Swing Dance with Tara O'Grady

The Glen Echo Park Partnership presents a swing dance with live music in the historic Spanish Ballroom. Flying Feet Enterprises will teach a beginner dance lesson from 8 – 9 pm (included in the cost of admission), followed by dancing from 9 pm – midnight. No partner or prior experience needed. Tonight’s band: Tara O’Grady and the Black Velvet Band

Tara O’Grady & the Black Velvet Band combine celtic, folk, funk, blues, and especially jazz in their unique lickety-split swing sound that has been described as ‘Black Irish’ and ‘Celts in the Cotton Club.’ This Irish-American jazz powerhouse based in New York City writes original music that sounds like it was composed for Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, but also performs traditional Irish songs with fresh arrangements meant more for a prohibition swing dance hall than an Irish pub. Her stellar musicians have shared the stage with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, Debbie Harry and Muddy Waters.