Germanna Daniel Center packed as Saffire-the Uppity Blues Women kicked off farewell tour with rollicking, bawdy, funny blues tour de force in Culpeper

SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN CONCERT A HIT BEFORE CAPACITY CROWD AT GERMANNA'S DANIEL CENTER IN CULPEPER .....MAKE-UP TEST AT GERMANNA LAUNCHED SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN. 25 YEARS LATER, THE NATIONALLY KNOWN BAND KICKED OFF ITS FAREWELL TOUR SATURDAY NIGHT AT GCC

They regularly headline at major music venues like Wolf Trap and the Birchmere, but the nationally known SAFFIRE—THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN got their start at Germanna Community College.
Twenty-five years later, they kicked off their farewell tour where they got started—at Germanna, with a show at the Daniel Center in Culpeper Saturday, Feb. 21.

The concert was a smash hit, drawing a capacity crowd of 700 that had a rollicking time as Saffire put on a blues tour de force that had the audience swaying rhythmically in their seats and laughing out loud at songs like "Too Much Butt."

Band member Gaye Adegbalola, who had the flu, climbed out a sick bed at the last minute to do the show, and give a spirited performance.

Fans came from both Culpeper and Fredericksburg, and prior to the show, downtown Culpeper restaurants were packed with out-of-towners there for the concert.

Pianist/guitarist/songwriter Ann Rabson was on faculty at Germanna, teaching computer science, when one of her students had a death in the family and missed an exam. So Rabson took the exam to student Earlene Lewis’ home. Turned out that Lewis had a piano and a bass --and Saffire was conceived from a Germanna makeup exam.

Rabson and Lewis convinced singer Adegbalola, a Virginia Teacher of the Year at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, to join them. The rest is blues history. Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women developed a cult following, not just in America, but around the globe. And they remain relevant after a quarter of a century of touring and recording. Adegbalola has just been nominated for honors as 2009 Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist at the 30th Annual Blues Music Awards to be held May 7 in Memphis.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT DOOR TONIGHT! SAFFIRE KICKS OFF FAREWELL TOUR AT GCC DANIEL CENTER

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT DOOR TONIGHT.....MAKE-UP TEST AT GERMANNA LAUNCHED SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN. 25 YEARS LATER, THE NATIONALLY KNOWN BAND KICKS OFF ITS FAREWELL TOUR TONIGHT AT GCC'S DANIEL CENTER IN CULPEPER

They regularly headline at major music venues like Wolf Trap and the Birchmere, but the nationally known SAFFIRE—THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN got their start at Germanna Community College.

Now, 25 years later, they’re kicking off their farewell tour where they got started—at Germanna, with a 7 p.m. show at the Daniel Center in Culpeper tonight, Saturday, Feb. 21. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the all ages show. Profits will go to scholarships through the Germanna Educational Foundation.

Pianist/guitarist/songwriter Ann Rabson was on faculty at Germanna, teaching computer science, when one of her students had a death in the family and missed an exam. So Rabson took the exam to student Earlene Lewis’ home. Turned out that Lewis had a piano and a bass --and Saffire was conceived from a Germanna makeup exam.

Rabson and Lewis convinced singer Gaye Adegbalola, a Virginia Teacher of the Year at James Monroe High School, to join them. The rest is blues history. Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women developed a cult following, not just in America, but around the globe. And they remain relevant after a quarter of a century of touring and recording. Adegbalola has just been nominated for honors as 2009 Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist at the 30th Annual Blues Music Awards to be held May 7 in Memphis.

TICKETS FOR GERMANNA FACULTY AND STAFF ARE JUST $5. That’s quite a deal, because tickets for a Saffire show at the hallowed Birchmere next month are going for $35.

Tickets are available at GCC Workforce offices at both the Fredericksburg Area Campus and at the Daniel Center, or by calling the numbers below:

7 p.m, Saturday, February 21st

The Daniel Center

18121 Technology Dr.

Culpeper

540-937-2900 Daniel Center

540-891-3095 FAC II

$15 General Public/ $5 Faculty & Staff/ $3 Students


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAFFIRE SINGS THE GERMANNA BLUES

A MAKE-UP TEST AT GERMANNA LAUNCHED SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN. 25 YEARS LATER, THE NATIONALLY KNOWN BAND KICKS OFF ITS FAREWELL TOUR AT GCC'S DANIEL CENTER

They regularly headline at major music venues like Wolf Trap and the Birchmere, but the nationally known SAFFIRE—THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN got their start at Germanna Community College.

Now, 25 years later, they’re kicking off their farewell tour where they got started—at Germanna, with a 7 p.m. show at the Daniel Center in Culpeper this Saturday, Feb. 21. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the all ages show.

