Sponsored by the State Port Pilot.
The Embers
July 2 – 7:00–10:00 p.m.
Waterfront Stage, Southport, NC
One of most prominent, successful and long-running bands playing beach music is The Embers, led by drummer Bobby Tomlinson, with Craig Woolard, Jeff Grimes, Andy Swindell, Stephen Pachuta, Hugh Blanton and Bobby Nantz, They have recorded 17 albums and numerous singles, while continuing to perform about 300 dates a year. Specializing in R&B and blue-eyed soul, The Embers bring back memories for those who sang and danced to the 1960s and 1970s sounds of The Four Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, the Righteous Brothers, The Drifters, Arthur Alexander, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, Etta James. The Embers’ influence extends far beyond the East Coast beaches. The group tours throughout the South, into Canada and out to California, singing songs their audiences love and remember. The Embers have been named North Carolina’s Official Musical Ambassadors. They were inducted into the South Carolina Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, opened for the Rolling Stones, featured in commercials for Budweiser and Pepsi, played at the Olympics,and performed at President Clinton’s Inauguration. The Embers perform classic R&B with high octane waves of sound, bringing the beach to wherever they play. It’s a sound deeply embedded in the past, present, and future of North Carolina music.