Rick Michel's Blog

Just an hour from Palm Springs – in fact if you were to extend Frank Sinatra Drive straight into the San Jacinto Mountains you would just about hit the community – lies Idyllwild, California and this is where I’m going to be performing Sinatra Forever, for the Idyllwild Summer Concert Series.

 Joining me on stage will be the wonderful Ken Dahleen and His Big Band Staff who are always a ton of fun to work with. It seems those with a true love of what they do start early just as I did, and Ken’s no exception, beginning his professional love affair with this music at the age of nine.

 Idyllwild and Frank Sinatra are no strangers; when they decided on a boarding school for Frank Jr., senior chose Idyllwild so he wouldn’t be too far from home. This is somewhat ironic being that it seems high school kids in the community today need to be bussed 35 miles to the nearest place of learning.

 I love looking for art in Idyllwild and once a Mecca of sorts for artists, the area still possesses an art culture on par with locales much larger. The solitude and serenity of the geography has to be inspiring and I’ve certainly thought about hiding away with a kiln and opening a little potter’s studio more thank once, but I think you all know I’d miss the music far too much. Even Elvis must have found this place inspiring because what may have been Presley’s best movie, Kid Galahad was shot here. Additionally, today and historically the location has served as home to many celebrities, with Charles Laughton, Doris Day, Dolly Parton, Sean Connery, and Michael J. Fox coming to mind.

 There’s really no better place for a summer concert, which is why I’m excited to bring my Las Vegas show there July 3^rd, 2014 for a fantastic rendering of Sinatra Forever.