Tom Rigney & Flambeau March 31, 2012

Tom Rigney, the fiery, electrifying violinist/composer, joins forces with some of the finest musicians on the San Francisco roots music scene to form Tom Rigney and Flambeau, a band that will tear the roof off of anyplace that has one and raise the spirits of everyone around. Rigney, now entering his second decade at the helm of Flambeau, has stepped into the spotlight with a vengeance. Flambeau showcases his passionate, virtuoso fiddling, his commanding stage presence, his range, depth, and originality as a composer, and of course, those notorious red boots. His band mates are veterans of the great bands of Charles Brown, Queen Ida, Clifton Chenier, and others, and together they generate enough heat and energy to ignite a dance floor or lift an audience to its feet.

Flambeau specializes in fiery Cajun and zydeco two-steps, low-down blues, funky New Orleans grooves, and heartbreakingly beautiful ballads and waltzes. Their high energy live show features tight ensemble playing, deeply infectious grooves, and spectacular soloing. Most of the repertoire is composed by Rigney, but they also mix in a few classics from the Cajun/zydeco/New Orleans songbook. And if, along the way, you pick up a trace of Rigney’s Irish roots or a little Swing and roots Rock and Roll, it just makes the musical gumbo that much tastier. In the past decade Rigney’s skills as a composer have broadened and deepened, and he is today writing some of the most evocative and powerfully uplifting music you will hear anywhere. And Rigney’s charismatic stage presence and high-energy delivery draw the audience into his performances and make them feel that they are an integral part of the music and the show.

Official Website: http://www.142throckmortontheatre.org