Weekend Entertainment | Sail into Summer with Smooth Jazz

If smooth jazz is your thing, the place to be Saturday will be The Youngstown Playhouse.

That’s where saxophonist Kim Waters will appear in a 7 p.m. concert.

Waters is one of the best in his genre. His instrumental handiwork has a quality that prompted Upscale magazine to dub him “the pied piper of smooth jazz.”

Waters’ most recent album, “That Special Touch,” was released in 2022. Fans at Saturday’s concert should expect to hear songs from the new album plus his best work from his long career.

Tickets are $60 (general admission), and there’s a VIP option available that includes a reception at Charlie Staples’ Pitt Boss restaurant on Belmont Avenue. Tickets can be purchased HERE or at the door.

The concert is the first in a summer series of jazz artists at the Playhouse that is being presented by Sharon Rae North.

Valley residents know North as a former Youngstown television reporter who also has a career as a jazz singer. North, who now lives in Virginia, returned to her hometown last summer for a concert at The Amp.

She recently jumped into the concert promotion field and immediately thought about Youngstown – and the Playhouse. “It’s perfect for what we’re doing,” she said in a phone interview.

The 400-seat theater will always hold a place in North’s memory.

“I grew up on St. Louis Avenue on the South Side,” she said. “I could see the back of the Playhouse building by looking out the window of my parents’ bedroom.”

As a child, North saw many shows at the Playhouse with her mother. While jazz is her first love, North and her business partner, Fritz Germain, plan to promote other types of entertainment, including comedy.

“We’re talking about a lot of different things,” she said.

But first, there’s Saturday’s Kim Waters concert, and North is expecting something great.

“I saw him just a few months ago,” North said. “It’s a four-piece band, but he puts out a big, beautiful sound.”

This is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer and a time for barbecues and trips to the lake. But there are some other unique entertainment options.

Forever Young, a concert by local musicians that will pay tribute to Bob Dylan, will start at 8 p.m. Friday at Westside Bowl in Youngstown. For information, click HERE.

Left End, the undisputed champions of the Valley’s vibrant rock scene in the 1970s and ’80s, will perform Sunday night at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre. To learn more, click HERE.

For a complete look at everything going on in the Mahoning Valley, check out The List.

Pictured at top: Jazz saxophonist Kim Waters and his band will perform at The Youngstown Playhouse on Saturday.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.