Magnolia Boulevard
“What a righteous time to be alive / right here with one another,” sings Magnolia Boulevard’s Maggie Noelle roughly a minute into the joyous and jaunty “Ride.” The words are ostensibly about a budding relationship between two individuals, but Noelle could just as easily be referencing the singular and special connection that exists between her and her Magnolia Boulevard bandmates—guitarist Gregg Erwin, keyboardist Ryan Allen, bassist John Roberts, and the quintet’s latest addition, drummer Chad “The Beard” Gravitt—or, as likely, their bond with the fans that have been packing clubs in the band’s hometown of Lexington, Kentucky and beyond to shimmy, shout, and dance to the music.
“When we’re on stage we play with a lot of emotion,” Noelle says. “And then we feed off the crowd’s emotional reaction to us and we give it right back to them.”
Central to the Magnolia Boulevard experience is a sound that flows easily and seamlessly from a multitude of stylistic tributaries. There’s plenty of blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll in the mix, but also elements of funk, jam band, folk, country, bluegrass and psychedelia. It’s all fueled by the rhythm section’s elastic grooves, shot through with Erwin’s expressive and incisive slide guitar licks, and topped by Noelle’s soul-stirring, powerhouse vocals.
Now nearly two years removed from the release of Magnolia Boulevard’s debut EP, a four-track offering titled New Illusion that was produced by famed guitar maker and owner of PRS Guitars, Paul Reed Smith, the band is eager to show the world what they can do with a proper full-length debut album. However, the road to this precipice has proven to be far more difficult and soul-wrenching than anybody could’ve ever anticipated.
Note that the event producer and Artist may change dates, times, and/or venues depending on the current COVID-19 environment. Ticket buyers will be updated by the Academy Center of the Arts staff, should any change to schedule or venue occurs.
Tickets:
General Admission: $15.00 plus taxes and fees
For more information or to purchase tickets to this performance, contact our Box Office at (434) 846-8499.
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Supported by the BWXT Access Program
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