and the decadent King\u2019s Cake.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Philly Gumbo always celebrates Mardi Gras in style.<\/span><\/div>\n
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According to Grass, one of the band\u2019s co-founders, \u201cNot everyone can make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but not to worry \u2014 if you\u2019re in the Philadelphia area, Mardi Gras will come to you.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cYou can celebrate New Orleans-style courtesy of Philly Gumbo, the band who pioneered Philadelphia area Mardi Gras celebrations more than three decades ago. The band will bring its unique mix of New Orleans R & B, Mardi Gras anthems, blues, funk and reggae to 118 North.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Aside from the authentic NOLA party music, free Mardi Gras beads and New Orleans-themed drink specials will enhance the Mardi Gras mood. Revelers can expect to dance and sing along to such Mardi Gras anthems as \u201cBrother John\u201d, \u201cMardi Gras Mambo\u201d and more.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cPhilly Gumbo began bringing authentic New Orleans music to area audiences in the 1980\u2019s,\u201d said Grass. \u201cIndeed, the mix of music the band delivered was similar to what one would have heard at a Neville Brothers show at Tipitina\u2019s in uptown New Orleans around the same time.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s no accident as Philly Gumbo was greatly inspired by the Neville\u2019s precursor band, the fabled funk band The Meters. Early on, the band held Mardi-Gras-themed shows annually in the Mardi Gras season and an offshoot of the band, The Wild Bohemians, initiated a South Street parade tradition that has continued to this day.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cBut the spirit of Mardi Gras is a year-round thing for Philly Gumbo \u2014 it\u2019s all about getting people up on their feet, swaying and dancing in one happy partying crowd. Costumes encouraged but not required.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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The longevity of Philly\u00a0Gumbo, Philadelphia\u2019s longest-running band, is legendary.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Early in 2020, Philly\u00a0Gumbo\u00a0kicked off what was to be the band\u2019s 40th\u00a0year as a performing band with a sold-out show at World Caf\u00e9 Live. Then COVID hit and live music shut down almost completely.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The \u201ccore four\u201d of Randall Grass, Tim Hayes, Pete Eshelman, and Bert Harris have been together throughout the four decades with India Rex joining in 2010 and saxophonist Richard Orr, who used to sit in back in the day, joining in 2014.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThe six of us have been together for 12 years,\u201d said Grass. \u201cIndia has been our longest running singer.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Philly\u00a0Gumbo\u00a0has pioneered New Orleans music \u2013 and a new tradition of Mardi Gras celebrations \u2013 in Philadelphia.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cI was doing a reggae show on WXPN in 1980,\u201d said Grass, during a phone interview Wednesday morning from his home in Mount Airy. \u201cMy friend Walt Taylor was doing Top Ranking, a reggae magazine.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cOne day, we sat around my place and did a song together and it was great. So, we formed a duo with him singing and me on piano. We started with a duo gig at Taker\u2019s Caf\u00e9 in Germantown.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThen, I was in Third Street Jazz and saw a flyer from a drummer looking for a gig playing reggae, blues and New Orleans. It was a perfect match. That drummer was Tim Hayes and soon we were a trio.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThen we heard about guitarist Pete Eshelman who had been playing with the reggae group Roots Vibration. We had rotating bass players at the beginning and then Bert Harris settled in.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Guitarist, vocalist and harmonica player Richard Johnson rounded out the \u201cclassic\u201d line-up of the 1980\u2019s which established a decade-long Saturday night residency at fabled bohemian club Bacchanal on South Street while regularly playing legendary rock club J.C. Dobbs at the other end of South Street.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWithin the first year, we found our niche,\u201d said Grass. \u201cIt was musically great \u2014 reggae, New Orleans, blues, Memphis style music. It was a dream band for us. We love those genres, and we found a group that could play all of them.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen we started, we were playing every Saturday night at Bacchanal on South Street. We did that for more than 10 years.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe released a 12-inch single in 1984 \u2013 an original reggae tune \u2018Holy War\u2019 on one side and an obscure New Orleans tune, \u2018Mardi Gras\u2019, on the other side.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe played at clubs all around Philly \u2013 JC Dobbs, Chestnut Cabaret, Equator, Khyber Pass. And we also used to play a lot at Joe\u2019s Lounge in West Chester.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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None of those clubs exist anymore and Philly\u00a0Gumbo\u00a0has outlived them all.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe also played a lot in New York at clubs like SOBs and Tramps. We played in Washington, D.C. at Kilimanjaro Club and Musikfest in Bethlehem.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Philly\u00a0Gumbo\u00a0made appearances at major festivals such as The Atlantic City Summer Music Festival, Jam On The River, The West Oak Lane Jazz Festival and more followed as the band\u2019s reputation grew.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe played a lot of festivals including Jambalaya Jam on Penn\u2019s Landing and Media\u2019s State Street Blues Stroll,\u201d said Grass. \u201cAs years went by, we got very selective.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Grass has stayed busy. He is General Manager and Vice President of A&R at Shanachie Records and the author of a soon-to-be-released book on Philly music.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cAbout 10 years ago, we released the CD, \u2018Come and Get It,\u2019 featuring our current vocalist, India Rex,\u201d said Grass. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t been in the studio for a while.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Video link for Philly\u00a0Gumbo\u00a0\u2013\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/6dU8iItvt5w<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Philly Gumbo show on February 14 will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $24.70.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at 118 North are Strangers Stopping Strangers on February 12, East Nash Grass on February 13, Emmanuel Ohemeng III and Perpetual Motion on February 15 and Open Mic Night on February 18.<\/span><\/div>\n
