Saturday,
October 28
8:00 PM
$15
For many of you the name “Bill Leslie” is a household word. Not only is he the morning news anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, but an internationally acclaimed musician as well! Bill began his ‘career’ in music at the age of 7 in Morganton, NC. He played many instruments and sang in several bands and groups all through his growing up years. A trip to Scotland and a concert by the contemporary Celtic group Nightnoise paved the way for his music genre today playing Celtic whistle, guitar and piano to create his Celtic influenced melodies. Shortly afterwards he built a full-fledged studio at his home and co-founded a Celtic fusion band Bragh Adair featuring guitar, whistle, violin, piano, bass and percussion. They played for nearly four years and produced two wonderful albums "GRACE IN STONE" and “THE HUNT". They had some outstanding concerts, Meymandi Hall included! The band folded in 2002 and Bill formed an alliance with a wonderful band called LORICA. The members are violinist Sherry Buchheit, flutist Linda Metz, pianist Marty Suttle and percussionist Stephen Levitin. Their latest release was “I Am a River” October 1, 2006! Here is what Bill Binkelman of New Age Reporter is saying about the new disc: “A few songs into I Am A River and it’s readily apparent how influential the late Michéal Ó’Domhnaill was to multi-instrumentalist Bill Leslie and the latter’s music. This album is dedicated to Ó’Domhnaill, who was one of the two founding members of the landmark neo-Celtic fusion band, Nightnoise (along with Billy Oskay). The CD’s twelve instrumentals and three vocal numbers play as if they were cut from the same cloth which yielded all those great Nightnoise releases. Leslie infuses Irish moods and flavors via a variety of acoustic instruments (guitar, whistle, and piano) as well as some superbly executed orchestral keyboards and he’s sometimes joined by accompanists on cello, violin and percussion. The tone here varies from somber and reflective, tinted with melancholy, to dramatic and powerful, and to spirited and cheerful. All the players acquit themselves in excellent fashion performing with both passion and grace. I Am A River is one of the best releases of 2006 and marks the pinnacle of Leslie’s musical career so far. Even his vocal tracks stack up admirably when compared to the instrumentals, owing to his fine voice (occasionally joined by Mary Suttle Long) singing self-penned lyrics which are poignant and personal.”
Bill has several other CDs to his credit: THE HUNT, GRACE IN STONE, and his PEACEFUL JOURNEY CD soared to number one on the charts in December 2004. His CHRISTMAS IN CAROLINA album peaked at number two worldwide in December 2005. He was voted BEST NEW ARTIST in 2005 ---- and he lives right here in our own backyard AND he SINGS!!!! Have a listen:
"Tall
Ships" was used as the 'theme song' for the International TALL SHIPS
festival held in Beufort, NC this summer!