St. Luke's Bottle Band Marks 40th Anniversary with June Shows
From its humble beginnings - a simple six-pack, to appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and America's Got Talent, the St. Luke's Bottle Band has been entertaining audiences for 40 years. This year the band, comprised of 30 members, including 3 founding members, will present their latest show entitled Over the Hill? on June 1st, 2nd, 8th, and 9th at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL. The band will present a mix of new pieces as well as audience favorites that have been making crowds laugh since 1979. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children under 12 and can be purchased online at bit.ly/bottleband.
The band's main instrument, the bottle, has been a source of musical inspiration and frustration over the years. Members blow, hit, and pluck bottles of various shapes and sizes to create the different pitches and tones that make up the core of the piece of music. Other instruments also play a vital role in creating the unique bottle band sound. This year audiences can expect to hear the classic bottle band instruments - violin and kazoo as well as oboe, flute, trumpet and a few more surprises. Vocalists are also instrumental to the show, pardon the pun. Betty Sue Lou Phlemging returns once again to the stage, mostly because we can't seem to get her off of it. She will reprise her role as the Blue Nun as well as welcome special guests from Washington, D.C.
St. Luke's Bottle Band music is difficult to classify, as it is written for the bottle, but the band also takes on a wide variety of genres of music. "One of our more challenging pieces this year has been 'Stars and Stripes Forever,'" notes band-member Trudy Yehudi. "Coordinating the cannons and fireworks as well as the flag choreography has been a tricky issue of timing." As always, the goal of the show is to entertain audiences and make them laugh, just as the first show did in 1979.
The St. Luke's Bottle Band's performances are fun for all ages! You can learn more about the band by visiting their website http://www.stlukespr.org/bottleband/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Bottleband/.