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This weekend\u2019s entertainment lineup will also feature another band who has been around for decades \u2013 five to be exact.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds<\/p><\/div>\n

The Blackbyrds, who are headlining a show on February 15 at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, www.citywinery.com<\/a>), are an American\u00a0rhythm and blues\u00a0and\u00a0jazz-funk\u00a0fusion group, formed in\u00a0Washington, D.C., in 1973.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The first incarnation of the band lasted from 1973-1981. The current incarnation came into existence just before the turn of the century.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds were reformed in 1999 by drummer and founding member Keith Killgo and later recorded \u201cGotta Fly\u201d in 2012 on K-Wes Indi Records.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cI reformed the band in 1999, and we\u2019ve been working steadily pretty much ever since,\u201d said Keith Killgo, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Silver Spring, Maryland.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was easy to put the band together. The music was already there and Joe and I played on it.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds were formed in the early 1970s\u00a0as part of the legendary jazz trumpeter Dr. Donald Byrd\u2019s brainchild to expose college students to the real world of music.<\/span><\/div>\n
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In his own words to \u201cbridge the gap between academia and the real world,\u201d Byrd envisioned taking active students at Howard University in Washington, DC on a real-world field trip which would expose them to ins and outs of the music business.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The name The Blackbyrds was derived from Byrd\u2019s most successful record, \u201cBlackbyrd,\u201d which appeared on Blue Note Records.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The group featured some of Byrd\u2019s\u00a0Howard University\u00a0students:\u00a0Kevin Toney\u00a0(keyboards), Keith Killgo (vocals,\u00a0drums), Joe Hall (bass guitar),\u00a0Allan Barnes\u00a0(saxophone,\u00a0clarinet), and Barney Perry (guitar). Orville Saunders (guitar), and Jay Jones (flute, saxophone) joined later.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds signed with\u00a0Fantasy Records\u00a0in 1973. Their 1975 hit \u201cWalking in Rhythm\u201d received a\u00a0Grammy\u00a0nomination and sold over one million copies by May 1975 to achieve gold certification.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds\u00a0were at the cutting edge of jazz fusion, R&B and funk in the 1970s. They expanded the boundaries of black music in one of the most musically\u00a0fertile decades of the past century.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s success includes several highly touted albums, film scores (\u201cCornbread\u201d and \u201cEarl and Me\u201d), as well as supporting such iconic artists as Roberta Flack, B.B. King, Herbie Hancock and Gladys Knight & the Pips.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds\u2019 self-titled debut album put the group on the map with\u00a0\u201cDo It, Fluid,\u201d\u00a0a funky laid-back party anthem.\u00a0 The group followed that initial success with a string of albums over the next five years.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cFlying Start\u201d (1974) yielded their biggest hit, the Grammy-nominated\u00a0\u201cWalking in Rhythm.\u201d\u00a0\u201cCity Life\u201d (1975) featured the hit\u00a0\u201cHappy Music\u201d\u00a0and the iconic\u00a0\u201cRock Creek Park,\u201d\u00a0which remains one of the most sampled jazz-funk tracks to this day.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Other hit songs by the Blackbyrds at that time were hits such as \u201cSupernatural Feeling,\u201d Grammy-nominated \u201cUnfinished Business,\u201d \u201cTime is Movin\u2019,\u201d \u201cDreaming About You\u201d and \u201cFlyin\u2019 High.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Now, it\u2019s 2026 and the Blackbyrds are still flying.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Under the leadership of Killgo, the band continues to record, tour and perform globally.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Killgo, who graduated from Howard University, studied at Bradley University and American University and got his Masters at Argosy University, has also had his \u201cday job\u201d for a long time.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve been a teacher for 37 years in Washington, D.C.,\u201d said Killgo. \u201cI teach at Friendship Public Charter School in the Southeast. I’m the band director and I teach music, graphic design and psychology.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds current lineup includes original founding members Keith Killgo (drums and vocals) and Joe Hall (bass), Paul Spires (vocals), Dominique Toney (vocals), daughter of original band keyboardist Kevin Toney, Roberto Villeda (keyboards), Charles Wright (guitar), Thad Wilson (trumpet), Marshall Keys (saxophone) and Sean Anthony (percussion).<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Blackbyrds\u2019 signature sound combines jazz techniques with R&B, funk, gospel and classical and has heavily influenced hip-hop.\u00a0 The band has been sampled by countless hip-hop artists over the decades, including Grandmaster Flash, Tupac, De La Soul, NWA, Eric B. & Rakim, Heavy D, Gang Starr, MF Doom, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Ice Cube, and most recently, Jeezy.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe do Blackbyrds\u2019 songs and Donald Byrd songs,\u201d said Killgo. \u201cMe and Joe Hall are only original members left. We lost Allan Barnes and then Kevin Toney.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cOver 50 years, we\u2019ve had quite a few people in the band. Right now, we have two horns, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and two singers. Our current band has about 250 songs we can play.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cAudiences at our shows have been a combination of old and new. We\u2019ve been getting a younger white audience that is interested in jazz\/funk fusion.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Video link for the Blackbyrds \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/5y3CBI260Z8<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The show at City Winery on February 15 will start at<\/span><\/div>\n
