Evan Ruggiero And The S'Evan Legs To Perform At Birdland

The Broadway at Birdland concert series has announced that dancer/singer/ Evan Ruggiero and his band The S'Evan Legs will be in concert at Birdland on Monday, August 27 at 7:30pm.

Evan Ruggiero (Drama Desk Award Nominee, Bastard Jones) and his rocking band, The S'Evan Legs, will perform their ultimate show at Birdland. With your favorite broadway classics reimagined, and classic rock n' roll fused with current chart topping hits, Evan and The S'Evan Legs is an evening you won't want to miss.

The S'Evan Legs origins started in Old Bridge, NJ, where founding members Evan, guitarist J. Gracie, and bassist Brendan Daily attended high school together. Many years passed, and after Evan's diagnosis of cancer and amputation of his right leg, his determination and will to continue tap dancing and playing music, reunited him with his high school band mates. From there the band has been a revolving door for many musicians to come and go. One day, another musician hailing from Old Bridge, NJ found his place in The S'Evan legs. That musician was the S'Evan Legs' drummer, "G." In a living room session, four musicians came together, to create something that no one had seen or done before. After the incredible jam session of wailing vocals, guitar solos, and tap dancing with a peg leg, J. Gracie dubbed the band name. The name was significant to the number of legs the group shared. Seven in total. Thus, Evan and the S'Evan Legs was born. But as destiny would prove, one more musician would be introduced during the band's travels. That was pianist Will Dougherty. He immediately filled in the missing sound they had been searching for.

Evan Ruggiero began dancing at the age of five in his hometown studio and by age ten, he was accepted into the famed New Jersey Tap Ensemble. Upon entering his sophomore year at Montclair State University while pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, Evan was suddenly diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer of the right leg. Enduring nine surgeries in a six-month period in an effort to save the leg, the cancer returned more aggressively than the original diagnosis. He was faced with the ultimate decision of amputation in order to stop the cancer and save his life, as well as undergoing chemotherapy for sixteen months. Eighteen months after the amputation, and only two days after receiving his "peg-leg," Evan was tapping again. In 2018 he received a Drama Desk Nomination for Best Actor, a Chita Rivera Award Nomination for Best Dancer, and was awarded a Clive Barnes Award in Theatre for his portrayal of Tom Jones in NYC's off-Broadway hit Bastard Jones.

Credits include: Bastard Jones (Off-Broadway), The 90th Oscar Telecast: "This Is Me," The Pickler and Ben Show, The Toxic Avenger (Pittsburgh CLO), "The Ellen Show," Quelli Che il Calcio (Rai Due, Milan, Italy), "Yes I Can" (Paralympic Games Film), Shrek (Pittsburgh CLO), Man of La Mancha (Pittsburgh CLO), Best Night Ever (Transcendence Theatre Company), Pretty To The Bone (NY Theatre Barn), Hans Christian Anderson (NYC reading), The Penalty (The Public), and Evan and The S'Evan Legs (Kennedy Center).

Evan Ruggiero & the S'Evan LegsMonday, August 27 at 7:30pmBirdland (315 West 44 Street, NYC)www.BirdlandJazz.com$40 cover, $10 food/drink minimum

Scott KleinKeith Sherman and Associates234 W. 44th StreetSuite 1004New York, NY 10036phone: (212) 764-7900fax: (212) 764-0344

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