This Memorial Day weekend marks what would have been the 98th Birthday of Frankie Manning. Frankie Manning was a founding father of the Lindy Hop and spent the last 20 years of his life inspiring and teaching the Lindy Hop to an entire new generation of swing dancers. This includes a great many dancers who are currently dancing. As we get farther and farther away from his life, it becomes all that more important that we keep his memory alive by spreading the joy of the dance.

Boston Swing Central, Blues Cafe and Hop the the Beat have joined together to pay tribute to Frankie with 2 dances featuring Shim Sham lessons. The Shim Sham was Frankie’s favorite line dance to lead, it has become the defacto, “National Anthem” of Lindy Hoppers the world over. During his birthday celebrations in years past, there were many scenes which sent Frankie videos of themselves doing the Shim Sham in beautiful and iconic places all over the world, Frankie would also lead the dance when it was performed live during these celebrations. Anyhow, if you’ve seen it done at a local dance and wanted to learn how….now is your chance! Take both lessons and keep practicing. We’ll also perform it at both dances.

Friday Night kicks off at Boston Swing Central. Hop to the Beat‘s Tony & Aurelie, who probably knew Frankie the longest and the best of anyone in Boston will be teaching the Shim Sham at the Crosby Whistle Stop. Later on in the evening, we’ll all perform it with Tony & Aurelie leading us with a “push and you push and you…” followed by a chorus of “crossover!” Then special guest DJ Gina Helfrinch will be spinning Frankie’s favorites into the night!

Frankie leads the Shim Sham:
 

Saturday Night at Blues Cafe, Boston Swing Central’s Abby Cohen will be teaching the Shim Sham. This will be followed up by a special Boston appearance of the Boilermaker Jazz Band. The Boilermakers, as we often call them, hail from Pittsburgh, and because it’s a third of the way across the country, they perform here very infrequently. This is not to be missed! Also includes special balboa performance by Team Balboa of MA and RI!

Find out more about Frankie Manning.

And Gina Helfrich will be our special guest DJ this Friday evening. You can purchase tickets for both nights at a discount at the door!

Friday Night:
Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Saturday Night:
Dancing 8:00pm-9:00pm
Open Dancing 9:00pm-12:30am
General Admission: $18
Students & Seniors (w/ valid ID): $15

Springstep
98 George P. Hassett Dr
Medford, MA
02155

April Showers bring May flowers, and at BSC, that means some great bands. Not only do we get Gordon Webster, but we’ll follow it up with the Baby Soda Jazz Band! We’re extremely jazzed that everyone seems to agree and have been filling up with the Whistle Stop week after week.

The last time Baby Soda played for us, they helped us ring in the New Year! Now we’re almost midway through 2012…time flies when you’re dancing… Their heart-pounding brand of hobo street jazz sends us for the stratosphere! Their horn section, a mere trumpet and trombone was like a herd of happy elephants. And the one-string that bassist Peter plucks is more than enough to keep us moving and grooving all night long. Minimalism at it’s most perfect. Listen to them here.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $17
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $15

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Phil McGowan is back with his awesome Quintet (which has grown to a sextet), and they finally have a band name! The Easy Winners, named after a Scott Joplin rag…you can hear it here:

Incidentally, this was recorded in 1901 (same year as our Steinway upright piano was born) on piano roll, which was for playback on a player piano. While it wasn’t Scott Joplin’s actual sound being recorded, this early recording technology was documenting his actual playing of the notes. So playing this back recorded his sense of timing, expressiveness as much as the technology could support at the time.

We’re excited to welcome the Easy Winners back to the Whistle Stop, they’ve been an evolving work, and really started to come together as a band with the addition of Brendan Cooney on stride piano. And this time, they’ll debut virtuoso trumpet player, Trent Austin. Phil says, he sings, plays trumpet and will knock us out with his energy…just what we like to hear! Check ’em out:

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Gordon Webster is back and this is his Boston CD pre-release party for his Live in Rochester album which he recorded last Fall and will be out officially out the following weekend. So, what I think Gordon means by pre-release party is that he’ll have some of these CDs and we’ll get to have them before the rest of the world…but we’re not clear and the guy is so hard to get a hold of these days, he’s in Spain one day and the next he’s in Australia…! That shows you just how in demand he is. Everywhere Gordon goes there’s a big event sure to follow. Tonight is no exception. Along with the CD Pre-Release Party…we’d like you to dress to impress!

Here’s a video of the last time Gordon was here with Meschiya Lake:

And of course, there are some more videos on our YouTube Channel, just follow the links…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $20
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $17

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129