Award-winning singer/songwriters Mike Reid and Phil Vassar have been confirmed to perform at the inaugural Dueling Pianos for Waves event on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at BA Properties in Franklin, TN. Patrons will have the opportunity to browse an incredible collection of classic and exotic cars, while enjoying delicious food and drink. All proceeds from the event will benefit Waves, Inc., a local nonprofit in Williamson County providing services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“We are so excited to have artists the caliber of Mike Reid and Phil Vassar donating their time to what we’re anticipating to be a fantastic annual event,” said Shannon Nehus, Executive Director of Waves. “We really appreciate BA Properties opening their facility, and want to thank our event sponsors – Artisan Landscaping, Buerger, Moseley & Carson, Capital Bank, First Farmers, and Franklin Realtors – for their support of Waves and this inaugural event.”
Doors will open at 6:00pm, and patrons will immediately be awestruck at the size and contents of the car collection. Father/son pianists Kory and Keith Caudill will entertain, as food from Blue Diamond and drinks are served. A specialty drink from Grandaddy Mimm’s Moonshine also will be available.
At 7:30pm, Mike Reid and Phil Vassar will take their seats at pianos facing each other. A menu of songs will be available, and revelers will bid to have these accomplished artists sing their own and other piano-centric songs. Singing along is highly encouraged. Halfway through the program several valuable items will be sold in a live auction, and the music will continue until 9:30pm.
Tickets for the exciting event are $75.00 in advance at www.wavesinc.com or $90.00 at the door. Admission includes valet parking, a self-guided tour of the car collection, food, two drink tickets, and plenty of music. For questions, contact Emily Layton at elayton@wavesinc.com.
About Mike Reid:
In 1992, Reid received The Governor’s Award for the Arts in Tennessee for his work on the modern dance piece “Quilts.” He was commissioned by the Kandinsky Trio of Roanoke, Virginia to write “The Cantankerous Blacksmith,” and it continues to be part of the Kandinsky’s touring repertoire. He collaborated with librettist Sarah Schlesinger on a one-act opera commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Opera Memphis that explores the myth of celebrity in contemporary American sports. Reid and Schlesinger’s musical entitled “The Ballad of Little Jo” received a 1998 Richard Rodgers Foundation Award and its first production in September 2000 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and won the Joseph Jefferson award for Best New Musical. It has also been produced at the Bridewell Theater in London.
His composition “Eye of The Blackbird,” a setting for piano trio and soprano of Wallace Stevens’ poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” was given its world premiere by the Kandinsky Trio and soprano Elizabeth Weigle. Shortly thereafter, the group performed the piece at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. www.Mike-Reid.com
About Phil Vassar: With countless hits as a country singer and songwriter and a mantle full of awards, this Billboard Country Songwriter of the Year has hit the Top five seven times with songs including “Carlene,” “Last Day of My Life,” and “American Child” and number one hits “In A Real Love” and the perennial favorite “Just Another Day In Paradise.”
Vassar continues to churn out incisive, soulful lyrics and infectious melodies that capture the heart and soul in the unique and special way that only he can. Known as one of Nashville’s top tunesmiths, he has written #1 hits for Jo Dee Messina (“Bye Bye,” “I’m Alright”) and Alan Jackson (“Right on the Money”). Other chart-topping singles include Tim McGraw (“For A Little While,” “My Next Thirty Years”), Collin Raye (“Little Red Rodeo”), Blackhawk (“Postmarked Birmingham”) and David Nail (“The Sound of a Million Dreams”), which Billboard named the #1 song in their Top 10 Country Songs of 2012.
Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s. Originally from Lynchburg, Virginia, he was signed to Arista and his self-titled debut album was released in early 2000, which produced five hit singles on the U.S. Billboardcountry singles chart and was certified gold. He followed it up in 2002 withAmerican Child, Shaken Not Stirred in 2004 and finally Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 in 2006 before he left the label for Universal South Records. His first album for that label, Prayer of a Common Man was released in early 2008. “Bye Bye” earned Vassar his first ASCAP award for Country Songwriter of the Year and Songwriter of the Year in 1999. www.PhilVassar.com
About WAVES:
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