Tom Netherton of The Lawrence Welk Show to appear at Rehoboth jazz fest

Amidst a Friday night lineup of nationally recognized instrumentalists, jazz acts and festivities spread across Rehoboth Beach for the 22nd Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, those who attend the performance at Epworth United Methodist Church that evening will be treated to the soothing sounds and nostalgia of time-tested vocals.

When the familiar face of Tom Netherton, a vocalist who spent eight years on the Lawrence Welk show, appears at Epworth on Friday, Oct. 14, jazz festival officials predict the audience-friendly crooner who has been bringing his booming voice to listeners for more than five decades will give spectators a show to remember.

“This show will give those who used to watch the Laurence Welk show that voice again,” Jazz Festival Vice President Leon Galitzin said. “It will bring back great memories and great sounds. You will be singing those wonderful old love songs and patriotic songs and he will be singing some of the great hymns too.”

With a 7:30 p.m. start time, Galitzin said organizers scheduled the performance early in the night with their audience in mind.

“This will be a chance, I think, for grandparents or parents to bring their children and grandchildren so they can experience music as it once was,” he said. “This was the dominating sound of the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and the 70s when you think of Lawrence Welk.”

Jazz Festival President Denny Santangini said he expects Netherton’s performance to be a crowd-pleaser this year.

“Tom is a very personable person, he will be walking through the crowd, singing to the audience,” Santangini said. “This is his signature. He loves people and loves to perform for the people. He wants to be involved with the audience.”

With tickets for this show priced at $25, he said ticket sales for this performance and the festival as a whole are out-pacing last year’s sales.

“The jazz festival is for anybody’s budget this year, from $10 to $62, wherever you want to go. We are offering a wide spectrum of ticket pricing so everybody can afford it,” Santangini said. “Ticket sales are up from last year so far which is awesome. With a down economy, the prices are just right.”

The jazz festival is sponsored by a Smooth Jazz Cruise company this year that will be offering 50 discounted cabins for one of their jazz cruises to those who attend the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival.

A big draw to the community in the slower shoulder season, Santangini said each year, the event brings tourists from all over the country to enjoy the musical stylings of national acts.

Rehoboth Beach resident Suzanne Landon said she will have family traveling from as far away as Ohio for this year’s festival

“I love the festival. It is intimate and attracts national acts right here to our own backyard,” Landon said. “I would not miss it.”

To find out more information or purchase tickets for Tom Netherton’s performance and other acts at the 22nd Annual Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, go to rehobothjazz.com.