The Mary Webb Centre wasn’t completely full on Saturday, April 20, 2024
for the Amanda Martinez concert, but the enthusiastic audience applauded
like a full house, loudly and lengthy after every song. The talents of the
band were seen and heard throughout the night with solos or succinct
accompaniment to the Latin, world and Gypsy rhythms.
Rosendo “Chendy” Leon on “drums” and perched on top of his Cajone
(Cuban drum box) sounded like a four person percussion group and had
everyone wondering how he could make so many sounds. Kevin Laliberte
on guitar ranged from flamenco picking to otherworldly wails, and
everything in between. Drew Birston on bass (both upright and electric)
kept the beat and helped some audience members get up and dance. But a
crowd favourite was Alexander Brown on trumpet and flugel horn whenever
he quietly played notes or blew to fill the room with saucy Latin sounds
typical of his native Cuba. Of course Amanda was the star with a smooth
voice singing mostly in Spanish and with dance moves that truly
transported the audience to a Latin/gypsy locale. Amanda and her band
closed the night with a pure acoustic number off stage with the audience! It
was magical.
Special thanks to the sponsors for the evening, Darrin Canniff, Steve
Pinsonneault and John Wright and our sound tech Joel Morningstar.
On SATURDAY, MAY 11th, 2024 at 8 PM, Canadian iconic roots rock band,
SKYDIGGERS takes to the stage to close out the 2023-2024 season at
The Mary Webb Centre. Opening for SKYDIGGERS is ALBION WEST, a
progressive folk trio from Chicago who has recently collaborated on a song
with Canadian writer and Chatham-Kent local, Cathy Hoffman. What an
exciting wrap-up!

Al-r: Chendy Leon, Drew Birston, Amanda Martinez, Kevin Laliberte and
Alexander Brown