The Gipsy Kings perform at the Kravis Center. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

The Gipsy Kings consist of two bands of brothers: the Reyes (Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Patchai, Andre) and the Baliardos (Tonino, Paco, Diego). The Reyes and Baliardo boys were the offspring of Spanish gypsy families that had fled into France to escape Spain’s Civil War. They grew up roaming the south of France, working harvests and making music.

According to the Gipsy Kings’ website, Jose Reyes, along with his guitarist Manitas de Plata, gained famous fans including John Steinbeck, Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso, Miles Davis, and Salvador Dali. After splitting with Manitas in the 1970s, Reyes formed a band with his sons. After Reyes’ death, his sons then formed the Gipsy Kings with their Baliardo cousins in 1979, performing around Cannes. The guys released their self-titled debut album in 1987.

These real life gypsy decedents took Palm Beach by storm Thursday night when they played to a near sold-out crowd at the Kravis Center. 

Photos: Gipsy Kings at the Kravis Center | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

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Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero, better known as Rodrigo y Gabriela, can certainly hold their own as a duo. Being an instrumental acoustic flamenco rock phenomenon with dueling acoustic guitars, they have enticed audiences for many years with their contemporary style of genre-busting sound.

But on Tuesday night at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, they expanded their sound as well as their audience, collaborating with the Latin jazz and percussion ensemble named C.U.B.A. (The Collective Universal Band Association). Together they played reinvented tracks that originally appear on the duo’s third and fourth albums.

Before combining with C.U.B.A. for their latest album, “Area 52,” which is an exploration of Cuban music recorded in Havana, Rod and Gab’s music could only be described as a genuine but unique play on Salsa – they fuse their original sound with elements of heavy metal – blowing the edges off of Latin classical guitar work.

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While on stage, the duo played several unique pieces from early on in their career mixed with some original music inspired by the group’s musical influences – two of which mentioned last night were Carlos Santana and Al Di Meola.
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Yanni performs at the Kravis Center on Tuesday. He performs again Wednesday. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

I have always had a deep appreciation for fine music — all kinds of music — from classic rock to classical violin to jazz and I’ve reviewed quite a few popular bands in the last few years. Most recently, I had the opportunity to review Foreigner and shared that the music played was “classic, yet timeless” — that show evoked memories from my childhood and made me smile and literally rock in my chair.

Well, believe it or not, this classic rocker is also a lover of new-age / fusion / jazz music – on my iPod are works from many fantastic artists including Jean-Luc Ponty, Jean-Michel Jarre, Andreas Vollenweider, Enya, and Yanni. This kind of music touches me on a completely different plane of consciousness.

During an interview, Yanni said: “My goal is to connect with people emotionally. I take life’s experiences and translate them into music — music that hopefully creates an impact on the listener”

Photos: Yanni at the Kravis Center | Directions, invite a friend to Wednesday’s show | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

Tuesday, Yanni kicked off his 80-show, 2012 U.S. tour at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, with an absolutely amazing performance.

Joking while on stage that he has a home only 20 minutes from the venue, Yanni said, “It is as if you are all in my living room!”
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Kevin Costner performs with his band Modern West at the Sunrise Theatre. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

Who would have thought that The Bodyguard could sing? Known most widely for his acting career and over 40 starring roles in Hollywood feature films since 1981, Kevin Costner is not typically thought of as a rock star in the literal sense. However, Costner joined forces in 2007 with songwriter John Coinman to form Kevin Costner & Modern West at the urging of his wife, Christine.

Saturday, Costner and his band took the stage in historic Fort Pierce at The Sunrise Theatre. To the audience’s delight, after five years of performing worldwide, Costner proved to be a very charismatic singer with catchy tunes influenced by his experiences making movies for the silver screen.

Between songs, Costner chatted with the audience and explained the underlying meanings or influences of the songs he was about to perform. Most of his hits had a straightforward musical style which can only be described as “scrappy” and “organic adult country rock”. Interestingly, they all had a heartland feel to them – similar to Bob Seger and John Mellencamp. Songs played included “Red River”, “Top Down”, “Indian Summer”, “I Know These Hills” and “Superman”.

Photos: Kevin Costner & Modern West in Fort Pierce | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

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Martin Short tries to teach audience members his dance number from the movie 'The Three Amigos'. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

Ed Grimley, Jiminy Glick and Jackie Rogers Jr. are just a few of Martin Short’s alter egos – all of which were brought to life on stage last night at the Kravis Center during his one-man show. Short’s performance included singing, dancing, and piano playing – all intertwined with a montage of film clips from his TV/movie days.

During his monologue, Short timelined his long comedy career – from SCTV to Saturday Night Live to Hollywood. He shared that The Three Amigos was his first feature film and brought three unsuspecting audience members on stage to do a humorous skit with him.

While on stage, Short attempted to teach these three a dance move called “Three Brave Amigos Are We” from his first film. The guests were each given a Mexican hat, then shown individually the four steps making up the dance. After teaching the steps, Short sang the song and instructed each of the guests perform those steps with him in unison. It was truly hilarious.

Photos: Martin Short at the Kravis Center | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

I’ve been around long enough to remember his start on TV. Although the characters be brought to life on stage last night were very familiar, I was thrilled that be brought fresh and current content to the show. After explaining that he loved working with Steve Martin in Father of the Bride, he showed a few movie clips from the movie. When they ended, Short arrived back on stage in character as Franck, the crazy wedding planner with a goofy French accent. Read the full story

Debbie Reynolds performs at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

After 65 years of performing with everyone who was anyone in Hollywood, Debbie Reynolds took the stage in Fort Pierce with flair. America’s sweetheart of the 1950s and ’60s told the crowd that she turns 80 on April Fools Day and was “thrilled to be alive and on stage”.

