Gwen Hughes & The Retro Kats

Gwen Hughes & The Retro Kats visit the Roaring 20s to bring back the excellence of old era hits coupled with fresh takes on more contemporary music put into the retro setting. Get ready for fun because these kats really know their onions when it comes to keeping things hotsy-totsy and upbeat! PERFORMER BIO: Atlanta icons Gwen Hughes and Ruby Red’s join forces to create “Gwen Hughes & The Retro Kats.” The Retro Kats are the bee’s knees of Gatsby bands bringing back Roaring 20s fun coupled with fresh takes on more contemporary music. This is a band that knows its onions when it comes to keeping the party hotsy-totsy. When you want to wear a boa and get a little zozzled – this band is the cat’s (or maybe the KAT’S?!) pajamas. Come experience the bygone era of Fedoras, cigarette holders and flappers. The ‘Kats exhume the excellence of the past hits like “Cakewalkin Babies From Home” and “Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia” then move into crowd favorites like “I’ll Fly Away” & “Butter Beans.” The band delights in putting contemporary music in this retro setting – songs from ZZ Top, Macklemore & Lewis, Elle King (among others) make their way into the set list, too. The Ruby Reds Band may be the longest tenured jazz band in Georgia. The band was formed in early 1966 to perform nightly at a rowdy beer hall and banjo sing-along parlor called Ruby Reds Warehouse, at 57 Ellis Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and has been playing throughout the Southeast ever since. They even had a restaurant in Underground Atlanta named after them in the 90s! Band members Rocky Ball, LA Tuten and Marty Martin keep the tradition going with rollicking gigs all over the Southeast. Gwen Hughes, meanwhile, has a long tenure of her own (though not quite 52 years). An international touring artist, Hughes has crooned from Stockholm to Istanbul. The former Ambassador to Slovenia, Joseph Mussomeli, proclaims: “As a performer and a person, Gwen is a delight, and the music that pours–actually, gushes–from her band is stirring and refreshing.” The US State Department sponsored two tours of her band through Eastern Europe. Gwen also leads the variety band, THE ‘KATS, as well as the classic swing big band, THE CONTINENTAL DANCE ORCHESTRA. BAND MEMBERS: Marty Martin – trumpet/vocals Rocky Ball – banjo/guitar Mike Hinton-drums LA Tuten – bass/vocals Gwen Hughes- keys/vocals “Gwen swings lightly from come-hither cabaret diva to serious pop interpreter to playful entertainer, indulging in liberating vocalese.” – Atlanta Journal Constitution TICKETS