Fort Worth Pics

A Press Release from The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra:

Red, White and Bluegrass!

FWSO hosts guest conductor Michael Krajewski and Billy and the Hillbillies

Fort Worth, Texas - The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra hosts famed conductor Michael Krajewski with Billy and the Hillbillies for a hilarious All-American country music revue featuring music, humor and more. The performances, part of the FWSO's Superstar Pops Series, will be held Thursday through Saturday, October 18-21 at Bass Perfomance Hall.

The first half of the program features guest conductor Michael Krajewski and the FWSO in selections dedicated to the various musical styles such as ragtime, rock and country, plus a Sousa march and the George M. Cohan Overture. Krajewski is the principal Pops conductor ofr the Houston, New Mexico, Long Beach and Jacksonville Symphonies and is widely acclaimed for his innovative programming and sense of humor. Hailed as "a cross between Bob Newhart and David Letterman," he is also a popular guest conductor throughout the country and has appeared with such artists as Judy Collins, Doc Severinson, Cab Calloway and many others.

Billy and the Hillbillies is a group comprised of four extraordinary musicians, who combine musical technique with phenomenal stage presence and showmanship.

Formed in 1992, they began entertaining audiences in their own theater at Disneyland and have performed for well over two million people. Their performances celebrate the blissful union of classical music and bluegrass, into a style the call "Crassgrass" and a steady infusion of humor combined with superb musicianship. The Tulsa World says that "Billy and the Hillbillies isn't your average bluegrass band - it's a comedy act by four guys who just happen to have extraordinary instrumental chops."

The poster from outside the Bass Concert Hall

Beautiful downtown Fort Worth from the 7th floor window of the Renaissance Worthington Hotel.

A Review from the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Talented Hills fit the bill at Bass
by Punch Shaw from the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Fort Worth- Poor Bass Hall!

First, it gets smashed by a beer truck, and then it is overrun by a bunch of hillbillies.

So why is everyone laughing so hard?

The answer is Billy and the Hillbillies - a bib-overalled, plow-shoed quartet billed as "the best bluegrass band west of Los Angeles." - who performed Thursday night with the Fort Worth Symphony Pops Orchestra at the dented, but unbowed, concert hall with the angels in the front.

And Thursday night, they were honky tonk angels.

Billy et al. is what you would get if you sent the Oak Ridge Boys to Juillaird. Or if you put P. D. Q. Bach in the house band of the Grand Ole Opery.

They looked and sounded like country players, but the key to their hilarious set was a level of musical talent that could dazzle in any genre, including classical.

They told plenty of jokes, but the best were with their instruments [and I mean that in a good way.] Members of the California-based band, which has a regular gig at Disneyland, of all places, are experts at making music funny [such as a way to blend Mozart's Eine Kliene Nachtmusik with the Eyes of Texas]. But don't laugh too much. You will miss some incredible playing.

Unfortunately, all the players call themselves Billy Hill - one of the few jokes that got tired- so I can't say for sure which of the two mandolinists [probably Evan Marshall, based on the program bio] delivered the brilliant solo rendition of the William Tell Overture. That was a good example of how the band blended country with the classics throughout their set.

Best of all, the Billies made better use of their partnership with the Pops Orchestra than any other act that has performed with them in recent memory. The usually dignified symphony players participated wholeheartedly in the wacky humor of their guests, most notably when they launched into the Venture's classic "Wipe Out". Don't ask!

The first half of the concert was a 50/50 proposition. The program of American music medleys was so cheesy about half the time that it made you crave snack crackers. But the other half was salvaged by some clever arrangements, especially in the rock n' roll segment, and the effort put forth by the orchestra and guest conductor, Michael Krajewski.

Krajewski, resident conductor of the Florida Symphony Orchestra, was a charming host. He even passed around a snapshot of his house in Orlando, Florida, so we would know him a little better. [Really he did.] And he played some mean roadhouse piano.

Kirk relaxing before a show.

Kirk and John

in front of the before mentioned poster.

The Fort Worth Pops Series Program

featuring our favorite hillbilly and "front guy" [the back ain't too bad either]

For those of us who have trouble reading small print, under Kirk's pictures it reads:

red, white & bluegrass
with billy & the hillbillies
"Billy and the Hillbillies isn't your average bluegrass band - it's a comedy act by three guys who just happen to have extraordinary instrumental chops and one goofball front man," writes the Tulsa World. Don't miss this quartet's unforgettable versions of "Orange Blossom Special", "Tennessee Waltz" and a "country-fried" version of the William Tell Overture.

Here's what the press promotion briefs looked like:

Red,

White, and

Bluegrass

A hand clappin', foot stompin', fiddlin' good time is in store! Michael Krajewski leads Billy and the Hillbillies in an evening of dazzling musicianship and side-splitting humor. Hear ragtime, Elvis, the Beach Boys, country and rock n' roll like you've never heard them before.

If more pictures or information becomes available, it will be posted here.

Thanks for visiting!

To return to Jan's Unextremely Unofficial Billy Hill and the Hillbillies page, click here.....