OGDEN — You might want to rest up your toes this weekend. Come Monday evening, you’re really going to need them.
Toes in tip-top tapping condition will be an absolute must when Hayley Kirkland & Company B takes the Peery’s Egyptian Theater stage at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, for a free concert. The event is part of the monthly Excellence in the Community concert series at the theater.
Did we mention it’s completely free?
Hayley Kirkland & Company B is a vocal trio that uses tight harmonies to recreate America’s classic songs from the golden era of music. Doo-wop, barbershop, musical theater, bluegrass, blues, jazz and much, much more find their way into the group’s repertoire. The trio — which features siblings Kirkland and Cassie Gadd, along with friend Kate Plewe — calls to mind a modern-day Andrews Sisters, putting their unique vocal stamp on everything from the Beatles to Celine Dion, Ella Fitzgerald to Adele.
But that’s not all. They’ll also do some Tina Turner, a little Dolly Parton, and who-knows-what-else.
“We’ve got styles from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s,” said Kirkland, who lives in Lehi. “We’ve got music from all sorts of eras, with all styles of singing. We kind of just run the gamut of the art of the song, and we basically do our favorites regardless of the genre. It’s something for everyone, is the way to say it — pop, R&B, funk, soul. Of course, we’re also going to have a nice chunk of songs done by the Andrews Sisters.”
And it’s all backed by a four-piece jazz band.
Kirkland’s most-requested song at her shows? “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She’s not sure why, but that seems to be a song that connects with most audiences. And it connects with her.
“I think it’s because I have a special connection with that song,” Kirkland said. “I don’t know if that song is necessarily me in a nutshell, but it certainly is part of me in a nutshell.”
So then, is there any music that Hayley Kirkland & Company B doesn’t do at their wide-ranging concerts?
“I tend to not like the modern pop,” she admits, “but rather I prefer the music from a few decades ago, the ‘60s and ‘70s. And, of course, the ‘40s.”
Between the three vocalists in the group, Kirkland says they have a total of 13 children, ranging in age from 6 months to 11 years. And if they include the other musicians in the group? The brood is even larger.
“Oh, between all of us? There’s so many, I don’t even know,” she laughs when thinking about the fertility of Company B. “My drummer alone has seven or eight kids.”
Clearly, family is important to this musical group. And Kirkland believes they’ve been able to strike a good balance between having families and still enjoying a creative outlet for their art.
“We don’t feel the need to be gigging all the time, but we’re able to do what we want,” she said. “Whenever we get a gig, we just decide, ‘Is this good for our families?’ If it doesn’t work for one person, we simply say, ‘We’ll get the next one.’”
Kirkland reiterates that the one thing Hayley Kirkland & Company B does well is offers something for almost every musical taste.
“As a group, we strive to be accessible to audiences,” she said. “We sing songs that are recognizable and that people are just going to leave wanting to hear more — and tapping their toes along the way. We aim to entertain and to just get everyone having a good time.”
