Redlands’ A.K. Smiley Public Library will present Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys in a free concert 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17, at the Contemporary Club, 173 S. Eureka St., Redlands.
Klein is an entertainer, band leader and musical archeologist searching for rare songs from the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s and finding songs from the era of vaudeville, the Victrola and early sound films.
She and her Los Angeles-based band the Parlor Boys have performed at historic theaters in Hollywood and Los Angeles and other venues throughout the United States. They shared the bill with silent movies and early animated and musical film shorts, collaborating with animationhistorian Jerry Beck, at the Steve Allen Theater and Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood before those venues closed, according to a news release.
Klein has made prologue appearances for Retroformat screenings and for programs at theOrpheum Theater, the Alex Theatre, the Wiltern, the Warner Grand Theatre, the Old Town Music Hall and Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and has upcoming projects with author, historian and filmmaker Steven C. Smith and pianist and scholar Frederick Hodges, according to the news release.
The band also tours internationally and since 1998 has recorded 10 CDs.
Klein has also done voice-over work in animation, as Miss Langtree for Cartoon Network’s “Over the Garden Wall,” according to the news release.
The program at the Contemporary Club is part of the Smiley LIVE! concert series and will include a question-and-answer segment.
For information about Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys, go to janetklein.com.
