Burnett set to thrill Canyon
Rachel Burnett Band a highlight for Tusayan
TUSAYAN, Ariz. - Her voice is often compared with Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, and her talent charms nearly everyone who hears her play. Burnett, 23, is lead singer for the Rachel Burnett Band. A Flagstaff native, she's been playing since the age of four. Her specialties include bluegrass and fiddle.
"I started professionally playing when I was 10. My family is the Burnett Family Bluegrass. We still play together," she said. "I started playing with the Rachel Burnett Band six months ago or so."
Currently working as a music teacher at Arizona Music Pro in Flagstaff, she continues to perform with her family as well. Burnett counts a diverse selection of bands as musical influences, including Led Zeppelin, Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, Janis Joplin and the Beatles.
While the band is called the Rachel Burnett Band, she said the name might soon change.
"We haven't really come up with anything official yet, so we've just kind of been using Rachel Burnett Band," she said. "There are five of us. Rich Neivel on bass, Robert Licher on guitar, Bob Blasi on drums, John Reuter on lap steel, and I play guitar, violin and sing."
The group recently performed for the first time at Bedrock City in Valle.
"We had a blast. It was a good time. Everybody is really fun, really good musicians, so it made it a lot of fun," Burnett said.
When it comes to their second concert, set for Saturday during the Fourth of July celebrations following the electric light night parade, Burnett said her plans for the show are simple.
"To rock the Fourth of July and have a great time," she said.
According to Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce President Craig Andresen, this year's event is one of the first times a musician from outside of Tusayan has performed for the Fourth of July celebration.
"In the past we've always had local musicians play up here for the Fourth and it's always been really good and really popular," Andresen said. "We are just so excited about having Rachel on board with this. She's really on the verge of going big. This is a perfect mix of music for us. It really fits into our plans for an old-fashioned Fourth of July this band is just smoking hot."
Besides all the other attractions for the Tusayan celebration, Andresen said plans for the community will now include a pig roast as well.
"We're doing the deep pit pig roast. That's something new," he said. "We're digging a pit into the ground and roasting a pig."
He said many in the community are excited about the first ever night parade,
"We are just so excited about the electric light night parade. We've done a parade here for 28 years. We're getting a lot excitement from our local businesses up here and from guests that are planning to be here for it," Andresen said.
A Native American festival will also be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday just north of the Grand Hotel in Tusayan, beginning at 10 a.m. each day. The event will offer Native music, dancing, crafts and more. On Saturday, organizers will hold a hand drum contest beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information, contact the Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce at (928) 638-2901.
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