Morry Sochat and the Special 20s to Perform in Palatine
Palatine Park District presents Morry Sochat & the Special 20s in a musical matinee event on Sunday, April 24 at 3 p.m. The concert will be held at Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, 150 E. Wood St., Palatine. All attendees will receive a complimentary goody bag and one free raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase at $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. The presenting sponsor of this special concert event is Plum Creek Supportive Living.
Concert tickets are $7 and can be purchased in person at the box office, by phone at (847) 202-5222, or online at www.cuttinghall.org. A limited number of dinner package tickets are also available for $30. This option includes a prime rib and pasta dinner at Emmett's Brewing Company in downtown Palatine following the performance. Additional ticketing fees may apply.
Morry Sochat and The Special 20's are bringing a fresh sound to the Chicago Blues scene. They mix classic Chicago Blues with Swing and Rock N' Roll from the 1950's. The band is influenced by the best in blues history including Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Louis Jordan, Junior Wells, and all of the Chicago greats.
Morry Sochat (pronounced Socket) moved to Chicago from Texas in 1990. He started playing harmonica in 2000, taking lessons from renowned teacher, Joe Filisko at the Old Town School of Folk Music. He played with The Shakes and Tongue & Groove before starting The Special 20s in 2005. Their first, self-titled release, recorded in 2006, was received with great reviews, taking the 20s from playing one or two nights a month to constant bookings all over the city. Morry has been playing around the city learning from the greats in Chicago, playing with Dave Specter, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Billy Flynn and Barrelhouse Chuck.
In 2007, Sochat took the next step and went out on his own. He hired some of the best musicians in Chicago to round out The Special 20s. In 2008, they returned to the studio to record a new CD. The recording Swingin' Shufflin' Smokin' was produced by Nick Moss and featured Ted Beranis, Kenny Smith, Dave Ross, Nick Krebs, Shoji Naito, and Jim St. Marie. The CD was also met with rave reviews. This opened up doors for the band across the US.
In 2010, Morry took the band back to the studio to release Eatin' Dirt. The CD was produced by Jimmy Sutton, and features 10 original songs. The band has grown in both skill level and size, adding a horn section on a lot of the songs. Eating' Dirt was a sound expansion for the band. In 2015, Dig In was recorded with the same band as Eatin' Dirt with the addition of Billy Flynn. Tim Bluhm, from the Mother Hips, produced the CD. The band is cooking on all cylinders so come out and see them live at historic Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center in Palatine.
In addition to the presenting sponsor, Plum Creek Supportive Living, support has also been received from the following gold level sponsors: Belmont Village of Buffalo Grove, Brookdale Hoffman Estates, Castle Chiropractic, Comfort Keepers, Lexington Health Network, Palatine Township Senior Citizens Council, RE/MAX at Home/Marty & Cindy Eich, The Grand at Twin Lakes, The Solana Deer Park, and Transitional Care of Arlington Heights.
For more information, call the box office at 847-202-5222 or contact Michael Noens, Cultural Arts Coordinator, at 847-496-6237 or mnoens@palatineparks.org.
The mission of Palatine Park District is to provide a variety of safe, enjoyable and affordable parks and recreation facilities and activities that will enhance the quality of life by promoting good health and well-being for all residents and visitors of the Palatine Park District.