According to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last night, this country is on its way back from its economic woes of the past two years. Could it be possible that this sound recovery from the recession is trickling down locally, especially in our local live music hub of Lake Worth? Well, at least for now, it does look like there is a light at the end of the tunnel for live music fans.
After seeing the closings of many decent midsized local venues like City Limits and the Bamboo Room in the past few years, there seems to have been a resurgence as of late. Last month, we learned that the space once known as City Limits had been brought back to life as Pineapple Groove.
This week comes news that renowned downtown Lake Worth blues bar Bamboo Room will also again see the light of day.
A phone call down to club manager Donald Becker this week confirmed the rumors. Becker told us that although national acts are yet to be confirmed and the club's website is not fully functional, Bamboo Room would indeed be open for business starting Thursday, February 17. Some changes have been made, including an outside deck built to give the place a "Floridian flair" and slight modifications to the stage, but the overall original down-home Bamboo Room concept is still intact. Not much can be added to the venue's magnificent sound system, after all, the owners having purchased it in February 2008 -- shortly before the club went belly-up in May.
Coming full circle, local blues maestro David Shelley, the last act to grace Bamboo Room's stage in '08, has been tapped as the opening night's act. He will play along with his four-piece band, Bluestone. Becker also tells us that he has a few other notable local musicians lined up as well: Miami six-string ace Albert Castiglia and one-man-band Ben Prestage, to name a couple. Tickets for all shows will range from $10 to $15. Becker promises that more details will be forthcoming, adding that he wants to be sure his website will be able to meet the demand for ticket sales once the major national acts are announced next week.
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