POSTPONED: The Chenille Sisters, wsg The Royal Garden Trio

A Chenille Sisters performance is a blending of three uniquely gifted souls into a musical phenomenon that’s more poignant, funny and entertaining than any single performer anywhere – and oh, those exquisite harmonies! What these three women have in common are heavenly voices, a lot of witty wisdom and a passion for connecting with their audiences. But as in a constellation, each Chenille shines her own particular kind of light.

Cheryl Dawdy draws on her background as a balladeer to tell stories that shimmer with human emotion, from sorrow to wonder to tenderness – all delivered with a sly smile that slowly grows wider, warming the heart.
With her broad vocal range, Grace Morand can project a powerful note clear to an auditorium’s restrooms. Her performance is as much musical theater as it is singing, with one reviewer inviting the audience to relish the experience of her “silly putty face.”

Connie Huber’s musical acumen is as varied as it is powerful. Her deft guitar playing is a strong element in the musical mix, and her rich vocal presence can transport an audience to places they could otherwise visit only in their dreams.

So while these are very different women with very different histories and experiences, it’s the union of the three that makes them a bona fide force of nature. Their paths first merged and converged on the small stage of an Ann Arbor bistro in 1985. Over the years they’ve crisscrossed the map, amassing tens of thousand of fans young and old.

Royal Garden Trio

Michigan-based Royal Garden Trio are Brian Delaney, Mike Karoub, and Tom Bogardus. 

Brian Delaney was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and studied classical piano at an early age. At age 12, he took up guitar and has been playing ever since.  Brian’s curiosity and love for the guitar has led him all over the world, playing a variety of styles of music on the instrument. Somewhere along the way, he discovered the music of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France. This led to an interest in early jazz and the formation in the late 1990’s of the gypsy-style jazz trio, Summers, Delaney & Sharp. Later, Brian asked Mike Karoub and Tom Bogardus to join him in the Royal Garden Trio. Since then, his focus has been on performance, recording and instruction as well as his own continuing study of traditional jazz guitar. Brian finds inspiration in the likes of guitar pioneers Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, George Van Eps, Oscar Moore, George Barnes and other musicians from the dawn of jazz guitar.

Mike Karoub was born in 1963 in Dearborn, Michigan. He began playing cello at age 8. His teachers included Detroit symphony cellists Marcy Chanteaux, Mario DiFiore and Eastern Michigan universities’ professor of Cello, Diane Winder. Mike took up string bass in 7th grade and began playing professional engagements on both instruments shortly thereafter. Mike attended Wayne State University and Eastern Michigan University. He then toured as bassist for Grammy nominated James Dapogny’s Chicago jazz Band, Banu Gibson’s New Orleans Hot Jazz, recording several albums, with appearances at the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl and Garrison Keillor’s “A Prarie Home Companion”. He has also has been a guest with the St. Louis and Atlanta Symphonies. On cello, Mike has performed with several Detroit area orchestras and as a soloist, playing jazz arrangements for cello and orchestra with the Livonia Symphony. Currently, Mike plays cello, teaching several private students and does orchestral and chamber work. He is often employed as a string clinician and conductor, in addition to being a featured soloist in the Royal Garden Trio.

Tom Bogardus was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. By high school, he was playing clarinet, saxophone, guitar and banjo. He then went on to Central Michigan University, where he obtained a music education degree, later adding a Masters degree from Western Michigan University. At Central he met his wife, Rose; they have been married over 39 years and have two children, Holly and Jay, and 2 grandsons. Tom and his family settled in the Flint area, and there he taught music in the public school system for 30 years. He also played in various jazz bands during this time, often composing and arranging for them. Now retired, Tom spends his time gigging, writing, traveling and chasing his grandsons. Tom is the “guts and glue” of the Royal Garden Trio, contributing a rock-solid swinging tenor rhythm guitar as well as hot clarinet choruses whenever he picks it up. Tom is also the arranger for the group.