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Gold Palette ArtWalk celebrates spring

PROGRESS STAFF

The Scottsdale Gallery Association will hold its spring Gold Palette ArtWalk 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 14. The Spring into Art event — along Main Street from Scottsdale Road to Goldwater Boulevard and north of Indian School on Marshall Way to 5thAvenue – will feature an homage to the season as guests enjoy live music and refreshments. “Spring is an amazing time to explore the city of Scottsdale for both visitors and residents,” said Scottsdale Gallery Association President French Thompson. “It’s the most beautiful time of year to get out, stroll the streets of Old Town and simply enjoy all the area has to offer. For art enthusiasts, we’re showcasing the incredible breadth of artists represented within theScottsdale Arts District that celebrate spring through their various mediums.” Participating galleries include:

Carstens Fine Art. A reception will include new paintings, live music by professional harpist Jocelyn Obermeyer and refreshments.

French Designer Jeweler. One of this gallery’s new artists, Elizabeth Garvin, will show her new collection, Stripe, which features a new approach to ornamentation, glowing 18k gold, deeply engraved with stripes and paired with a wide assortment of precious gems. Each pattern is drawn and engraved entirely by hand and each pattern is just a little different than the next.

The Legacy Gallery. Paintings by Kathy Anderson and Daniel Keys will be featured along with stunning small floral paintings by Laura Robb.

The Marshall Gallery. Frank Balaam’s colorful oil paintings will be highlighted during a reception.

On the Edge Gallery. Guests can meet several artists, including abstract artist Lori Call, who uses inks, collage, spray paint, acrylic and oils to build the images of enchanted places and dream-like possibilities; Sandy Newell, who specializes in see ART WALK page 30

Award-winning folk singer debuts here

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Grammy Award winning singer/ songwriter Aoife O’Donovan is back on the road and slated to make her first appearance in Scottsdale on April 15 at the Center for the Performing Arts.

Although she has already made her rounds throughout the nation touting her latest album, “Age of Apathy,” O’Donovan is excited about hitting the road again after a six-day break. “The tours have been going great,” she said. “It’s been great to play this new music and I’m really excited to be playing with this new band in support of ‘Age of Apathy.’” O’Donovan has 90 minutes to fill with all 11 songs off “Age of Apathy” and mixing in signature pieces from her two previous records. “We’ve worked up everything from ‘Fossils’ and ‘In The Magic Hour,’ so it really depends on night by night what we’re throwing into the equation,” she said.

Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan will make her local debut on Friday, April 15, at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

(Courtesy of Omar Cruz)

O’Donovan has had to work as a curator to find where certain songs fit in her setlist.

“I try to create a setlist that’s going to propel the night,” O’Donovan said. “There’s songs that really work as openers, there’s songs that really work as closers and for the rest of the set I try to mix it up in a way where I can maintain work and flow.” But her experience has helped her in crafting the best possible setlist, she believes.

“I’ve been on the road for a long time and making a setlist is something that you get better at the more you do it,” O’Donovan said. Although she finds ease in where to place songs into her setlist each night, O’Donovan still feels rewarded to have the ability to give the songs she wrote.

“It’s been musically rewarding in the sense that I wrote these songs by myself but seeing where the song goes each night while performing with a live band that’s open to the room and the vibe of the audience has been really cool,” she said.

She has also felt that the songs have sounded best with her live band.

“Usually when you’re a solo artist with a new record, you put together a band seeO'DONOVAN page 30

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | APRIL 10, 2022

Doll Skin plans energetic live show

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

After meeting at The School of Rock in Scottsdale nearly a decade ago, the duo of Meghan Herring and Sydney Dolezal that founded the punk outfit Doll Skin are playing a free show at Tempe Marketplace on April 16. The last time they played that venue, Dolezal made the band’s presence known by getting into a little bit of mischief.

