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NEIGHBORS
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 16, 2020
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Legendary jazz singer Watson to perform with DJ son BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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n the late 1960s, Phoenicians would be hard-pressed to flip to the Scottsdale Daily Progress entertainment section and not find an ad for Andy Grand’s Bowery on McDowell Road, a popular spot at the time for live music. “Andy Grand’s Bowery – was a character,” said southern Scottsdale resident, Vince Watson. “The old-timers in Phoenix will remember Andy Grand. He was a total character from New York.” Watson knew Andy Grand’s Bowery very well; he was a frequent performer there, after all. “It was very, very much alive here,” Watson said of Scottsdale’s late-’60s music scene. “I was able to perform [at Andy Grand’s Bowery] with, to me, a worldclass guitarist, Lloyd Ellis. He was an absolutely wonderful guitar player, and I had two wonderful years with him.”
Southern Scottsdale resident and jazz singer Vince Watson, right, and his son Sean will be taking the stage together Feb. 31. (Chris Mortenson/Progress Staff Photographer)
Watson was a jazz singer who also performed at several other venues around the Valley, including Joe Hunt’s Steakhouse, Scotch Mist, and Fireside Chalet. As his family grew to nine, he took a step back from performing; but now, decades later, he’ll take the stage once more
– this time, alongside his son, Sean Watson, a popular local DJ. On Feb. 21, Vince and Sean will both perform at The Walter Hive’s inaugural fundraising event, The Big Buzz, at the Walter Gallery in southern Scottsdale; Sean will perform a DJ set, and Vince will
interactive arts, live music, speakeasies, and small bites — all benefiting The Walter Hive. The Walter Hive was founded in 2018 as the nonprofit arm of The Walter Project, which began in 2009 with the repurposing of a 1963 Walter Crash Vehicle into a Volkswagen Micro bus now known as Walter the Bus. From there, the Walter Project grew with the opening of the Walter Dome, the Walter Art Gallery, Walter Station Brewery, Walter Yoga, the Walter Where?House Gallery, Walter Studios, and the Walter Hive. “I wanted to bring art to kids in a big way,” said Walter Hive Founder Mary Strawn in an interview published on the nonprofit’s website. “The Walter Hive was a way for me to combine my passions of health and well-
ness and art,” she added. “Also, it was the right time to expand the community outreach of the Walter Project.” The Walter Hive offers 12 different workshops and programs for people of all ages — from robotics and art therapy to woodworking, welding, 3-D printing and more. “Our focus is less on the actual skill and [more] on the empowerment to take a chance and try something new — finding you can unlock your world, you can unlock your universe through just trying something,” said Nan McCoy, the Walter Hive executive director. “It’s been really exciting to watch kids do this and watch adults do it, too.” McCoy spent 13 years at the Arizona Burn Foundation — three as executive vice president — before she joined the Walter
perform a set of classic hits. “He is over-the-top talented,” said The Walter Hive Executive Director Nan McCoy, who added the first time she saw them perform was a few months earlier at an industry event held at Walter Where?House Gallery in Phoenix. “My dad stole the show,” Sean said. “It was awesome. You went out there and performed. They loved it.” Music has always had an undeniable presence in the Watson household. For Vince, he and his seven other siblings grew up listening to his mother sing. Similarly, Sean and his six other siblings spent many nights listening to Vince and his friends sing jazz. Every Christmas, the kids were also encouraged to perform for the rest of the family. “We got a chance to sing a carol or you
see WATSON page 24
Fundraiser to help kids connect to art, tech BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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ince April 2018, The Walter Hive has provided more than 470 hours of art and technology programs. About 95 percent of it is provided free to their diverse group of 20 partner organizations, including Scottsdale Boys & Girls Clubs, the Arizona Burn Foundation, the Foundation for Blind Children, among others. And to continue to provide free programming for their local partners, the southern Scottsdale-based nonprofit is hosting its first fundraiser, called The Big Buzz. The Big Buzz takes place Feb. 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at The Walter Dome, a private event venue located just off Thomas Road and 64th Street. The fundraiser promises an evening of
Hive team as the executive director. McCoy met Strawn during her time spent at the Arizona Burn Foundation; Strawn, at the time, was heavily involved with the foundation’s Camp Courage. “We did a lot of resilience and empowerment programming there,” McCoy said. “When [Strawn] wanted to start this organization and she recruited me to be her executive director, I’d never done a startup, but I believed in the mission. I believed in the culture. And I said, ‘Absolutely, I will do this.’” Through McCoy’s leadership, the Walter Hive not only continues to build community partnerships throughout the region but, since its inception, the nonprofit also held more than 126 events and clocked more
see FOUNDRAISER page 24
