Blyth Festival rings in 43rd season with world premiere of "Mr. New Year's Eve: A Night With Guy Lombardo"

The Blyth Festival is set to ring in its 43rd season with the world premiere of "Mr. New Year's Eve: A Night With Guy Lombardo," which runs June 28 to Aug. 19 in Blyth's newly-renovated Memorial Hall.
 
For 48 consecutive years, Lombardo was North America's "Mr. New Year's Eve," bandleader of the biggest holiday broadcast on the continent. Together with his band, The Royal Canadians, he sold more than 300-million records internationally. To this day, they still play his recording of "Auld Lang Syne" as the official ball drops on the annual festivities in New York's Times Square.
 
A son of Italian immigrants, Lombardo was born and raised in London, Ontario, but it was his summers, playing the biggest beach bandstand in Huron County's Grand Bend, where this local musical titan cut his teeth and learned to play both his many instruments and the teeming crowds.
 
Though his own father adamantly opposed Lombardo's love of Jazz, and Canadian radio stations showed active disinterest, his dedication to his craft was all-consuming, and no obstacle could block his path to his dreams. A friend and influential colleague of some of the biggest names in show biz, including Louis Armstrong, Sophie Tucker, the Andrews Sisters, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, and others, Lombardo and his Royal Canadians blazed a path from Huron County to the Big Apple, the likes of which has never been seen, before or since.
 
"Mr. New Year's Eve: A Night With Guy Lombardo" features a nine-piece band: Klaus Anselm, Rebecca Auerbach, Jason Chesworth, Nathan Howe, Ron Kennell, George Meanwell, J.D. Nicholsen, Birgitte Solem, James Thomson, and Jim Shea (alternate).

Written by London native David Scott and directed by the festival's artistic director, Gil Garratt, this show is a true-life, music-driven extravaganza.

Reserve your seats by calling the box office at 519-523-9300, Toll-Free 1-877-862-5984 or on-line at blythfestival.com.