Tosco Music Party moves to bigger venue Saturday

The Tosco Music Party celebrates its 25th anniversary Saturday by moving to a larger concert venue. The musical variety show, which began as a local jam in host and musician John Tosco's home two and a half decades ago, has been selling out small to mid-size Charlotte theaters for years. It moved from McGlohon Theatre in Spirit Square to Central Piedmont Community College's 1,000 seat Dale F. Halton Theater a little over five years ago.

Saturday the family-friendly, tri-annual live music sampling, moves to Blumenthal Performing Arts' Knight Theater. Knight's capacity is slightly larger than its former CPCC home at nearly 1,200 seats.

As before, Tosco's expansion has been wisely gradual. The annual Beatles' tribute show which Tosco Music Party also produces has become a community favorite, selling out Knight each June. So the new TMP venue appears to be a good fit.

Saturday's acts, who perform one or two songs as well as participating in sing-alongs, include national touring singer-songwriter Chris Trapper whose songs have been featured in films like "August Rush," Brazilian guitarist Reinaldo Brahn, flat-picking champion Allen Shadd, vocalist Dan Truhitte, who played Rolfe Gruber in the original 1965 "The Sound Of Music," Charlotte choral ensemble Renaissance, Blair Crimmins and the Hookers (pictured) who stir up memories of ragtime and vaudeville, award winning bluegrass band leaders Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Charlotte-based Latin music collective Grupo Los Morales, Charlotte "musicaholic" Harrella Wedington, vocalist and voice teacher Julie Dean, NC blues historian and musician Pop Ferguson Blues, and Sue Crossley, who currently resides in the Netherlands. She'll perform with Tosco.

In addition to those adult performers, student musicians including 17-year-old, Italian-born classical guitarist Lando Pieroni, 13-year-old classical composer and multi-instrumentalist Drew Dansby, and first grade vocalist Makayla McNamara also perform.

As always, expect to join in on familiar sing-alongs.

Tickets for Saturday's show, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., range from $15.30 to $23. Order them online at www.blumenthalarts.org or by calling 704-372-1000. To learn more click here.