“I got into a little bit of trouble because I started climbing on things,” Dolezal said with a laugh. “I like to get into shows and have as much fun as possible. I’m going to try not to get into trouble but I might push the limits again.” However, Dolezal is most excited to play a show with the goal of spreading hope, joy and a sense of community. “I want people to feel a sense of joy, hope and community,” Dolezal said. “Those three things are three very important words to me and important things I strive to express from the stage.” Dolezal reflected on the free shows downtown on the first Friday of each month and plans to emulate some of the most exhilarating acts. “Going to shows like that really opened my eyes to what kind of community I could find as a young musician through playing

Doll Skin will be playing a free concert at Tempe Marketplace Saturday. (Photo courtesy

of Victoria Schmidt)

free shows,” Dolezal said. “I’ve always been about the concept that if the crowd’s not having fun, I’m not having fun,” Dolezal said. However, striking a balance between having fun and ensuring the audience is too can be a challenge. “It’s something that I used to put way too much pressure on myself with,” Dolezal said. “The most important thing is that I had to consciously make an effort to not think too much. If I do that, I’ll eventually forget to get lost in the music.”

“I also feel like a lot of this comes from my neurodivergence in how I use physical emotion to express my energy rather than holding it in because I feel self-conscious about it,” Dolezal said. “In letting go of that self-consciousness in my everyday life, I’ve let go of it on stage. Getting that energy out has helped me hone in on my performance aspect rather than think too much about it.” “Crowd participation is my favorite thing,” Dolezal said. “My favorite part about seeing a band that I like is singing along but this song is something that everyone can sing along to.” The band recently played at 8123 Fest in downtown Phoenix in January and included a new song called “Melancholia.” It plans to play the same songs Saturday.

“When I was making the setlist for this show, my mentality was to be myself,” said drummer Meghan Herring.

The band also had to consider creating a setlist that didn’t require much rehearsal since its bassist lives in California. “I feel like part of it is that we know what’s time tested and we know what works,” Herring said. “Plus we don’t want to throw a bunch of stuff at our new bassist and guitarist.” Doll Skin will complement the headlining metal act Escape The Fate. “Something I pride the band with is that we know we can fit into any space that we are put into,” Herring said. “We can fit into any genre in terms of the umbrella of rock.” If you go

What: Escape The Fate with Doll Skin and Hazen When: 6 p.m. Saturday April 16 Where: Tempe Marketplace, 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe Cost: Free Info: dollskinband.com

ART WALK ���� page 29

watercolor using a pouring technique to create unexpected textures and reactions; and Lorita Winfield, whose photographic floral art expresses her passion for the play of light on flower petals and natural foliage.

The Signature Gallery. Local artist Cara Moran will display her sensationally colorful original impasto oil paintings. Striking colors, rich layers of texture applied with a palette knife, and an unmistakably positive energy are key elements Moran’s unique style. Among her most popular subjects are effervescent florals .

Wilde Meyer Gallery. Wilde Meyer Gallery will present a spring show featuring various artists including Andrea Peterson, Sarah Kathryn Bean, Brenda Bredvik, and more. Spring into Art is the Scottsdale Gallery Association’s final Gold Palette ArtWalk of the 2022 season. The Gold Palette ArtWalk series brings together the finest art in Scottsdale including 28 galleries and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. In partnership with the City of Scottsdale, the SGA also presents multiple Gold Palette ArtWalk events per year that feature a dedicated theme and activities specific to each theme including demonstrations, live entertainment and more. The Scottsdale Gallery Association also hosts its weekly ArtWalk most every Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit scottsdalegalleries.com. A nonprofit organization, the Scottsdale Gallery Association consists of gallery owners that promote fine art galleries in the Scottsdale Art District. Scottsdale is home to more than 100 galleries. O'DONOVAN ���� page 29

that can best represent what you did in the studio,” O’Donovan said. “This band is a bass player, a drummer and a great guitarist who’s also a great singer that plays the fiddle.” “We got together in the fall and worked up all the material,” she said. “I’ve known these musicians for quite some time so it’s been really cool to work on my older music with them.”

O’Donovan has become accustomed to walking into a new building each night and calculating how to fill it with sound. “Every day on tour is filled with entering a new space with new music,” she said. “Even if you’ve played the venue ten times, it’s going to be a new experience since no venue has your settings saved from the last time you played there.” With that figured out, O’Donovan hopes that fans leave the venue eager to hear more from her and that they remember having a good time at the show. I hope that fans enjoy the show and walk out thinking ‘that was a great show and I can’t wait until she comes back to town,'” she said. “Fans can expect a night of great music, good energy, good vibes and it’ll be a good way to spend a Friday night.” If you go

What: Aoife O’Donovan with Taylor Ashton When: 8p.m. Friday April 15 Where: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts 7380 E. 2nd Street Cost: $35+ Info: scottsdaleperformingarts.org *proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test required .