CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The final show of season 17 of Charleston’s Live on the Levee is on Friday night and organizers say it will end with a bang.
The 13th week of music at Haddad Riverfront Park kicks off at 6:30 with The Heavy Hitters, followed by West Virginia’s Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. Murphy Jr., a Logan County native, is a Sinatra-and-Soul singer that won season six of NBC TV’s America’s Got Talent.
Jim Strawn, emcee of Live on the Levee said on 580-LIVE Friday that The Heavy Hitters are a phenomenal opening act.
“They consider themselves young cool cats and they are. They consider themselves young, hungry cats and they are. They just have funky rhythm, jazzy rhythm, jazzy blues, and cool vibes. They just jam and they want you to jam with them,” Strawn said.
Murphy Jr. is scheduled to take the stage at 7:45. He was also a guest on 580-LIVE.
“I love Live on the Levee. It’s home for me,” he said. “This is my home state. Now that this whole pandemic is kind of getting out of our way, we are back out on the road doing what we love to do.”
Murphy Jr. just returned to West Virginia from a West Coast trip that included shows in Las Vegas and Hollywood. He’s scheduled to perform a “Home for the Holidays” tour in December in select West Virginia cities. He said that he always enjoys coming back home and to Charleston
“Coming to Charleston now is just wonderful,” he said. “The city has expanded so much. Everything is opening up and I get to go down to Capitol Street and go to all the spots I love to go to.”
Fireworks are scheduled to follow Murphy Jr.’s show. Strawn said there is a big announcement by Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin in between.
“We have a special announcement by the mayor around 7:30. There should be a lot of sternwheelers down there on the river tonight,” Strawn said.
“We are having fireworks at 9:30. It just looks like it has the makings of an epic evening.”