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Accordion Convention Las Vegas

The Third Annual Int’l Accordion Convention in Las Vegas
By Donna Massey

Tony Lovello opened the Grand Finale Concert on Wednesday evening in a very creative way. Lovello, who is often called the “Liberace of the Accordion”, surprised the crowd by playing the first 4 measures of God Bless America sitting at the dinner table. The spotlight captured him as he stood up and continued to play and walk between the tables and up to the front of the stage. He invited the audience to join him in singing the last 8 bars of God Bless America.
The mutual love and respect relationship between Tony and the audience had just taken place.

Lovello entertained for 45 minutes, but the time seemed to fly by. He never stopped “working” with the audience. At times he was a comedian teasing Dick Contino, Frank Marocco, and Art Van Damme – who are all mutual friends – to bringing tears to our eyes as he gave a tribute to one of his seriously ill friends in the audience who traveled to the convention just to see Tony’s show.

Standing ovations are always a natural reaction of the audience to Tony’s shows. The 6-minutes bellow-shake in Malaguena just brings the house down! I found myself holding my breath as I watched Tony continue to bellow shake while he went up and down the stage stairs. That workout has got to be the equivalent of a day of down-hill skiing.

Tony’s master workshop classes packed in a crowd that left many attendees standing along the walls and in the doorway. He always puts together a very impressive notebook with all the exercises, tips, and other information inside. Besides learning some great tips, his fans know how fun this entertainer is in class!
At the Las Vegas Convention, Tony had a complete sell-out of his Videos and his 4 CD’s – the last two of which were just completed this year. The names of the latest CD’s are Then & Now – Volume II, and Tony Lovello and His Millennium Orchestra.