Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church in Surprise is welcoming The Powell Brothers in concert.
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Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church in Surprise is welcoming The Powell Brothers in concert at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Attendees will enjoy their original songs and arrangements of western swing, bluegrass, blues and Americana. They entertain and enlighten audiences with brotherly harmonies and a beautiful vintage sound.
They appear regularly at the International Harp Guitar Gathering, throughout the western U.S. and worldwide. The Powell Brothers headlined the Top Hats series in Sun City West, as well as performances in several venues throughout Surprise and Mesa.
Anthony and David Powell were born in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Minot, North Dakota, respectively.
They began musical training early with classical piano, trumpet, guitar and bass lessons and duet singing. They’ve shared desires for performance, recording and producing and are best known as stringed instrument engineers and co-owners of their custom guitar company Tonedevil Harp Guitars. They have broken the mold in all the right ways with innovative designs, building traditional or extended range guitars, ukeleles and mandolins.
Performing with their own creations these two top emerging artists across diverse genres have made their most ambitious album to date with “Tonedevil Bros. & The Fiddlers 3, Livin and Lovin” a 15-song collection that authenticates them as ensuing talen performers who revere the history of the music that inspires them, while pushing its boundaries to a new audience through lively and memorable shows.
Reflecting the diverse musical influences of the brothers, “Livin’ and Lovin’” serves up a variety of tastes with Bluegrass elements, folk, blues, country and singer/songwriter as primarily an acoustic record. The album follows a successful cinematic production endeavor for a movie soundtrack called “The Galena Treasure,” which is viewable on Amazon, and an instrumental bluegrass album recorded for the wildly popular Silverwood Theme Park.
“I’ve learned to just let music do its thing,” Anthony said. “So that’s what we try to do as a duet — write good songs and pick and sing with soul.”
Performing predominantly on the extended range harp guitar, David covers the rhythm with an infectious groove using a technique like that of Chet Atkins or Merle Travis, but with more bass.
Having been received into the international harp guitar society, and performing regularly at their conventions, he brings a unique element to their specialty sound. Keeping with the tradition of harp guitar and mandolin, which goes back to the early days of Gibson’s mandolin orchestras, their brotherly harmonies and musical sensibilities astonish and impress wherever they go.
Natives of the beautiful rocky mountain town of Sandpoint, Idaho, the brothers have lived in Nashville, Los Angeles and Seattle, while building a repertoire of inspiration from grunge and classic rock to american primitive guitar and celtic music.
They were compared to Simon and Garfunkel during a radio interview on “The Guitar Hour” (KPBS in Spokane, Washington) by the late Leon Atkinson, who has a distinctive voice cameo in the song “16 Tons.”
He also said their singing has distinct familial qualities, as in the song “Run Away With You” or “Energy Channel,” a brilliant and mesmerizing song dedicated to the genius of Nicoli Tesla. There seems to be something on this album for everyone from the roots music lover to the indie band fan or even a love song to adore.
The brothers grew up playing bluegrass, celtic, blues, rock, swing, country, folk and new age fingerstyle guitar and have always had a special knack for an interactive live performance. They have recorded and performed with a multitude of renown and award-winning musicians from the inland Northwest and around the world, including stops in China from Bejing to Shanghai.
Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church is at 15820 W. Clearview Boulevard in The Grand. Tickets to this event are free but required. Call the Fellowship at 480-438-1115 to reserve your tickets.
Tickets may also be available at the door the afternoon of the performance. Doors will open at 3.
A free will offering will be taken.
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