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Tickets start at $36.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at City Winery are Jeff Mauro on February 12, Patti Austin on February 13, Eric Benet on February 14 and Davide de Pierro on February 16,<\/span><\/div>\n
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Another Valentine\u2019s Day show will feature the Dukes of Destiny at Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>).<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Dukes\u2019 2026 lineup features Ray Adler on guitar, Mike O’Rourke on drums, Mike Blair on bass, Glenn Bickel on keyboards, and John Colgan-Davis on vocals and harmonica.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The band will play in Kennett Square on February 14 and then in Glenside on February 28 at The Royal Glenside.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cAt The Flash, we are doing a couple of our favorite blues love songs,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. At the The Royal Glenside, we will be doing a dance party.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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It will be a busy weekend for Colgan-Davis who will travel to this area from his home in Mount Airy again on Sunday.<\/span><\/div>\n
On February 15, Colgan-Davis will play a brunch show at BierHaul – Farmhouse (341 Thornton Road, Thornton, www.bierhaul.com<\/a>) with guitarist, singer and West Chester native Johnny Never in the Brother John acoustic duo.<\/span><\/div>\n
Johnny\u00a0Never\u00a0\u2013 a.k.a. John\u00a0Dorchester\u00a0— is a multi-discipline artist\/creator who grew up in West Chester and attended West Chester Henderson before graduating from Westtown School.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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The two veteran blues musicians performed\u00a0together for about seven years using the moniker \u201cThe Two Johns.\u201d In\u00a0202,\u00a0the Johns decided that it was time for a change.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last summer, the two veteran musicians had a CD release party and the official debut of Brother John\u00a0with a show in Chester County at the Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe decided it was time for a name change because our playing had become more intertwined,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u201cWe would both be playing and it sounded like one person doing everything. We listen to each other really well.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
At the show at Steel City, Brother John introduced\u00a0its brand-new album, \u201cBlack Crow.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201c<\/span>John is an incredible songwriter,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u201cHis lyrics are amazing.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThis album has new and vintage blues. The vintage stuff goes back to Skip James and Charlie Patton. We also have some of Johnny Never\u2019s newer stuff which is in a similar style.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe recorded the album in a couple of studios in Philadelphia. We also did some recording at Johnny\u2019s studio. It was recorded over the past three years.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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East Coast bluesman Johnny\u00a0Never\u00a0has a mission to deliver pure, unadulterated vintage blues to those who already love the blues as well as those who have\u00a0never\u00a0heard it.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Often referred to by blues enthusiasts as \u201cthe real deal,\u201d\u00a0Never\u00a0pays homage to, but does not mimic, the vast array of original bluesmen that gave birth to the genre more than a century ago.<\/span><\/div>\n
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He is known for his covers of artists like Son House, Robert Johnson, and Charlie Patton.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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His original compositions possess the qualities of the genuine article, delivered through deft finger-style guitar work and a voice that reeks of authenticity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis, harmonica and vocals, started playing the harmonica in local blues and folk clubs back in the late 1960s while he was still a high school student.<\/span><\/div>\n
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He played and recorded with Philadelphia singer-guitarist Jesse Graves and played with Bonnie Raitt when she lived in Philadelphia in the early 1970s.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Through Raitt, he had the opportunity to meet and play with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arthur Crudup, Buddy Guy, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. He has also jammed with James Cotton, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Bill Dicey, and Louisiana Red. \u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis\u00a0has toured nationally and has recorded two CDs — \u201cCold and Lonesome on a Train\u201d and \u201cHeroes and Hard Times.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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A founding member of The Dukes of\u00a0Destiny, Colgan-Davis also taught social studies at Friends Select School in Philadelphia for 29 years and has written articles and supplements for The Philadelphia Inquirer on Blacks in the American West, Black Literature, the History of Black Philadelphia, and other topics. