Saturday, July 30, 2011
Concert at 8 pm; Gate opens at 7 pm
The Deering Estate Stone House Ballroom
16701 SW 72 Ave.
Miami FL 33157
More Info.

It is recommended to arrive early for preferred seating. Guests are welcome to bring refreshments and snacks to enjoy during the show.

Single tickets are $20 or $55 for the three-concert series package. Limited seating is available. Advance tickets are recommended. Tickets can be purchased online for an additional fee of $2.50 for each single ticket. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the Deering Estate Ticket Office at 305-235-1668 ext. 233.

After more than 30-years of live performances, five releases, and being covered by artists in nearly every genre of music, Graham Wood Drout’s IKO-IKO continues to get more attention than nearly any artist not signed to a “major label” and they have the accolades to show for it. Drout’s songs are covered by a wide range of artists – including Albert Castiglia and Joey Gilmore. Gilmore’s version of “The Ghosts of Mississippi” won him the “Best Blues Artist” award from The International Blues Foundation’s IBC awards in 2006 and BluesRevue magazine named it “Blues Song of The Year” for 2006. The band, itself, is award-winning and has movie soundtracks to their credit. “Don’t Mess With The Voodoo” appeared, as did the band, in the Martin Scorsese film, Cape Fear starring Robert DeNiro and the band performed on the soundtrack for the film, Contact starring Jodie Foster.

Graham Wood Drout (Guitar, Lead Vocals) is the driving force, principal songwriter, and front man of the band. He was born in Newark, New Jersey where, at the age of five, he got a plastic Roy Roger’s guitar and a 33-1/3rd LP recording of Western Swing music. All his life he has been dodging abnormal phenomena: From surviving floods to fires to hurricanes to lightning strikes and all forms and shapes of experience that would have caused many to quit in frustration; however, Drout persevered and turned all of that into powerful lyrics and driving rhythms for his music. At the age of eight, Drout’s family relocated to Houston, Texas and, after six painfully hard years, he moved to Miami, Florida for the first time. Two years after that, his family’s cultural aftershocks took him to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil where Drout farmed his musical diversity even further and, ultimately, returned to South Florida where he received a BFA in Art from Florida International University. His collaborations continue as he works with veteran artists and discovers young talent that he helps to cultivate. His reputation for inspired performances is simply legendary.

Vocalist and violinist Nicole Yarling’s vast array of musical interests has resulted in an artist who defies categorization. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., the eclectic tastes of her father, a fine Jazz pianist and organist himself, included artists as diverse as Miles Davis, Etta James, J.J. Johnson, Stuff Smith, the Beatles and the Motown roster. Absorbing all of those great artists, and “jamming” on violin with her father from the age of nine, it was inevitable that she would embrace a career in music.

Aside from the familial influences, Nicole’s education is extensive, ranging from a BA in Music from Baruch College, to a Masters in Music Education at Columbia University, as well as private training in composition, arranging, voice and violin.

Moving to Florida in 1980, Ms. Yarling soon became an important contributor to South Florida’s musical world as a singer and violinist, working in Jazz, rock, r&b, experimental music, and a few other styles that defy description. Nicole’s musical excursions have brought about stints with Dizzy Gillespie and three years on tour as a featured soloist with Jimmy Buffett (1991-94). She also participated on Buffett’s platinum-selling CD “Fruitcakes” (MCA), and then went on to do eight worldwide tours with her own project, Little Nicky and the Slicks.