“Today” and “tonight” represent Friday, Aug. 9; Saturday and Sunday are Aug. 10 and 11.
COYLE — Life and music: They’re so full of contradictions. Take the duo Victor & Penny. They play “antique pop” for modern listeners. A few of their favorite songs are “Anything You Say” by Walter Donaldson, “I’ll Never Say ‘Never Again’ Again” by Harry Woods and Gus Kahn’s “Makin’ Whoopee.”
Victor & Penny, also known as singer and ukulele player Erin McGrane and guitar man Jeff Freling from Kansas City, Mo., are bringing their music to the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center, 923 Hazel Point Road, this Saturday night.
Admission to the all-ages show at 7:30 p.m., another in the Concerts in the Woods series, is by donation.
While Freling lived in Chicago for 17 years and McGrane came from Spencer, Iowa, she likes to say that they are from “Honda, CRV.” That’s the car they tour the country in, spreading the old-time music.
When asked how the name Victor & Penny happened, Freling explained that they wanted something more evocative of the early 20th century music than “Jeff & Erin.”
It happened that a few months before they became a duo, Freling and McGrane were in a play together. He portrayed a character named Victor.
“We thought that was a fun-sounding name, and then Erin picked Penny to go along with Victor, and it stuck,” he said.
They’ve enjoyed raves since. Victor & Penny are “an absolute rollicking blast,” fan Scott Pfeiffer writes on the pair’s website.
“McGrane’s lissome voice and her droll vocal interplay . . . and Jeff’s red-hot jazz guitar put [in] the swing, the jump, the dance and the roll,” he adds.
For more about Saturday’s gig and other Concerts in the Woods, see www.hazelpoint.info or contact presenter Norm Johnson at 360-765-3449, 206-459-6854 or johnson5485@msn.com.
To hear the duo’s music, see www.VictorandPenny.com.
