Welcome to the
Rebecca J. Graves Center for the Performing Arts

Zydeco Jed

April 5, 2025

7:30 PM

Zydeco Jed is an East Coast roots band, based in the great state of Maryland (DC area) playing fun-loving Americana we call grateful Delta, blending
rock & funk, Cajun & zydeco, blues & country, and more through original material and kind covers.

Once in a while, a group of musicians gets together to play music, and something special happens. Zydeco Jed is a band in which rock and roll meets jazz, blues, Cajun, funk, zydeco, country and some good old-fashioned Grateful Dead.

We love all kinds of music, and most of us have played with a Grateful Dead tribute band. In fact, many of us played together in local bands such as the Next Step and On the Bus, the top Grateful Dead tribute bands in the region going back 20 years.

Everyone in Zydeco Jed traces his early musical experiences to roots rock and roll, and each has a connection with much of the same music that inspired Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and the family of the Grateful Dead. But over the years, each of us were also exposed to many other styles that influenced our playing.

It’s this current blend of musical influences that inspires us to write original material and pay tribute to so many styles of music, with a decided nod to The Grateful Dead, The Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan, The Meters, Elvis Presley, Clifton Chenier, Willie Dixon, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and so many other great musicians.

Zydeco Jed is… Tom Ericsson, Mike Lessin, Chris Marsh, Nick Newlin, Brent Hartley and Tom Bollinger.

Dueling Pianos

April 19, 2025

7:30 PM

Enjoy the interactive & high energy atmosphere by singing along, requesting songs and participating in the banter!

Wes Iseli – Magic Show

May 3,2025

7:30 PM

Wes Iseli has been performing magic since he was 7 years old. He started his own business called Party Magic after graduating from high school. Wes now performs on average 400 shows per year with his family at his side. He has his own reality TV show in syndication across the country called Wes Iseli’s Magiclife and he and his wife Natalie host Wes Iseli’s Magiclife Podcast that is ranked among the top 1% of podcasts with listeners in 53 different countries.

Wes Iseli keeps himself in the public eye by performing such effects such as accurately predicting the headline of a national newspaper one month in advance or by his amazing escape effects. As in the case of letting the audience tie him up completely with 100 feet of rope during his live show.

For 10 years Wes performed a 24 hour magic show to raise money for The Children’s Miracle Network.

Wes has lectured for magicians helping them to realize their potential and get started in the business while teaching them to be as professional as possible. He also taught them some of his favorite tricks as well as let them in on some office secrets. Recently Wes Iseli was hired as a USDA certified animal trainer and magic consultant for the Carbonaro Effect on Tru TV.

Santi Debriano

May 10, 2025

7:30 PM

Note: There will be a reception immediately following the concert.

Santi Debriano is acclaimed as one of the most interesting and original voices on the international jazz scene today. As a soloist, he has performed at many of the world’s most renowned festivals and concert halls, often presenting his own compositions with his bands.

“The depth of his performances and his energy [are] an inspiration for his colleagues and his audiences” Jabali Billy Hart

“In my estimation he is a living jazz master.” Mike Longo

His jazz group, Flash of the Spirit, is a sextet of virtuoso musicians who perform regularly on the New York jazz scene. The band moves easily through modern jazz, latin jazz and the avant garde jazz idioms. The group’s recording, Flash of the Spirit, on Truth and Revolution Recordings, was in the top 10 on the Jazz Weekly charts for 14 weeks in 2021, among the top 3 for 4 weeks.

He has realised concerts and albums such diverse jazz masters as Kenny Clarke, Mal Waldron, Archie Shepp, Kirk Lightsey, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, David Murray, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz, Oliver Lake, Baikida Carrol, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Hank Jones, Elvin Jones, Randy Weston, Roy Hanes and many others.

Victor Haskins

June 7, 2025

7:30 PM

Victor Haskins is a boundary-pushing multi-instrumentalist and composer known for his innovative approach to both music and multimedia art. Growing up in a military family exposed him to diverse cultures, fostering a deep appreciation for global influences that permeate his creative endeavors.

All About Jazz refers to Haskins as a “visionary performer, composer, and…an incorrigible explorer.” This is evidenced by his projects, Victor Haskins & Skein and ImproviStory, which have been featured at such varied venues as the Festival of New Trumpet Music (NYC), Richmond Jazz Festival, Christopher Newport University Trumpet Festival, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Sweet Briar College.

As an educator, Haskins has shared his passion for music and creativity through masterclasses, workshops, and teaching positions at renowned institutions such as the Kennedy Center, William & Mary, and the Izmir International Jazz Camp.

Victor has received grant support and commissions for his recording, performing, and multimedia work from such cultural institutions as the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Richmond CultureWorks, and 1708 Gallery.

Sparky & Rhonda Rucker

July 19, 2025

7:30 PM

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform throughout the U.S. as well as overseas, singing songs and telling stories from the American folk tradition. Sparky Rucker has been performing over fifty years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller, and author. He accompanies himself with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, banjo, and spoons. Rhonda Rucker is a musician, children’s author, storyteller, and songwriter. Her blues-style harmonica, piano, old-time banjo, and bones add musical versatility to their performances.

Sparky and Rhonda are sure to deliver an uplifting presentation of toe-tapping music spiced with humor, history, and tall tales. They take their audience on an educational and emotional journey that ranges from poignant stories of slavery and war to an amusing rendition of a Brer Rabbit tale or their witty commentaries on current events. Their music includes a variety of old-time blues, slave songs, Appalachian music, spirituals, ballads, work songs, Civil War music, railroad songs, and a few of their own original compositions.

Over fifty years of performing, Sparky and Rhonda have appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival as well as NPR’s On Point, Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, and Morning Edition. Their recording, Treasures & Tears, was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award, and their music is also included on the Grammy-nominated anthology, Singing Through the Hard Times.

Thank you to all of our PAL Sponsors

The Barbara & George Lawton Jazz Series