Edna Vazquez Added as Special Guest for Trail Band Holiday Concerts

PORTLAND, Ore. - Dec. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- Five performances of 'Holidays With The Trail Band' are scheduled at the Aladdin Theatre on December 9th, 10th, and 11th, all benefiting Friends of the Children - Portland. The Trail Band features eight multi-instrumentalists and 5 singers who play holiday music in a variety of genres including folk, Celtic, jazz, classical, mariachi, bluegrass, and pop stylings. This year marks the band's 100th performance at the Aladdin Theatre where the annual run of shows originated as a benefit for Friends of the Children 24 years ago. Special guests for all five performances include recently added Latin American singer-songwriter-guitarist Edna Vazquez, vocalist and banjo wizard Lex Browning, and comedian Scott Parker.

Edna Vazquez spent half her life immersed in the culture and music of Mexico and Latin America. Born in Colima, Edna moved to the U.S. as a teenager and is now living in Portland. Edna has released 5 CDs and won first prize singing on Mexico's longest running musical show, Sabado Gigante.  Lex Browning currently plays with The Freak Mountain Ramblers and has toured with Queen Ida and her Bon Ton Zydeco Band, Tanya Tucker, and Trace Adkins. An original member of The Trail Band, Lex will be performing with the group for the first time in 10 years. Scott Parker is an actor, director and improv artist who taught theatre arts at Portland State University for 40 years. Parker has appeared as the 6 year old boy, 'Harold', in every holiday performance of The Trail Band since its inception.

Marv and Rindy Ross, producers of the concerts, have been in rehearsals with the band and special guests for over a month creating this year's show. Marv Ross commented, "We kept some of our past favorites, but added many new songs including a gospel bluegrass tune with Lex Browning and a Cuban-influenced rhumba with Edna Vasquez. It's a very fun and exciting set of tunes for this year's program with over 20 instruments and lots of humor, too."

For ticket info and show times visit http://www.trailband.com.

About Friends of the Children:

Friends of the Children – Portland is the founding chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. We select the children in this community facing the highest risks and commit to working with those children from kindergarten to graduation. http://www.friendspdx.org.