Looking absolutely adorable and laughing to herself continually throughout the evening, Reynolds sang and told jokes to the sold-out audience at the Sunrise Theatre. She performed for more than two hours with one intermission.

During the first set, looking ravishing in her gold sequent dress, she mentioned that she was ‘married to a singer’, which generated many laughs and she said that gave birth to Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) — making her a queen. During this set, she had a movie screen come down to display many clips from her Hollywood career. Reynolds told stories and sang hits from each of the musicals.

Photos: Debbie Reynolds at the Sunrise Theatre | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

Reynolds came on stage during the second set in a beautiful red dress and told the audience that “they may like this” — she promptly showed a 10-minute ‘blooper reel’ from the gold days of Hollywood.
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Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt perform together at the Sunrise Theatre. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

As if they were sitting in your living room, singer/songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt performed together Wednesday night at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce. The team was armed with nothing but acoustic guitars, microphones, their wit and amazing talent.

There was no prepared set-list. Sitting across from each other, the duo took turns playing selections from each of their respective repertoires. Each performed in turn as the spotlight focused on them. As one would play, the other would think of a song to complement the previous hit. It was as if their life story was told through song.

The crowd was very knowledgeable of each performer’s vast collection of music. As the evening unfolded, the audience members began to realize that the songs being played were in no particular order, but instead, being decided as the evening progressed. As they shouted song titles, both Lovett and Hiatt responded with comments — some of which were very funny and sarcastic.

Photos: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Sunrise Theatre | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

When not responding to requests, between songs, the two chatted about things like the inspiration for a song, how hard it is to find good love and Lovett’s second-grade teacher. One story told by each was how early in life they first started playing guitar.
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Justin Hayward and John Lodge of the Moody Blues perform at Hard Rock Live on Sunday. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

“Breathe deep the gathering gloom, Watch lights fade from every room,” and “Cold hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colours from our sight, Red is gray and yellow white, But we decide which is right… And which is an illusion?” are portions of the eclectic words from the opening of “Late Lament”, a poem originally recorded in 1967 that marks the end of the classic “Nights in White Satin”. The audience chanted loudly with Graeme Edge as the words echoed through Hard Rock Live.

The Moody Blues launched their 32-city 2012 tour Sunday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. with a spectacular two-hour journey through their timeless music. The tour appropriately named “The Moody Blues: The Voyage Continues – Highway 45,” marks the 45th anniversary of their landmark album Days Of Future Passed.

Photos: Moody Blues at Hard Rock Live | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

Three original band members (Edge, John Lodge and Justin Hayward) are still touring and, at close to 70 years of age each, demonstrated that they still have what it takes to continue the legacy of being one of the top-grossing album and touring bands in existence.

The show opened with “Gemini Dreams” with a bang – with billowing smoke, colorful lights and psychedelic images bringing the audience back to Woodstock. Some hits of the evening included “Tuesday Afternoon”, “Isn’t Life Strange”, “Singer in a Rock & Roll Band” and “Nights in White Satin”.
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The Pink Floyd Experience performs at the Kravis Center. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

They say that we are all products of what we experience during our lifetime. Well, last night I had an opportunity to witness The Pink Floyd Experience (PFX) at the Kravis Center. I was given an experience which I will not soon forget.

As their first set, they performed one of my favorite albums of all time, Wish You Were Here, in its entirety, with such authenticity, that when I closed my eyes, it was as if the original band was playing on stage. In fact, when I opened my eyes, with the smoke, mind-blowing lights, psychedelic visuals playing on a large screen behind the band, and crystal clear sound, It could easily have been the legendary British progressive rock band as I remember them in the ’70′s at Madison Square Garden. This performance accomplished the goal which the promoters envisioned – to deliver an intimate and provocative show as the original band delivered it to the world decades ago.

One person during intermission asked me if any of the original members were touring with this group. Of course, the answer was no, and unfortunately, the world has already lost two of the founding band members: Syd Barrett in 2006 and Richard Wright in 2008. David Gilmour and Roger Waters still tour and perform occasionally. During the second set last night, one of the band members dedicated a few songs to Syd.

Photos: Pink Floyd Experience at the Kravis Center | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

After the intermission the band played 12 Floyd classics hits, both old and new, including “Time”, “Money” and “Comfortably Numb”. During both “Time” and “Money”, some of the more commercially successful songs, the visuals displayed behind the band added to the experience.
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Johnny Mathis performs at the Kravis Center on Friday. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

With a 26-piece orchestra behind him, Johnny Mathis graced the stage in front of the sold-out crowd at the Kravis Center with his unmistakable voice, boyish looks and the jewel-toned sound of yesteryear. The 210-minute show gave the audience members (mostly in their third act of life) exactly what they expected – music from a living legend.

There was virtually no fanfare – only a greeting saying that he was thrilled to be back and adores playing at the Kravis Center. The evening consisted of two sets with close to 30 hits and a supporting comedy act by Brad Upton.

Mathis, now 76 years of age, started his career in 1955. On this night, he looked relaxed and incredibly young wearing a linen suit, white shirt and no tie – some say he found the fountain of youth. After 50 years of performing, his voice was amazingly strong and with the accompanying band behind him, Mathis brought the audience members back to their youth.

Photos: Johnny Mathis at the Kravis Center | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

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