Randy Sparks and the Minstrels reunite in Arizona

Our good friends at Acoustic Music Arizona are presenting a landmark concert this weekend featuring Randy Sparks (who wrote the monster folk hit Today), Dolan Ellis and four other of the original 10 members of the New Christy Minstrels this weekend at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center in Queen Creek (which is sort of near Phoenix). The six original members will be joined on stage by current Minstrels for two performances – Saturday, April 2 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. Along with winning a Grammy in 1962 for Presenting The New Christy Minstrels, founder Sparks’ group was at the choral folk vanguard, creating a new sound in the early ’60s, featuring the collected voices of a selected group of talented artists. Folk Alley host Jim Blum is flying out to Arizona to emcee the shindig (and to escape some really bad spring weather). If you see this man, make sure and say “howdy!” Jim Pipkin said he was taking Blum out into the desert, but he promised to bring him back.