Pianist/guitarist/songwriter Ann Rabson was on faculty at Germanna, teaching computer science, when one of her students had a death in the family and missed an exam. So Rabson took the exam to student Earlene Lewis’ home. Turned out that Lewis had a piano and a bass --and Saffire was conceived from a Germanna makeup exam.

Rabson and Lewis convinced singer Gaye Adegbalola, a Virginia Teacher of the Year at James Monroe High School, to join them. The rest is blues history. Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women developed a cult following, not just in America, but around the globe. And they remain relevant after a quarter of a century of touring and recording. Adegbalola has just been nominated for honors as 2009 Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist at the 30th Annual Blues Music Awards to be held May 7 in Memphis.

TICKETS FOR GERMANNA FACULTY AND STAFF ARE JUST $5. That’s quite a deal, because tickets for a Saffire show at the hallowed Birchmere next month are going for $35.

Tickets are available at GCC Workforce offices at both the Fredericksburg Area Campus and at the Daniel Center, or by calling the numbers below:

7 p.m, Saturday, February 21st

The Daniel Center

18121 Technology Dr.

Culpeper

540-937-2900 Daniel Center

540-891-3095 FAC II

$15 General Public/ $5 Faculty & Staff/ $3 Students

GERMANNA COMMUNITY COLLEGE WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BLUES FOR WORLD-RENOWNED SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN

Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women were born at Germanna, where pianist Ann Rabson was a faculty member. They play the Daniel Center in Culpeper Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. ...

Click here for video.



The nationally known band Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women got its start when boogie-woogie piano player and guitarist Ann Rabson was a faculty member at Germanna Community College, where she taught computer science.

There Rabson had a student named Earlene Lewis who played bass. They got together and added singer-songwriter Gaye Adegbalola. The rest is blues history. But it all started 25 years ago at Germanna. And on Feb. 21, Saffire comes full circle by playing Germanna as part of its farewell tour.



Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women live in concert Saturday, February 21st

The Daniel Center, 18121 Technology Dr., Culpeper

TICKETS ON SALE NOW:

Call 540-937-2900 or walk up at the Daniel Center, 9-5 Mon-Fri

Call 540-891-3095 or walk up at Fredericksburg Campus building II, 9-5 Mon-Fri

At Apple Music in downtown Fredericksburg

$15 General Public/ $5 Faculty & Staff/ $3 Students

Click here for video.

GEICO MAKES $15,000 DONATION TO GERMANNA GUARANTEE PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIP FUND

GEICO's Gecko pilfers a dollar in the company's latest TV ad, but the reality is that the insurance giant is generous in its giving...

Michael A. Catell, Director of Foundation and Alumni Relations for the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation, is thanking GEICO Insurance for its donation of $15,000 to the Germanna Guarantee Program.

The program assists students in need who have not been able to get sufficient financial aid from other sources by helping to pay for tuition and books.

"With your gift, the college will be able to continue to provide high quality, accessible learning opportunities for students within our community who might not otherwise be able to pursue their dream of higher education," Catell told Amanda Talbert, Director of Community Relations for GEICO Insurance in the Fredericksburg area.

A recent survey showed that Germanna is the fastest-growing college in Virginia.

That, Catell said, makes donations like the one from GEICO critical to GCC. "Community support, both from individuals and business partners such as GEICO, has been crucial in helping meet the challenges of this growth and the changing needs of our students," he told Talbert.

"Be assured that your gift has made a huge difference for our students."

SAFFIRE—THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN CELEBRATE FINAL RELEASE WITH FAREWELL PERFORMANCE AT GERMANNA'S DANIEL CENTER IN CULPEPER!

Tickets go on sale Monday for Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women concert Feb. 21 at Daniel Center ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


“A rollicking joyride of infectious blues energy...smart and sexy, soulful and sassy.” —The Chicago Sun-Times
Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women will celebrate the release of their final CD, Havin’ The Last Word, with a live performance at the Daniel Center in Culpeper as part of their farewell tour. With their music, Ann Rabson, Gaye Adegbalola and Andra Faye reestablish and update the long tradition of uppity women blues singers like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace and Memphis Minnie. Mixing first-rate musicianship with equal parts of sass, soul and humor, Saffire unleashes unforgettable originals, composed with humor and poignancy, alongside definitive versions of classic blues songs. Concert information is as follows:

Saturday, February 21st

The Daniel Center

18121 Technology Dr.

Culpeper

540-937-2900

7:00 p.m.

$15 General Public/ $5 Faculty & Staff/ $3 Students

Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9

Over the course of six critically acclaimed studio albums, one live album and thousands of shows, Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women have gone from virtual obscurity to become one of the most successful acoustic blues groups today. In conjunction with the final album and tour, a new documentary film on Saffire’s incredible story, Hot Flash, will be shown at select film festivals and will also be available on iTunes.

