Pittsburg’s landmark Creative Arts Building has played host to several legendary entertainers over the years, including Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet and many more internationally-renowned artists. Continuing this tradition of featuring world-renowned performers, this jewel of the East Bay hosted another special guest Friday night – Tower of Power’s legendary vocalist Lenny Williams!
Close to 1,200 people flooded the historic 2,500-seat theater, host to musical greats from all over the Bay Area, to hear the music legend in person, and once Williams entered the stage, the crowd cheered ecstatically. No one wanted to miss this chance to see one of the giants of show business, and the performance definitely lived up to everyone’s expectations.
Williams entertained the audience with jokes between each song, and even gave them live versions of some Tower of Power favorites, while intermittently introducing songs he wrote recently.
The incredible showcase was held to benefit the Success Through Self (STS) Academy, a highly successful program that “bridges the gap between inner-city youth who prosper and benefit from the public school system and those who struggle.”
The program promises to ensure that every student involved is prepared for class each day.
J.D. & Company Review opened Williams’ act with a riveting performance, with band members impersonating music legends like Michael Jackson, Prince, Cher and Rick James (who, as mentioned above, actually performed in the theater years ago).
The talented Bay Area-based cover band was chosen to perform at the fundraising concert because of their phenomenal range in musical style, a repertoire spanning 60 years in recent music history, which they adjusted deftly to complement the featured artist.
Their impersonations were outstanding, with Gerald Glasper as Michael Jackson and Rick James, Anita Viramontes as Cher, Haasaun Abenz as Prince and the beautiful Hattie Abenz performing backup dancing and vocals.
To perform backup and impersonate music legends the way they did was phenomenal, with David Stone and Gino Archimede on sax, Joel Behrman on trumpet, Joe Tarantino on guitar, Carl Curreri on bass, Bob Bareilles on drums and Carey Huang on keyboard.
The musical event was the first fundraiser concert for the STS Academy, founded by Jim Kraft, who organized the phenomenal event.
Recreation Supervisor Merl Lewis, who works with Kraft through the Community Center for Teens said this concert was a tremendous opportunity for Pittsburg residents to experience world-class talent in their hometown.
“We’re bringing quality entertainment to Pittsburg,” she said. “Bringing something this well-known locally is a really big event.”
STS Academy youth assisted with the event by volunteering their time as ushers, parking lot attendants and security assistants. The event attracted city and county officials from all over the East Bay, including Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover and Pittsburg’s Mayor Ben Johnson.
Williams’ and Tower of Power fans flocked to stage right as the artist stepped down to sign autographs or proffer hugs and handshakes to the attendees.
Afterwards, guests with VIP tickets attended the after-party, where they got to socialize with other patrons, while getting to chat with Williams and his entourage.
Williams said he willingly accepted the invitation to perform for the STS Academy fundraiser because he believes in the cause of enriching the lives of our youth. The academy places strong emphasis on attaining higher education, and provides fundamental support services at 11 sites to more than 1,000 students in grades 1-12 for them to reach their academic goals.
Their fundraiser was an extraordinary way of asking the community to “please join … in our advocacy for youth empowerment, enrichment and strengthening [of] cultural vitality in our community.”
For more information about Pittsburg’s STS Academy, including how to sponsor this amazing program, visit their website at www.stsacademy.org or call them at their Pittsburg Community Center for Teens -- (925) 439-4156.
View photos from the VIP Afterparty here!
Community Coverage by LMC student Jennifer Wadsworth
Intern Editor for pittsburgca.net |