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Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference “Get Your Kicks ’23” Kickoff Concert
October 18, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 11:30 pm
The Miles of Possibility organization will kick off their eighth annual Route 66 Conference scheduled for Bloomington-Normal, Illinois October 19-22 with a concert on Wednesday evening, October 18, at Jazz UpFront, a popular music venue at 107 W. Front Street in Bloomington, Illinois.
The “Get Your Kicks ’23” tour band has been organized by Hammond organ virtuoso Robby Robinson, 45-year veteran of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons band as keyboardist and music director, who will play keyboards as part of this tour. On lead guitar will be Vinny Martell, original member of the legendary rock group Vanilla Fudge. Vocals will be handled by two young but seasoned entertainers: Sara Niemietz, of Postmodern Jukebox and Ozone Squeeze fame, and Travis Cloer, Broadway star who performed 2,200 shows as Frankie Valli in “Jersey Boys.”
With these musicians’ unique backgrounds, the audience can expect to hear a mix of songs from the Frankie Valli and Vanilla Fudge bands plus plenty of Route 66-appropriate tunes including Robby and Sara’s cool-and-campy arrangement of the ever-popular “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” which they recorded last year.
The Bloomington show on October 18 is one of four stops on the “Get Your Kicks ’23” tour, also including St. Charles, Litchfield, and Edwardsville. The tour was inspired by the “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” recording and the opportunity to perform on Illinois Route 66 in conjunction with the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference dates. Robinson is a native of Litchfield, Illinois.
Tickets are available for the October 18 show on the Jazz Upfront website https://www.jazzupfront.com. Tickets for Miles of Possibility attendees will be $20 each with VIP perks; registered attendees will be given a code to access the special ticket. The general public can also
reserve tickets for $25 each.
Jazz UpFront is dedicated to providing Bloomington-Normal & Central Illinois with a mature upscale venue for top-level live music in the historic downtown Route 66 Bloomington area. The popular club was established in 2015 and is operated by James Gaston, longtime locally known musician and businessman.
More information on the “Get Your Kicks ’23” tour can be found at https://www.robbyrobinsonmusic.com/get-your-kicks-tour-23.html Complete information and registration link for the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is at https://route66milesofpossibility.com.