By Sarah Mansheim
On Sunday, Dec. 14, The Asylum in downtown Lewisburg will present its first live music event, celebrating the season with Bob Thompson’s Joy to the World annual holiday concert.
The jazz concert, presented by Casasanta, is coming to Lewisburg for the third year in a row. A West Virginia tradition, Thompson, along with his band The Bob Thompson Unit, has performed the Joy to the World holiday concert for 22 years. The concert will feature seasonal tunes in The Asylum’s intimate, fireplace-lit setting.
Thompson is a pianist based in Charleston and, in addition to leading the Bob Thompson Unit, is a member of the Mountain Stage band. According to his website, he and his band “are having a lot of fun playing jazz and funk. So, I guess this means you could call us a ‘junk’ band. Whatever you call us, we’re just trying to play music that’s funky, that swings and pulls at your heartstrings.”
The band will come to Lewisburg at the end of a brief tour of the state, having brought the holiday show to the Culture Center in Charleston on Dec. 11, the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling on Dec. 12, and the Woodrow Wilson Auditorium in Beckley on Dec. 13. Recordings for those three shows are set to be broadcast during the Joy to the World radio program in December 2015, and filmed footage from the Dec. 11 show will be broadcast on WV PBS this month.
Seating at The Asylum is limited, and tickets are available at casasanta.org or at the door. The Asylum is located at 114 E. Randolph Street. The phone number is 681-318-3515.
