‘Close to You: The Music of The Carpenters’ comes to JAX

Considered one of the best vocalists of all time; Karen Carpenter captured the attention of a generation with her unabashedly catchy pop music.  The Carpenters’ beautiful, memorable love songs topped the Billboard charts with more than a dozen number one hits.  Now singer Lisa Rock and her 6-piece band are bringing the music of The Carpenters back to the stage with their spot-on renditions of Carpenters classics.  “Close to You: The Music of The Carpenters” is coming to Jacksonville’s Times Union Center’s Terry Theater for two performances only!

Considered one of the best vocalists of all time, Karen Carpenter captured the attention of a generation with her unabashedly catchy pop music.  The Carpenters’ beautiful, memorable love songs topped the Billboard charts with more than a dozen number one hits. Now singer Lisa Rock and her 6-piece band are bringing the music of The Carpenters back to the stage with their spot-on renditions of Carpenters classics with "Close to You: The Music of The Carpenters".

Lisa Rock, a singer as well as a playwright, has been performing to sold-out crowds for years.  She’s written more than 15 original concerts and cabarets that have been seen across the country. Now, Rock has arranged a 6-piece band, complete with back-up singers, and together they are dedicated to creating a Carpenters experience like no other. Rock’s amazing four octave range allows her to sing the hits like “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays” in their original key, keeping the songs genuine and more recognizable for the audience. “When she hits the lower range of her marvelous voice,” notes Chicago critic Alan Bresloff, “if you close your eyes, you can see Karen Carpenter’s face.”

But Rock goes beyond the music in her concert.  She draws the crowd in with anecdotes about Karen and Richard Carpenter, their lives and how some of the songs originated.  Like the story of “We’ve Only Just Begun.”  It turns out, Richard Carpenter heard the song on a TV commercial, recognized the singers’ voices and called to see if there was a full version of the song.  There was, and Richard turned that commercial jingle into a Billboard chart-topper and timeless love song.  Through stories such as these, Rock engages the audience to the point where they can’t help but sing along with her and share the memories of The Carpenters and their music.

 “Close To You”
The Music of The Carpenters
DATE: Saturday, March 4, 2017
TIMES: 3 & 8 p.m.

LOCATION: Times Union Center Performing Arts
      Terry Theater
      300 West Water St.
      Jacksonville, FL 32202

TICKETS: start at $38.50, and may be purchased online at FSCJ Artist Series (the official presenter of the Jacksonville show), or by calling (904) 442-BWAY (2929) between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.  Discounts are available for groups of 10+ by calling (904) 442-2947 or emailing groupsales@fscj.edu.