Francesca Amari
Turn the Page—A Musical Review!
Palm Springs Cultural Center, Palm Springs, CA, May 26, 2026
Reviewed by Bill Lanese
For her show at the Palm Spring Cultural Center, Francesca Amari presented a tender and loving evening of personal songs that embrace her life experiences. She chose an eclectic song list from her past, reliving them in a beautiful and emotional evening. Talented music director/pianist Wayne Abravanel led the trio that included Aaron Mercado (saxophone) and Dennis Burke (drums).
Amari opened with Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page,” in which she used her own lyrics, to kick off a fresh and exhilarating evening of song—a well-performed and well-written story of her life. She slid into Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name” and then moved on to the very funny “Boobs” (Ruth Wallis).
Amari chose songs that highlighted her voice, including “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (Burt Bacharach/Hal David), “Overjoyed” (Stevie Wonder), “Where Do You Start?” (Johnny Mandel/Alan & Marilyn Bergman), “Both Sides Now” (Joni Mitchell), and “Here’s to Life” (Artie Butler/Phyllis Molinary). She closed the show with and reprise of her lovely version of “Turn the Page” and then gave us “I Got the Music in Me” (Kiki Dee/Bias Boshell) as an encore.
