Avalon Ballroom - Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Swingin' Seven finished its year of great swing and dance music with a steller dance at the Avalon Ballroom.  A record crowd was in attendance as the band performed a number of tunes new to its repertoire.  Jan McLoughlin sang her usual standards and added Tangerine and Nice Work If You Can Get It to the delight of the audience and dancers.  The band added a number of new instrumental tunes as well, including: Misty, Leap Frog, Caravan, and to add to the holiday mood of the event, Jingle Bells, Jolly Old Saint Nick  and Silent Night.

The highlight of the evening were dance performances from Colorado School of  Mines and University of Colorado.  Proving that swing dance is alive and well among the young set, these dance teams wowed the enthusiastic crowd of dancers assembled for the event.  Both schools plan to compete in the Intercollegiate Swing Dance Competition, held this year at CU in early April.  Contact swing@colorado.edu for more information. 

Avalon Ballroom - Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Swingin' Seven has become a mainstay at the monthly swing dances at the Avalon Ballroom in Boulder.  They played to a very swinging and very appreciative crowd this last Saturday.  The event was bolstered considerable by the three groups of young people from Niwot, Regis University and Colorado School of Mines.

The evening was punctuated by a couple of new tunes in the bands arsenal: L.O.V.E. and My Melancholoy Baby!   L.O.V.E. was sung ala Nat King Cole by Jan McLoughlin, backed up by the band's rhythm section and trumpet playing leader Dave Mc.  My Melancholy Baby!, an instrumental version arranged by Dave Wolpe, was performed after a quick read through during the sound check prior to the gig.  Dave Wolpe makes a number his charts available for instant .pdf download from his website.  Thanks, Dave!!

If you are looking for a fun night of dancing in Boulder, consider the monthly swing dances at the Avalon.  They are held the second Saturday of each month.  They only cost $15 ($10 for students) and include a dance lesson, three hours of live music and some pretty nice refreshments with admittance.

Next month (November 8) will feature the DU Claim Jumpers, followed by the The Swingin' Seven again in December.   The December dance will also feature a dance exhibition from the swing dance team from the Colorado School of Minds.

Agile Group Client Dinner - St. Julien Hotel, Boulder, CO

Saturday, September 20, 2008, The Swingin' Seven together with swing dance team of Victor Ward and Margaret  Skokan performed for the Agile Group annual client dinner at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder, Colorado.  Victor and Margaret started the evening with a couple of very fine dance exhibitions that were met with great enthusiasm from the audience.  They followed their performance up with a dance lesson for the crowd of eager dancers.  

The Swingin' Seven peformed for the remainder of the evening with a variety of swing standards and ballads including: Moten Swing, Chatanooga Choo Choo, Pennsylvania 6-5000 and Willow Weep for Me.  The audience of dancers showed their appreciation by crowding the floor and following the tunes with much appreciated applause.  

Organizer Jill Hatch from Agile commented afterwards that the sound levels were perfect.  The audience enjoyed the selection of music and really enjoyed the period costumes of the band members.

Corks & Forks - Saturday, August 23, 2008

For the second year in a row weather forced us inside from the beautiful patio of the Westminster Westin's Convention Center. They even had a stage for us this year.

The Swingin' Seven performed for the National Sports Center for the Disabled annual fundrasing events, Corks and Forks. In addition to live music from 3-7 performed by the Swingin' Seven, there were several distributors pouring wine, beer and other acoholic beverages for tasting. And a silent auction that featured sports equipment and memorabilia donated by local vendors and sports teams.

Despite the afternoon deluge that forced us to make a hasty retreat into the convention center, we had a great time and recieved several very nice comments on our music. We even took a couple of requests that had patrons smiling from ear to ear.

Avery Brewing 15th Anniversary Party

The Swingin' Seven made its third appearance in as many years at the annual Avery Brewing Anniversary Partythis last weekend on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008. The folks at Avery have a gift for picking the hottest day of the year for the event, but some clouds and even a few sprinkles here and there, made the heat seem not so bad. And of course there were plenty of excellent refreshments available to cool down one's parched throat.

We performed to a very receptive crowd from 12:3o to 2:00 featuring our signature swing tunes and even featured three vocalists for the gig. Adam Kuyt sang "You, Me and the Bottle Makes Three", Jan McLoughlin sang, "How 'Bout You" and "Taking A Chance On Love Again" and Pam Rowen sang, "Straighten Up and Fly Right".

The band also played some tunes relatively new to the line up: "Brazil", "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", "Tuxedo Junction" and Artie Shaw's "Hop, Skip and Jump".