Rock Falls Music Fest — Rock Falls — The 2nd Annual Bellison Music Fest promises to get your toes pumping on Saturday, June 10th at the RB&W District Amphitheater.
This all-day event celebrates the life and work of world-famous big band drummer, bandleader and composer, Rock Falls-born son Louis Bellson (1924-2009).
Organized by the Rock Falls Visitors Bureau, the event is being developed in close collaboration with Mr. Belson’s widow, Francine Belson, and music director Josh Duffy, who lives in Davenport, Iowa.
The festival kicks off with a drum clinic by Wolfredo Reyes Jr. at the McCormick Events Center at 11am. Afterwards, five BAJA bands will perform from noon to 9:30 pm at the RB&W District Amphitheater. Josh Duffy & His Orchestra. Mike Conrad Trio. Starlight theater blues band. Wolfredo Reyes Jr. Trio.
According to www.louiebellson.com, Bellson has been described by Duke Ellington as “the greatest musician in the world” and by Tony Bennett as “the greatest person I have ever met”.
“He has played on over 200 albums with artists such as Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. Vocalists include Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. , Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, and Belson’s first wife Pearl, “Bailey,” the website reads.
His 1940s film appearances include “The Gang’s All Here,” “Stage Door Canteen,” and “A Song Is Born.”
“He served as music director for his late wife Pearl Bailey’s concerts and TV shows. Additionally, Belson is credited with the inventor of the double bass drum,” the website states. “As a composer and author, Belson has written more than 1,000 of his works on drums and percussion and more than a dozen of his books. He has been nominated six times for a Grammy Award and was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1994. It won the American Jazz Masters Award.”
For more information about Bellson, please visit www.louiebellson.com.
For more information on the June 10th event, visit www.visitrockfalls.com.
