Submitted by Dirty Cello

The Dirty Cello band performs at the Lopez Community Center for the first time on June 24 at 7 p.m.

The band Dirty Cello is a globe-trotting band that performs blues, rock and Americana, all fronted by virtuoso cellist Rebecca Roudman. A classically trained symphony player, Roudman dropped the straightjacket of classical music years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

“We travel all over the place,” says Roudman, “and everywhere we go, the idea is to put on a high-energy show. We’re a rock band, but with a cello instead of a lead guitar.” The Dirty Cello band really does get around – with shows from Iceland, to China, to a Santa Cruz nudist resort. The band will be performing at the Lopez Community Center on June 24.

Among their many descriptions, Oakland Magazine describes the group as, “Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical.” Roudman agrees with this description and adds, “We’re all about the fun at our shows and we step on stage with only a vague plan as to what specific songs we are going to play, and we react to what the audience wants to hear and adjust accordingly.”

With a set list ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Charlie Daniels to rocking original songs, the band can deliver on this promise. Ticketsfor the concert are $20,t are available at DirtyCello.com, or http://www.lopezcenter.org