The Beast & Big Band flex musical muscles at Motorco

Photos by Kevin Norris

The Duke Performances 2012 Music in Gardens series kicked off last night with The Beast and Big Band in Durham but sadly, the show was relocated to Motorco Music Hall due to rain earlier in the day. Even though the show wasn't at the fantastic Duke Gardens, the show was none-the-less a fantastic way to start the series.

The Beast made the show special by bringing along eight additional musicians bringing the total number onstage to twelve. While the use of the extra musicians started out a little odd with an extra long version of "Four Seasons" featuring long musical passages highlighting the additional players, things locked into place throughout the rest of the set with the brass, strings, guitar and percussion enhancing the band's sound and making the show a ton of fun.

Kate McGarry & Keith Ganz make mellow music in Duke Gardens

Another Wednesday night brought more good weather mojo for the Music in the Gardens series. The rain moved out a little late, pushing the start time back a bit, but the show went off without a hitch once Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz took the stage.

The duo, who moved to to Durham from New York about six months ago, rolled through a folky jazz set, featuring some fantastic songs, starting with Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning." Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" was given jazz facelift, including some frantic, speedy guitar solos which it seemed Ganz wouldn't be able to recover from, but he always found his way through to the other side.

Win tickets to Kate McGarry & Keith Ganz at Duke Gardens

Next week's Music in the Gardens concert is a special treat. Kate McGarry, a 2009 Grammy nominee for best jazz vocal album, and Durhamite Keith Ganz will fill the gardens with their folk-infused jazz on Wednesday, June 16, at 7 p.m.

To win a pair of tickets to the show, email us at triangle_music [at] hotmail [dot] com by noon on Monday, June 14, with "McGarry/Ganz tickets" in the subject line.

We'll randomly select one reader to win. If you don't win, tickets can be purchased here for $10 or $5 for Duke employees and students. Children 12 and under are free.