Flagpole Radio Café staged a performance at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday, February 27, featuring Newtown jazz bassist and recording artist Phil Bowler with his quartet, known as Phil Bowler & Friends.

Besides Mr Bowler playing intricate acoustic bass lines, the group's set featured Tony Lombardozzi on electric guitar,  Ron Vincent on drums, and jazz vocalist Melissa Newman. The quartet performed songs including "Love For Sale" and "Easy Street."

Earlier in his career, Mr Bowler had played violin and cello before switching to double bass. He used a bow for some of the numbers in the show, providing a much different sound than a plucked bass.

Also performing were members of the Flagpole Radio Café Orchestra: Jim Allyn on guitar, keyboards, mandolin, vocals; Greg Burrows, drums; Francine Wheeler, vocals, guitar, ukelelee; Dick Neal, guitars, banjo; Rick Brodsky, double bass; and Howie Bujese, violin and other instruments.

The show attracted nearly 350 people to the Edmond Town Hall theater for a two-hour performance which combined the musical numbers with radio-style topical comedy as performed by the four-member Flagpole Shakespeare Repertory Theatre. Theatre players are Martin Blanco, Barbara Gaines, Kate Katcher, and David Wheeler.

One comedy sketch included a conversation among Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, and Marco Rubio. Mr Blanco's voice impression of Trump was quite accurate.

Another sketch involved a Hillary Clinton campaign strategy session.

Yet another sketch focused on the pervasiveness and value of cellphones in modern life.

Lisa Schwartz, Newtown's poet laureate, recited a humorous poem that she had written.

Of the performance, Mr Blanco, the group's producer, said, "I was very pleased with the show and delighted the audience enjoyed themselves so much."

The performance was the group's first show for its seventh season. The next show is scheduled for April 30.