John Tosco wants you to feel comfortable at the Halton Theater in Charlotte, so find a seat, take your shoes off if you like, and settle in for a personal acoustic session.
Mrs. T. allowed her teenage son to hold jam sessions with his friends in their Fayetteville home. “I had drums and an amp in my living room,” John Tosco says. “It’s where band practice happened. My house was the place where everyone hung out.” It seems little
has changed.
Tosco, 52, plays and teaches guitar in Charlotte and still likes to jam with his fellow musicians. But the sessions now draw a crowd of fans, feature numerous acts, and have a well-known name: the Tosco Music Party.
‘The ideal emcee’
Tonight, backstage at the Halton Theater in Charlotte, Tosco prepares for the show, as people of all ages line up in the lobby, waiting to claim their places in the auditorium. On the front row, a group of young men in bright-colored T-shirts, the first to score seats, wave at friends in the balcony.
“Welcome to our living room,” Tosco says. “Take your shoes off.” People keep their shoes on, but they settle in, ready for four hours of acoustic music performed by amateur and professional musicians. Tosco asks first-time attendees to raise their hands, and a wave of hands goes up from the audience. Tosco doesn’t advertise the party, which occurs three times a year. It’s all word of mouth.
Jeanette Leardi admires Tosco’s ability to keep the homey feel of those early parties when Tosco’s children sat on the floor and sang songs. Leardi, a 58-year-old amateur musician, got involved when the larger parties first began in 1998. Over the years, she’s performed and been a member of the sing-along choir. She now serves on the advisory board.
“John is the ideal emcee,” Leardi says. “He always makes people feel at home — whether it’s new volunteers, whether it’s people in the audience, whether it’s people performing for the first time.”
Before the first note plays, Tosco instructs the people in the audience to meet their neighbors. And they do, introducing themselves and shaking hands. The party then begins with a sing-along, a throwback to those early parties at Tosco’s house. Attendees open their programs, or hymnals as Tosco calls them, which contain the sing-along words. The audience sings “California Dreamin’.” Some sway as they sing. Parents hold their children’s hands or boost them up in their arms, so the little ones can see.
Simply a great time
Later in the show, Tosco always includes a golden oldie sing-along for his mom, who attended every show before the trip from Fayetteville became too difficult. Someone backstage calls Mrs. T., so she can hear tonight’s selection, “All of Me,” over the phone.
Between acts, Tosco asks for the house lights. “Do you like my haircut?” he asks with a playful grin. He spots his hairdresser in one of the rows up front, points her out, and fluffs his salt-and-pepper hair. Elaine Christenbury, a party regular, waves to the audience from her seat. “You never leave there without having a great time,” she says.
Known for an eclectic mix of music, the Tosco Music Party has included well-known musicians in the past, such as The Avett Brothers, Livingston Taylor, and Etta Baker, as well as local amateur talent, such as church choirs, singer/songwriters, and family bands with children in tow.
Around 11 p.m., the party closes with one last sing-along. The stage overflows when Tosco invites audience members celebrating birthdays to join the house band and sing-along choir. As the audience exits the auditorium, fans linger onstage to compliment the party’s smiling emcee. Tosco credits his mom for these memorable evenings. “People say, ‘John, thank you for doing these music parties and what you do for the music community,’ ” he says. “And I appreciate that, but I want to say the thanks goes to my mom. … She’s the one who really started all this.”
Thank you, Mrs. T.
Don’t miss
Tosco Music Party
Dale F. Halton Theater
Central Piedmont Community College
1206 Elizabeth Avenue
Charlotte, N.C. 28204
Upcoming performances:
April 16
June 18 (Beatles Tribute)
September 10
For ticket information, visit
toscomusicparty.org.
Victoria Moreland lives in Charlotte, where she is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to the South Charlotte News, a publication of The Charlotte Observer. Moreland can be found online at www.victoriamoreland.blogspot.com.