During the course of their 25-year career, words like ‘fearless,’ ‘inspiring,’ ‘witty,’ ‘joyful’ and ‘powerful’ have been used to describe Saffire's smart, sassy, and deeply emotional blues. "Havin’ The Last Word" will be their final declaration together as Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women; the group has decided it’s time to move on so they can pursue their own individual interests. But pianist/guitarist/ vocalist Ann Rabson, guitarist/ harmonicist/ vocalist Gaye Adegbalola and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Andra Faye have plenty to say with "Havin’ The Last Word."

Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women burst onto the national music scene in 1990 with the release of their self-titled debut album, after six years of playing locally and regionally. With their brazen, no-holds-barred acoustic blues, Saffire took the music world by storm and earned legions of fans of all ages around the globe. The group quickly went from being local favorites to internationally recognized blues stars, sharing stages with Koko Taylor, B.B. King, Ray Charles and Willie Dixon, who said of the band, “They knock me out.” National media like People, Entertainment Tonight, CNN's Showbiz Today and National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition sang the band’s praises.

Their debut album, Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women, became one of Alligator's biggest selling releases ever. 1991’s Hot Flash, followed by 1992’s BroadCasting (with Andra Faye guesting on guitar, fiddle and mandolin), took Saffire to even greater heights; Andra’s mastery of all things stringed and her country-tinged vocals added a new dimension to Saffire’s music. Constant touring and increased radio play earned the group new fans everywhere they went. Features in Ms. and other magazines plus an interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air spread the word all across the country. Their subsequent albums, 1996’s Cleaning House, 1998’s "Live & Uppity" and 2001’s "Ain't Gonna Hush!" earned the band hordes of new fans and mountains of critical acclaim. And in 2006 Alligator released their “best of” CD, Deluxe Edition.

The new CD may be called "Havin’ The Last Word," but you haven’t heard the last of Ann, Gaye and Andra; these three are far from hanging up their instruments, and each will continue to perform. The success of Saffire has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. With "Havin’ The Last Word," Saffire's positive message of strength, joy, love and sisterhood through music will continue to reach all corners of the music-loving world. And that's saying a lot.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FREEDOM ALLEY TROLLEY TOUR LOOKS AT 'UNDERGROUND RAILROAD' AND KUNTA KINTE CONNECTIONS IN FREDERICKSBURG

Course designation: LLRN 2266 - Freedom Trolley Tour

Date: Sunday, Feb. 22

Time: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Class Fee: $15

Location: Trolley departs from Fredericksburg Visitors Center at 706 Caroline St.

Call to register: 540/891-3012

Silver Cos. Vice President Jervis Hairston, whose family is the subject of a critically acclaimed book on slavery, and who became Fredericksburg's first black city planner, will be the instructor for a Germanna Black History Month Workforce and Community Education class that will consist of a trolley tour of historic slavery sites in the city.

The trolley will leave the Fredericksburg Visitors Center at 706 Caroline St at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22. The tour will last until 4 p.m. The tour is limited to the trolley's capacity of 32 people. It will cost $15.

Hairston will talk about downtown areas such as Freedom Alley, a path used by free blacks who feared being stopped without their papers. Before the Civil War, any white person could stop a freed black, and that former slave could be returned to slavery if he or she didn't have proper documentation.

In Fredericksburg, Hairston said, there were heroes who helped run the "Underground Railroad" that carried slaves to freedom in the North.

And, there is the story of Kunta Kinte, who became, a century after his death, perhaps America's best-known slave.

"It is rather like opening up an old boil and letting all the pus out," the late "Roots" author Alex Haley said of the miniseries in January 1977.

A seminal television miniseries was based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1976 book, which traced his ancestors from a village in Gambia, West Africa, to Spotsylvania.

In 1977, the television series "Roots" made household names of Chicken George, Kizzy, Fiddler and, of course, Kunta Kinte. One hundred thirty million people were transfixed as it was telecast for eight consecutive nights on ABC, becoming the most popular television miniseries ever.

Though some historians have disputed the details, Kunta Kinte is believed to have been held in slavery on a plantation in Spotsylvania County and to be buried on Graveyard Hill, near Arcadia.

Charlottesville historian and author Henry Wiensek has written a book about Hairston's family. "The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White" follows two families--one that descended from the white owners, the other from the slaves.

Samuel Hairston of the Oak Hill plantation near Danville may have been the richest man in the United States in the mid-1800s, according to Wiensek. He was said to own more slaves than any American--as many as 10,000.

One was Jervis Hairston's great-grandfather, David W. Hairston, who lived from 1842 to 1929.

The white Hairstons fought alongside Confederate Gens. Jubal Early and J.E.B. Stuart during the Civil War.

Of the black Hairstons, Wiensek writes, "In order to survive, African-Americans always had to be stronger than the system that oppressed them. Slavery could not crush them, nor anything thereafter. What kind of people could endure such evil and still cling to the country that dispensed it?" --Source: Michael Zitz


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------