The Belle Brigade to Kick Off Skirball Cultural Center's Annual Sunset Concert Series, 7/25
By: Tyler Peterson Jun. 27, 2013
On Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 8:00 p.m., the Skirball Cultural Center's seventeenth annual Sunset Concerts season kicks off with Los Angeles-based band The Belle Brigade. Led by siblings Ethan and Barbara Gruska, the group blends classic Americana influences, breezy California melodies, and infectious harmonies to create what Newsday calls a "sun-kissed '70s SoCal sound." Joined by bassist Keith Karman, The Belle Brigade will perform songs from their critically acclaimed debut in the Skirball's idyllic central courtyard.
The Skirball's Sunset Concerts series presents free community concerts featuring an eclectic mix of traditions and styles from the Americas to North India (by way of Israel) to West Africa. The 2013 season continues with the West Coast premiere and debut U.S. tour of Shye Ben-Tzur (August 1), Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (August 8), Mamak Khadem and Ensemble (August 15), a world-premiere collaboration between Maria Muldaur and The Campbell Brothers (August 22), and Dendê and Band (August 29).
For each concert, the expansive outdoor courtyard is transformed into a vibrant, festive performance space. Concertgoers arrive early to dine under the stars, visit the museum galleries, and explore the Skirball's stunning architecture and hillside setting. As the bands take the stage, music fans of all ages sing along, dance in the aisles, and gather at the foot of the stage to celebrate with the performers.
The Belle Brigade exemplifies familial chemistry as well as innate songwriting gifts. Inspired by a love for Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and Stevie Wonder, the band's artfully arranged, freewheeling songs combine catchy, folky pop-rock with thoughtful lyrics and driving rhythms. Paste magazine wrote of their self-titled debut: "The most ear-pleasing quality of the band is the way their DNA-sharing vocal chords are able to vibrate perfectly together, creating full, textured harmonies that seem to rise above the instrumentation while flowing along it. There is certainly something about familial bonds and the way they provide an added connectivity in music that's just not present in other acts."
Not surprisingly, given their exceptional talent, the Gruska siblings come from a musical family. Their father, Jay Gruska, is a songwriter and composer who released two albums of his own on Warner Bros. Records in the early 1980s and wrote a number of hit songs for other artists including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Dusty Springfield, as well as hours of music for films and television. Barbara and Ethan's maternal grandfather is Oscar- and Grammy-winning film composer John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark) - someone they both cite as a huge musical influence.
Not surprisingly, given their exceptional talent, the Gruska siblings come from a musical family. Their father, Jay Gruska, is a songwriter and composer who released two albums of his own on Warner Bros. Records in the early 1980s and wrote a number of hit songs for other artists including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Dusty Springfield, as well as hours of music for films and television. Barbara and Ethan's maternal grandfather is Oscar- and Grammy-winning film composer John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark) - someone they both cite as a huge musical influence.
Barbara and Ethan got their start in music at a young age. Ethan began playing piano and writing songs in earnest at the age of 14, and studied classical composition for a year at CalArts. As for Barbara, when she was nine she fashioned a drum set out of random objects in her room and played that until she received her first drum kit. She went on to study jazz drumming at Oberlin College and CalArts before dropping out to hit the road with The Bird and The Bee's Inara George, followed by tours with Benji Hughes and Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis.
Comments
Videos