MORGAN PARK — Hot Club of Cowtown, recently named the Western Swing Group of the Year, brings its talents to the Beverly Arts Center on Saturday.
The band's lead singer, Elana James, was also named Western Swing Female of the Year at the 2015 Ameripolitan Music Awards on Feb. 21 in Austin, Texas.
Hot Club of Cowtown fuses western swing and gypsy jazz to create an exuberant collection of music. The impression that the band is in some way a country act is somewhat misleading since its influences have always been as much the music of the smoky bistros of 1930s Paris as they are the hoedowns of the mythic American West.
“Our band is fiddle, guitar, and bass, and they can do anything together,” said James, who was once a horse wrangler in Colorado.
Guitarist Whit Smith grew up hearing his parents play lots of folk music, especially acoustic blues, but as a teenager he naturally rebelled and turned sharply toward hard rock. Jake Erwin steadies the band on bass and vocals.
Hot Club of Cowtown will perform at 8 p.m. on Saturday at 2407 W. 111th St. in Morgan Park. Tickets cost $26, $23 for members of the center. For more information call 773-445-3838 or visit beverlyartcenter.org.
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