Bev Conklin and Friends will be returning with their Americana sound to The Historic State Theatre of Boyertown 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.
For this lead Blues singer, a career of touring and musical success was not something she originally had on her radar.
While going through a rocky patch in the early 1990s and moving her life from State College back to the Lehigh Valley, a close friend’s brother was holding auditions for his future band and she suggested Conklin.
“I didn’t sing before 1992,” Conklin, 55, said in a recent phone interview with Berks-Mont Newspapers. “It took me three years to acclimate myself to the microphone.”
Today, with over 20 years of professional singing under her belt with The BC Combo, Conklin has put her name on the map as well as continuing to keep a full-time career in the corporate world.
According to their website, the band became one of seven groups to make the finals of the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. After their performance, Conklin was approached by the son of Elvis Presley’s manager who expressed interest in her song-writing and vocal abilities. Conklin received both Best Vocalist and All-around Performer awards at the Lehigh Valley Blues Awards. The band also has taken home Best Band, Best Website, Best CDs, Best Instrumentalist (wind, keyboards, bass and guitar) and many more awards that highlight their talent.
The Lehigh Valley Music Awards honored the blues and jazz veterans putting them together as a band which performed at The State.
“We went on stage with them when we got the blues award,” Conklin said, who is looking forward to coming back to Boyertown to perform.
The band, formerly BC & the Blues Crew, continues with the same members today as when they formed. With members Wayne Smith, (guitar, percussion, vocals) who provides a “blue-eyed soul, 60s sound,” Nick Franclik (bass, vocals) who brings folk to the table, and Conklin, a New Orleans native, who provides strong bluesy vocals, The BC Combo has something for every music fan.
“We are diverse in our material and how it comes out… it gives us that unique quality,” she said.
The “fusion” of each of the band members’ backgrounds and interests produces music that “appeals to a broad group of people and a broad age range” of fans. Conklin considers the foundation of their music as blues but listeners will also hear an infusion of reggae. Conklin attributes the group’s sound to being what has sustained them for over the past 20 years.
“We write a lot of our own material,” she said. While most of their music is original, the band does not shy away from cover songs, but instead adds their own twist on the classic tunes. For example, Conklin’s band rearranges The Animals’ 1964 recording of “House of the Rising Sun” to make it their own.
“[Smith and Franclik] know different versions than I do,” Conklin explained. “It’s a challenge for me but that makes something unique.”
Their sound can further alter when the group taps into their connections and expands to a group of up to 12 people, including a horn section.
The BC Combo are currently working on their seventh recorded album; all of their CDs recorded contain original content.
Tickets for the Bev Conklin and Friends, including the band Tower Suite, are currently available at the discounted price online at statetheatreboyertown.com or at the door the night of the event, while supplies last. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on Bev Conklin, visit bevconklin.com.