“Joy To Lewisburg with Bob Thompson and Friends” returns to the Greenbrier Valley on Saturday, December 14, at 7 p.m. at Carnegie Hall. The annual concert will feature Christmas classics and holiday favorites performed by West Virginia Music Hall of Fame member Thompson and his band with special guests Zara Bode.
Guests are invited to come early to Club Carnegie from 6 – 6:45 p.m. in the Board Room located adjacent to the Hamilton Auditorium. A cash bar and snacks are available.
West Virginia music hall of fame pianist Bob Thompson is perhaps the state’s best-loved musician and ambassador of jazz. He has touched many people’s lives both as an entertainer and a teacher.
Born in New York in 1942, he moved to West Virginia in the mid-’60s to attend West Virginia State College. Growing up in NY, he sang in street corner doo-wop bands and originally attended WVSC on a scholarship to study trumpet and music education. After switching to piano, he quickly became a staple on the local scene with bands like the Modern Jazz Interpreters and Joi.
After some independent releases, he signed to Capitol Records subsidiary Intima and later to the Ichiban label. Two of his albums climbed into the Top 25 in Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart while four of his releases made their way into the Top 10 on the Radio and Records jazz chart. Those nationally released works furthered his reputation significantly.
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