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9/20/2013
11:30 AM
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Diverse acts of seasoned, up-and-comers to take stage
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Sandy Springs Festival
From Staff Reports
The Sandy Springs Festival prides itself on presenting a diverse schedule of cultural performances and live music by Sandy Springs schools, arts organizations and area entertainers. The 2013 schedule continues to offer a sampling of entertainment sure to please any audience. This year two emerging acts with two very different styles will perform — Riley Biederer, a pop sensation recently signed by Elton John’s management company Rocket Music — and City Mouse, an Americana-folk duo who formed in 2012 and have already become regulars on the Atlanta folk music scene. The first thing one notices about Atlanta-raised singer/songwriter Riley Biederer is how self-assured she is at 16, with a vocal virtuosity to match her confidence. Although she is not the first teenager to pen a song, it is her compositions that hooked Elton John’s management company. “I try to write about what’s real,”
Gwen Hughes, center, and The Retro Jazz Kats, including, from left, bass player L.A. Tuten and drummer Mike Hinton, will perform at the festival. Staff / Samantha M. Shal
Biederer said. “I write about love, because everybody knows what that’s like, good or bad.” She does not apologize for her youthful lyrical frameof-reference, saying as a teenager, “You’re learning what heartbreak is.” Biederer continues to write and record in Atlanta, Nashville, New York and Los Angeles for her forthcoming debut album. She will perform on the Festival Entertainment Stage Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m.
City Mouse was formed in 2012 by Atlanta-based songwriters and folk musicians Brian Revels and Michael Hudgins, but they quickly have amassed a steady tour schedule, performing at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs, The Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell, Eddie’s Attic in Decatur and various bluegrass and arts festivals. Generally accompanied by a banjo, guitar and a few overzealous,
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
tempo-tempting foot stomps by Revels, City Mouse lyrics imply meaning and conviction. They are keen storytellers who take the audience right along with them in the stories they are trying to convey. City Mouse will perform on the Festival Entertainment Stage Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. The festival Sunday will conclude with a diverse set by Gwen Hughes and The Retro Jazz Kats. Led by frontwoman and Sandy Springs resident Hughes on vocals, the Jazz Kats include three horns and a rhythm section. They certainly deliver the jazz standards and big band music expected from their pedigree, but the audience should expect a diverse mix of American standards, Top 40 hits, and beloved classics by the band. “We certainly perform the classics audiences expect to hear, but we may mix in CeeLo Green or the Rolling Stones and we take audience requests all the time,” said Hughes. Originally scheduled to appear at Heritage Sandy Springs’Concerts by the Springs outdoor summer series,
Riley Biederer the band was rained out twice this summer. “We are so excited to perform for the Sandy Springs Festival”, Hughes said. “After a couple of nearmisses this summer, the band is ready to entertain attendees and close out the festival with a great performance.” Gwen Hughes and The Retro Jazz Kats will perform Sunday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.