Friday Night Live

Looking for something to do on a Friday night? The National Theatre at The Ritz will host an eclectic selection of artists in an unplugged performance environment. Each Friday Night Live will feature two or three regional entertainers that may include a folk singer, a jazz musician, an aspiring singer/songwriter or some other style of artist who is passionate about the opportunity to showcase their talents.

All tickets $10 – EV

Sponsored by Tong’s Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing

Interested in performing in the Friday Night Live series?  Send an email to michael@ritztheatre.org and let him know!

October 17 Artists
Christopher Salyer
Free Wild
Melanie Klakamp

November 14 Artists

Jim Gill
Jim is rapidly approaching his 3500th show mark. That’s a lot of music! Over the course of a music career
that began in 2001, Jim Gill has shared stages with notable artists as varied as John Gorka, Tommy James
and The Shondells at The Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, Ohio and Mary Gauthier as part of the Six String Concerts series
staged in the Columbus Performing Arts Center which plays host to the top acoustic folk and roots artists in the
country. Jim has also enjoyed performances with Ohio legends Michael Stanley and Alex Bevan.

Hamford Chmielewski Jazz Trio
The Hamford Chmielewski (“shim a loose key”) Jazz Trio engages audiences with their unpretentious performances
of traditional jazz swing, bossa nova, and jazz-funk styles, in a pleasantly compact piano/electric bass/drums
format. The group prides itself in “playing the room,” as either soft background music or something more direct.
Personnel consist of Pete Ford on piano, with Alisia Chmielewski on drums and Katie Hamann on bass. Both Alisia
and Katie are former music students of Professor Ford at Adrian College. Having since earned degrees in Music
Education, they maintain professional careers of their own as Michigan music educators.

J. Scott Franklin
j Scott Franklin uses words like a painter uses colors. The phrases are as carefully shaped as the strokes of
a brush.  His lyrics are about the sound of the words and the images they conjure.  From the first time he put
a pen to paper, Scott has striven to put everything aside except the meaning and flow of the story.
Highlights thus far in his career include playing in concert with Country Hall of Fame legend George Jones.
Scott has also performed in concert with Ralph Stanley (Oh Brother Where Art Thou) and Keith Sykes
(Jimmy Buffets former bandmate and cowriter of several hits).  He was nominated as Cleveland Scene Magazine’s
“Best Songwriter”. In addition to performing as guitarist and vocalist, he sometimes performs with his jazz
quartet, singing and playing trumpet on jazz standards.   Scott has also written close to 30 songs for veterans,
many through Project D.R.E.W.