GREAT BEND — Melissa Manchester, singer, songwriter and actress best known for her solo music career of the 1970s-1980s, will perform for the Golden Belt Community Concert Association at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the Great Bend Municipal Auditorium, Lakin and Stone. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
This GBCCA event is open to association members. No single concert tickets are available. Anyone who is not a GBCCA member may purchase a $50 season membership at this concert allowing them to attend the Melissa Manchester event and the remaining concert of the season, Crocodile Rockin’ – an Elton John Tribute, May 3. Because the concert association encourages music education in the schools, full-time students of any age will be admitted to the concert for a $5 donation at the door.
Manchester has gained critical and commercial acclaim for her many talents. She received her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in 1979 for “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” Four years later, she won the Grammy in that category again for “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”
In 1980, Manchester became the first recording artist in the history of the Academy Awards to have two nominated movie themes in a single year, “Through the Eyes of Love” from “Ice Castles” and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from “The Promise.” She performed them both on the Oscar telecast. She also starred in the national tours of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night” and “Song and Dance.” Manchester also has had her songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss, Kenny Loggins and many others. She celebrated her 45-year-career in 2017 with the release of her 21st album, “The Fellas,” a tribute to the iconic male singers, including Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin, who set the platinum standard for the music of the Great American Songbook.
Season GBCCA memberships are $50 per adult; $10 for any full-time enrolled student; $110 for a Family Membership (two adults and all dependent children living in the same household); and $110 for a Grandparent Package (two adults and up to four minor grandchildren).
For more information about GBCCA and for video previews of the season’s concerts, go to the web site, www.goldenbeltcca.org, or call 620-793-2748.