The Hot Sardines kick off the Center for the Arts. 2025-26 season.
Born in Brooklyn’s neo-speakeasies, the Hot Sardines have championed a revival of classic jazz, bringing back the joy, swing, and showmanship of its golden age for today’s audiences. The band opens the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech’s newest season this Friday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
Fueled by the belief that jazz feeds the heart and soul, the Hot Sardines are on a mission to prove that vibrant music brings people together in a disconnected world, breathing new life into timeless classics with brassy horn arrangements, rollicking piano melodies, and rich vocals. For its Blacksburg performance, the group is joined by tap dancer John Manzari, whose stage credits include the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl,” Encores! “The Tap Dance Kid,” and Off Broadway’s “Maurice Hines: Tappin’ Thru Life.”
Led by frontwoman Elizabeth Bougerol and piano player Evan Palazzo, the group has been touring its brand of reinvigorated classic jazz worldwide behind a string of celebrated albums and over 60 million digital streams across platforms.
In the last two years, the Sardines have been featured at the Newport and Montreal jazz festivals, sold out New York City venues from Joe’s Pub to Bowery Ballroom, and performed more than 150 tour dates from Chicago to London.
The Hot Sardines’ self-titled first album spent more than a year on the Billboard Jazz Chart, debuting in the top 10 alongside Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. For its 2016 album, “French Fries & Champagne,” the jazz collective broadened its already impressive palette, combining covers and originals.
Last year, the band released “C’est La Vie,” a bilingual affair of vintage jazz standards and originals written by Bougerol and Palazzo. The title song, a bossa nova original in French, is a timely ode to fully living each moment, even when not knowing what the next will bring.
From Parisian chansons to sly Cole Porter lyrics, the band effortlessly channels New York speakeasies, French cabarets, and New Orleans jazz halls.
This performance is supported in part by gifts from Ed Spencer and Mary Ann Walker and Kenneth J. Walker. Additional funding is provided by the Timothy and Michelle Bendel Center for the Arts Excellence Fund.
Related events
Join tap dancer John Manzari for a tap workshop on Friday, Sept. 19, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Blacksburg Dance Theater, located at 1711 N. Main St. Recommended for intermediate and advanced tap dancers, the workshop is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Tickets
Tickets are $20-$55 for general audience and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Center for the Arts’ box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
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