Swearingen & Kelli – “The Music of Simon and Garfunkel” will headline the second concert in the 2022-20223 season of the Greater Hazleton Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. at the Hazleton Area High School auditorium.
There will be abundant free and lighted parking available.
This Nashville based duo recreates the music of Simon and Garfunkel. AJ Swearingen has mastered Simon’s intricate guitar playing and his deep baritone blends perfectly with Jayne Kelli’s angelic vocals, delivering a true tribute to the sound of the 1960’s Greenwich Village coffeehouse performances.
AJ, who grew up in the steel town of Bethlehem where songs by country legends – such as Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash – and guitar-playing folksingers – such as Paul Simon and James Taylor – filled the family home. He later kicked off his career as a solo artist, playing regional gigs in Pennsylvania before a series of long, cold winters drove him south where he resettled in Florida.
Meanwhile, Jayne was raised in the small town of Lapeer, Mich., inheriting a love for John Denver, Jim Croce and Glen Campbell from her parents. By 14 years old, she’d hijacked her father’s acoustic guitar and began writing songs. After graduating college, she longed for a change of scenery and moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., where she continued recording albums and playing solo shows.
Their histories became entwined after a night of impromptu duets at the Hideaway, a cozy listening room in St. Petersburg. Their voices meshed effortlessly that evening, leading to more collaboration between the two musicians. AJ began playing lap steel in Jayne’s band, while Jayne started singing harmonies on AJ’s records. Before long, a romance had blossomed alongside the pair’s ongoing collaboration, and it simply made sense to combine their individual efforts into a proper duo.
“We melded together naturally,” Kelli said. “We weren’t necessarily looking to form a duo, but we shared a bond because we were both still playing the bars in town, and we knew we wanted something bigger. We began playing together, and everything grew from there.”
They released their first album in 2013 and married in 2014.
The 2022-23 Greater Hazleton Concert Series offers entertaining, professional performances to subscribers. Individual tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students. For concert information or tickets call, Cynthia at 570-436-6615, Tom at 570-788-3967 or Shirley at 570-384-1226. For more information of all GHCS concerts, visit www.hazletonconcertseries.org or visit the group’s Facebook page.
