Jeffrey Osborne at the Casino at Dania Beach sold out.
David and Tamela Mann greet fans at Embrace Girls Foundation benefit concert.
The Manhattans, Songstress Regina Belle schedule Dec. 5 "Intimate Evening" Concert at The Casino at Dania Beach benefiting the Embrace Girls Foundation.
MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA, September 1, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — Christmas in South Florida will come early this December when hit soul group The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston and songstress Regina Belle come to the Casino at Dania Beach for an intimate evening concert benefiting the Embrace Girls Foundation.
Like the “intimate evening” benefit concerts by Jeffery Osborne in June and David and Tamela Mann in August, the Dec. 5 “Intimate Evening with The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston and Regina Belle” is expected to sell out.
Unlike earlier concerts, both groups will be accompanied by a full band.
The Manhattan’s will sing their greatest hits, including “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” “I Kinda Miss You,” “Where Did We Go Wrong, (with Regina Belle),” “There’s No Me Without You,” “It Feels So Good To Be Loved So Bad,” and “Kiss and Say Goodbye.”
Belle will sing her megahits “Baby Come to Me,” “Make It Like It Was,” and the Grammy-award winning “A Whole New World,” her duet with Peabo Bryson from Disney’s “Aladdin.”
“These concerts sell out not only because they support our program, but because music is truly powerful medicine,” said Embrace Founder and CEO Velma Lawrence. “It’s really something seeing the audience dancing throughout the show, our sponsors enjoying the moment and feeling the joy in the room.”
Alston said the group will also perform songs from their latest album, “The Manhattans Featuring Gerald Alston – The Legacy Continues.” The CD is available on the group’s website, www.letsjustkissandsaygoodbye.com.
“This cd is the result of a promise I made to the late (original Manhattan’s member) Winfred “Blue” Lovett to continue the legacy,” Alston said. “We recorded four or five new songs, and we put some live cuts on, and it came out really nice.”
Alston joined The Manhattans in 1970, replacing ill lead vocalist George “Smitty” Smith, who died the following year. August 15th marked the original group’s 59th anniversary.
He said fans of all ages love The Manhattans music because “the basic parts of life never change. Even though the generations change, just like we in our younger days felt like we had all the answers, the kids today feel the same thing.
“But in reality, it is the circle of life. People fall in love, they break up, they make up, they cheat, they lie, so it’s the same thing going around again. The younger generation thinks they have figure out a new way to do all that, but there ain’t no new way.
“Everyone can identify with our songs because they speak about life as it is,” Alston said. “So when you’re honest with yourself when you sing the song, when you sing those songs from your heart and project that to the fans, it shows a part of their life or something they have seen someone go through.
“Our arrangements and production have changed over the years, but the story in our music is the same. It’s about life.”
The “Intimate Evening” series sponsor, “Interiors by Steven G” President Steven Gurowitz, said the live band was added to the already wildly popular event to make it even more special. “The impact these concerts have had on the public has definitively helped Embrace girls in a big way,” he said. “Speaking to Ms. Lawrence, we decided to step it up. I believe wholeheartedly that when the iron is hot, you need to press.”
Alston said longtime friend and HOT 105 FM DJ James “T” Thomas, who sits on the Embrace Girls Foundation Board of Directors, introduced him to Lawrence and told him about the Embrace mission.
Thomas, who will also host the Manhattan’s show, said the intimate evenings idea came to mind because radio station concert ticket winners always asked for backstage passes to meet the performers.
“When you can see an artist talking about their lives, then you feel like you know them a little better,” James T said. “Every artist we’ve had in the Intimate series has gotten on stage and shared intimate things about their lives. It’s like having a backstage pass.”
“The Embrace foundation is a wonderful thing,” Alston said. “Many young women need to be able to look at themselves and say I am somebody. This is what this program does.
“Velma Lawrence is wonderful,” said Alston. “I’m looking forward to spending the day with the young ladies.
“It is going to be a beautiful evening.”
The concert benefits the Embrace Girls Foundation Inc., a non-profit that provides uplifting, girl-centric programming for hundreds of girls in several public and private elementary and middle schools in Miami/Dade and Broward counties.
Alston said the Dec. 5 concert will be the first “intimate” show the group has given, and he looks forward to following all Covid safety protocols. “All of us have been vaccinated, and before we go on stage our tour manager makes sure all the microphones are sanitized,” he said. “We plan to mask up to sign autographs, and we pre-autograph our CDs.
“It is a pleasure and an honor that God has let me survive the things we have gone through so we can share his blessings with others,” said Alston, who also works with the late Rev. Leon Sullivan’s OIC of America, which helps unemployed, disadvantaged, and recently incarcerated people re-integrate into society.
His Prince Hall lodge sponsors virtual tours of historically Black Colleges and Universities for students interested in attending college.
“We’re going to do it virtually this year and let prospective students tour these schools online,” he said. “Once we took 22 students to Virginia Union College and 19 of them were accepted.”
Pictures and videos from the Osborne and Mann shows can be seen at http://www.embracegirlpower.org/gallery.html.
For more information about Embrace Girls programs, call 877-466-4769, or email VRLawrence@Embracegirlpower.org.
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What: An Intimate Evening with The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston and Regina Belle benefitting the Embrace Girls Foundation.
When: Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021
Where: The Casino at Dania Beach, 301 E Dania Beach Blvd, Dania Beach, FL
How to Attend: Tickets available
Velma Lawrence
Embrace Girls Foundation Inc.
+1 877-466-4769
email us here
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