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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For a long time, the two Philly area blues aces were aware of each other and their talents. A few years ago, their paths came together. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cA\u00a0few\u00a0years ago, Johnny and I were at the same gig and started talking,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe started hanging out together. Then, I sat in with him at a mini festival, but I can\u2019t remember where. It was somewhere out in the country.\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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In a phone interview,\u00a0Never\u00a0said, \u201cJohn is a great harmonica player. I\u2019ve been playing blues for decades and had a parting of ways with my previous harmonica player. I called John up to see what would happen.\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis\u00a0said, \u201cFor the past few years, we\u2019ve been playing as The Two Johns. Our first real show was at Hummingbird on Mars in Wilmington. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cI love playing acoustic again. There are things you can do as an acoustic harp player that you can\u2019t do with a loud band. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cJohnny is a very good picker and a great slide player. He\u2019s also a great Piedmont Blues player.\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis\u00a0and the harmonica have a long history together. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cI started acoustic harmonica when I was in high school at Philadelphia\u2019s Central High School,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u201cCentral High had a folk music club, and we had a budget big enough to being Skip James and Son House to play at our school. \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWith Brother John, we play a couple songs I played in high school \u2013 including Son House\u2019s \u2018Death Letter Blues.\u2019 We play a lot of Piedmont Blues, ragtime and some 1920s jazz \u2018Ain\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019,\u2019 a Fats Waller\u00a0song. We do things I haven\u2019t found a way to do with the Dukes of Destiny.\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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As an adolescent,\u00a0Never\u00a0had a keen interest in landscape painting and filmmaking — studying painting with Nantucket artist, Warren Krebs, and filmmaking with Earl Fowler, whose famous brother, Jim, made nature films for Mutual of Omaha\u2019s \u201cWild Kingdom.\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve had a bunch of different jobs,\u201d said\u00a0Never\/Dorchester. \u201cI started as an AFA painter and then got into commercial filmmaking from 1993-2014. Now, I\u2019m back to being a fine artist working in oils\u201d \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
He is also back to being a fine musician who has teamed with Colgan-Davis\u00a0to keep early acoustic blues alive. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Video link for Brother John — https:\/\/youtu.be\/ny2EmfXYMR0<\/a><\/u>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Video link for Dukes of Destiny \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/aa-n5NZm950<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The show on February 14 at Kennett Flash will start at 8 p.m.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The show on February 15 at BierHaul \u2013 Farmhouse will run from 1-4 p.m.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at Kennett Flash are Jazz Jam on February 12 and Open Mic on February 15.<\/span><\/div>\n
The Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) is starting off<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a02026 with one of Broadway\u2019s most highly acclaimed comedies — \u201cThe Producers.\u201d The show is running now through February 22.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $77.50 for adults and $35 for children (ages 4-12). \u201cShow Only\u201d tickets, which have limited availability, cost $35.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Another popular and familiar show is running now through February 15 at People\u2019s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern,\u00a0peopleslight.org<\/a>) \u2013 \u201cSteel Magnolias.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cSteel Magnolias\u201d is a hilarious and heart-wrenching American classic.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The reigning ladies of a small Louisiana parish spend Saturday mornings at Truvy Jones\u2019 beauty parlor.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Video link for People\u2019s Light — https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zICXuBNoPuY<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cSteel Magnolias\u201d will run now through February 22 on the Steinbright Stage at People\u2019s Light.<\/span><\/div>\n
Ticket prices start at $59.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) is presenting Kate Gaffney and Benjamin Chandler with Dina Hall on February 12, Slim and the South Street Hustle with Jon Hay on February 13, Criag Bickhardt on February 14 and The Blues Muthas with Steve Shanahan on February 15.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a>) will host Vanessa Collier on February 12, J.D. Webb on February 13, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers on February 14,<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times \u00a0 The upcoming week is a week for celebrations. Valentine\u2019s Day is February 14. Mardi Gras is February 17. The Asian Lunar New Year is February 17. This weekend, two of these holidays will be celebrated simultaneously at 118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, 118northwayne.com) when Philly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6518,10844,15361],"class_list":["post-45208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-philly-gumbo","tag-the-blackbyrds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45208"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45210,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45208\/revisions\/45210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}