The Kingston Trio, March 8 & 9 at NoHo’s historic El Portal Theatre, brings back ultra-cool music & memories
One of the most famous bands of the 1950s and ’60s, The Kingston Trio topped the charts and sold-out massive arenas during the golden days of American folk music. Now their huge appreciative audiences, with their kids and grandkids, are gathering again.
The ultra-coolness of The Kingston Trio is back with the mega-popular “Keeping the Music Alive” concert tour. They will grab the spotlight for two special nights, Wednesday, March 8, and Thursday, March 9, at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.
The Kingston Trio has Mike Marvin, Tom Gorelangton and Buddy Woodward, all with deep links to the founding members of the Trio, keeping their music alive. They’ve been touring around the country more than 30 weeks a year to packed crowds and grateful fans who recapture youthful memories through the music.
Mike Marvin says, “There’s something about the music that’s kind of magical. It’s compelling, cinematic in your head, it’s great storytelling, and it’s music that just stays alive. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been so successful.”
The Kingston Trio presents their most famous songs right out of the gate. Marvin assures, “They’re all great songs, but we start with the hits that are instantly recognizable by the fans. There’s no time to get bored waiting for the hits.”
Among some of the wonderful chart-toppers are: Tom Dooley, Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Hard Travelin’, M.T. A. (He’ll Never Return), Everglades, Greenback Dollar, A Worried Man, Merry Minuet, and the list goes on.
These great American folks songs are being introduced to a new generation, and Marvin loves it when a fifteen year old kid comes up to him after the show and says, “I’ve never heard anything like this before.” Marvin adds, “Several years later the kid will come to a show with his guitar and he’ll invite us to come see his band which is doing all our music.”
In addition to delighting audiences, The Kingston Trio is continuing a legacy of Mike’s ‘adopted dad’ and mentor Nick Reynolds, who along with his buddies Bob Shane and Dave Guard (and later John Stewart), founded the Kingston Trio.
What joy does Mike Marvin feel about carrying the torch and continuing that legacy? He says, “I grew up with this music, becoming part of Nick’s family when I was a teenager. I was at the rehearsals with Nick, where I learned the music ropes. That was when the Trio was the biggest entertainment act in the world. I talk about this in the show. Knowing Nick as well as I did, I think he would approve if he saw our show.”
A musician posted a review of the show not too long ago saying, “Going to see The Kingston Trio was like going to see a Master Class in communication between stage and audience.”
Marvin notes, “We don’t do a traditional concert. We put on a complete show that sounds very loose and ad libbed, but it’s not. We invite the audience to sing along and do meet and greets after the shows. We’ve had lots of people come up and say ‘You know that Nick, Bob and John would be very proud of you guys.’”
What always blows the audience away is the time machine they enter. Marvin explains, “We take them back to a moment, maybe when they were teenagers, when they first heard these songs, and they actually loose themselves in the journey for these two hours. It’s an overall experience. They are seeing the Kingston Trio, not a tribute band doing their voices perfectly, but with mistakes and jokes and having fun. Doing the things that bring down the house.”
“This is The Kingston Trio for real, 60 years later,” says Marvin. “Tim, Buddy and I in striped shirts, black pants, loafers, Martin guitars. You are going to see the show you would have seen in 1960, which is to say you are going to see the best presentation of this music you’ll ever see anywhere.”
Proudly presented by 3000 Miles Off-Broadway, The Kingston Trio perform their timeless classics Wednesday, March 8, at 7:30 pm, and Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 pm, on the Debbie Reynolds Mainstage at the Historic El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in the NOHO Arts District, North Hollywood, CA.
For tickets and information call 818-508-4200 or order online at www.elportaltheatre.com.
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