A transatlantic musical partnership which ended five years ago will be rekindled tonight at a fundraising concert for a Staffordshire church.
Former Alleyne’s High School pupil Aidan Goldstraw formed swing and soul band Feels Like Midnight with vocalist Kari Santoro, a Canadian who at the time was living in Stafford.
The band went on to play for scores of weddings and other functions all around the UK at some of the nation’s top venues, but the collaboration came to an end in 2007 when personal circumstances saw Kari return to Vancouver.
Now she is returning to the UK as part of a three-week European holiday – and the pair have taken advantage of her holiday to stage a reunion.
Aidan, now a full-time musician and musical director at St Giles’ Church in Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: “Feels Like Midnight continues successfully today with new personnel but I’ve always been saddened that Kari and I didn’t have longer to work together than we did. She is a phenomenal vocalist. When she told me she was going to be back in the UK for a few days, we both immediately thought about staging a reunion gig.”
Kari, who now lives in the US city of Seattle, said: “I am so thrilled to be working with Aidan again. Our schedule is crazy but fun! I arrived on Friday night and we spent the whole of Saturday rehearsing practically a brand new setlist, with the concert tonight.”
The concert, at St Giles’ on Sunday 29th April starting at 7.30pm, will help fund a brand new sound system the church plans to install. It will feature a wide range of music, from jazz standards to contemporary songwriters. Admission is free – no ticket is required – but donations are invited from the audience. Refreshments will be served after the performance.
