The UpBeat Band took Stage 151 by storm on August 12, 2011. Many long time fans came to this exhilarating concert, and UpBeat made a great many new friends too! Stage 151 is Chicago land’s premier live concert stage at Harrah’s in Joliet, and UpBeat is a great fit for this venue, performing a versatile playlist for a variety of guests, and musically connecting with everyone. UpBeat delivered a high energy dance party set, including requested ”I Gotta Feeling,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Living On A Prayer,” “Proud Mary” contemporary fav’s including “California Gurls,” Lady Gaga, also Motown R&B classics, 80’s retro, and 70’s funk.
This special concert featured UpBeat’s “vocal funkmaster” Curtis Bryant, soul-singing-superstar Victor Bryant, vocal virtuoso Karla Beard-Leray, insanely-multi-talented (3 musicains in one!) pianist/vocal Reid Spears, UpBeat’s secret weapon guitar virtuoso Casey Ostrowski (aka “KC”), funky bass by Tyrone Allen, soulstress Precious Taylor, and Mike Cascio on Drums.
The UpBeat Band was proud to perform for the DePaul MBA Association celebration on June 10, 2011! The party was held at Galleria Marchetti, Chicago, and included current graduates (who were honored at this event), lifetime members, many future (class of 2012) members, and DePaul University faculty. UpBeat’s first set was a dynamic variety of contemporary jazz, and after the speeches/presentation, UpBeat delivered a high energy dance party set, including requested ”I Gotta Feeling,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Living On A Prayer,” contemporary fav’s including “California Gurls,” Lady Gaga hits, “Tik Tok,” also Motown R&B classics, 80’s retro, and 70’s funk.
The UpBeat Band Performs For DePaul MBA Association!!
10 Photos
UpBeat would like to give a very special thanks to Laura Anderson, DePaul MBA association’s 2011 event manager; Laura really did a great job organizing this entire production, she deserves much credit for raising the bar at this year’s event, and we thank her for her diligent planning / management skills.
We would also like to thank Shaun Washington (class of 2012 Vice President) and Michael Jackson (class of 2012 President), who are very promising entrepreneurs, and friends of the band. For the dance party, UpBeat dedicated the Michael Jackson hit “Don’t Stop Till You get Enough” to the class president!
Finally, on a personal note, this was a special gig for me (Michael Cascio, band leader), because I am a proud graduate of DePaul School Of Music.
Our 5-7 piece group, The UpBeat Band, is always committed to customized wedding planning, and last weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center we performed a very specific play list created by the bride and groom which focused on the swing classics, including standards by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as R&B/Soul classics, especially Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. This was a very elegant party, and the finale was “Dance To the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone.
Cheers!
–Michael Cascio
Exceptional musical entertainment can really make your event come alive…
UpBeat MUSIC PRODUCTIONS provides a comprehensive live music entertainment service, whether your event requires a full orchestra, UpBeat Orchestra for dancing, a 5-8 piece UpBeat Band, a jazz group, Michael Cascio Trio or jazz quartet for reception music, a string quartet for classical ceremony music, solo piano or strolling violin, a blues group, or a custom theme for a corporate gala. We know how important your special event is – creating just the right party atmosphere is what we do. Outstanding musicianship will make the difference for your special event – our artists create a distinctive, unforgettable party atmosphere. And, we are also a group of really fun people!
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is the band leader and music director of UpBeat. As a leader, Michael has assembled a dream team of Chicago's finest and most versatile professionals. Michael has led and performed many hundreds of dates in the past decade, and as Maria Barberi, Event Manager for RE/MAX wrote:
"You are my guarantee for fabulous entertainment! Everyone we spoke to LOVES your band and had a great time dancing. It is always a pleasure to work with you!"
