Abbey Crawford's cabaret-style show originally slated for Hotel RL will instead happen at the Spokane Club.
Just a few days after its cancellation was announced, the Rhythm and Blues concert series at the former Hotel RL is back on.
Booker Crain Heimbigner says the hotel's new owners were able to attain the proper permit from the city, and the concerts will resume Friday night as previously scheduled. Abbey Crawford's cabaret show, originally part of the Hotel RL lineup, will still go on at the Spokane Club Friday night.
Here is the remaining schedule; all concerts are free and all-ages, and begin at 6 pm:
Fri, July 27: Sammy Eubanks
Sat, July 28: Soul Proprietor
Fri, Aug. 10: High Tide: A Beach Boys Tribute
Sat, Aug, 11: Paperback Writer: A Beatles Tribute
Fri, Aug. 17: Shakewell
Sat, Aug. 18: Christy Lee
Fri, Aug. 24: Masterclass Big Band Rhythm & Blues Revue
Sat, Aug. 25: Peter Rivera & Celebrate, with Sidestep
Here's our original story on the short-lived cancellation:
When Hotel RL was sold last week, one crucial thing was not transferred to the new owners: the hotel's popular summer concert series.
The outdoor music series, recently rebranded Rhythm and Brews, entered its fourth year in June, and 2018's lineup already featured free, all-ages performances by Milonga and Too Slim & the Taildraggers.
On a public Facebook post Friday, Rhythm and Brews booker Craig Heimbigner confirmed that all remaining concerts had been canceled when Hotel RL changed ownership.
"They sold the hotel and gave none of the bands nor me ... any notice or warning," he wrote.
Heimbigner, who also books musical acts for Pig Out in the Park, tells the Inlander that he was notified of the cancellation just hours before Friday night's band, Smash Hit Carnival, was set to take the stage. Blues favorite Sammy Eubanks was scheduled to perform the following evening.
"It's just too bad. The Hotel RL could have let us know," Heimbigner says. "These bands are calling me, asking, 'What's the deal?'"
Heimbigner says he was in contact with several different representatives of the new hotel management, and it seemed like they were going to reach an agreement on the dozen shows still left on the calendar. But by Friday, the Rhythm & Brews series was officially no more.
But one of the recently canceled shows will go on.
Local singer and theater director Abbey Crawford was scheduled to perform a cabaret-style variety show at Hotel RL this weekend, but in a video posted to Facebook — which has since been viewed nearly 2,000 times — she announced that it would be moved to the Spokane Club's Georgian Room on Friday, July 27, at 6 pm.
Admission will be $10 to compensate the performers, who, alongside Crawford, include Jace Fogelman, Kristen Nauditt, Amelia Crawford-Heim and Carolyn Jess.
"I have people in the show who are ready to sing, and we've put so much into this show," Crawford says in the video. "I didn't want to let it go. I'm sad we're not doing it at the Hotel RL, because it's a great venue, and I hope that whatever happens there is handled appropriately."
It remains to be seen whether any of the other previously scheduled shows, which included the California-based Beatles tribute act Paperback Writer and former Rare Earth drummer Peter Rivera, will also be moved to other venues. This isn't the first Spokane festival to get the axe this year: Elkfest, the free Browne's Addition music event, called it quits following neighbor complaints and the discovery of an obscure city ordinance.
Under new owner Walt Worthy, Hotel RL will be renamed the Centennial Hotel, and the Spokesman-Review reported that plans are underway to build a sports complex across the street. No word yet on whether live music will continue at the hotel.
For more information on Crawford's Friday night show, check out our event listing here.
