‘The Piano Men — Starring Jim Witter’ brings the music of Billy Joel and Elton John to the Phillips Center

Filed under Happenings, Announcements on June 10, 2008.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Continuing its Summer in the City series, University of Florida Performing Arts will present “The Piano Men – Starring Jim Witter”…A musical journey through the ’70s featuring the music of Billy Joel and Elton John. The multimedia concert experience will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday June 27 at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts’ main stage.

Dove Award nominee and Canadian Juno Award nominee Jim Witter has been entertaining audiences for more than 20 years. Whether performing country, contemporary Christian songs or the music of Joel and John, Witter’s versatility has earned him fans across Canada and the United States.

Witter began performing at a very early age. While his mother played piano, the four-year-old would belt out everything from Broadway show tunes to songs by The Beatles. With such a gift, Witter knew he was destined to have a career in the music business. “I never really thought of doing anything else,” he says, “and neither did my parents because they always encouraged me to follow my dream.”

Witter spent years writing songs and recording demos during the day and playing in the clubs and bars around Southern Ontario at night to pay the bills. In 1990, he finally got his “big break” when one of his demos caught the attention of a Sony Music Canada executive. A deal with a small independent label in Canada eventually led to Witter being signed by Curb Records of Nashville. His self-titled debut and subsequent albums “All My Life” and “Forgiveness” have garnered Witter 10 Top Ten hits in Canada, produced seven hit videos on CMT and scored impressive ratings on the U.S. Billboard charts.

Not content to rest on his recording successes, Witter developed a touring show to pay homage to two of his musical mentors. “I was always a big fan of acoustic music especially the folk of the ’70s,” he says, “but my real mentors were Billy Joel and Elton John.” Since its debut, “The Piano Men” has received rave reviews from music critics all across North America.

Witter makes no attempt to mimic his heroes in “The Piano Men.” Instead, the show takes the audience on a musical journey using rear-screen projection to highlight the places, people and events that helped shaped a decade. With songs such as “Crocodile Rock,” “Movin’ Out,” “Your Song” and, of course, “Piano Man,” “The Piano Men” is a blast from the past that remembers when rock was fun.

Ticket prices are $15-30. To purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-277-1700 (toll-free). Tickets also may be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash checks, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

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Credits

Contact
Amy Douglas, 352-392-1900 ext. 324