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Duo To Cast Spell At Tarpon's Sunset Beach

From The Spells

The Spells, Tracy LaBarbera, left, and Gale Trippsmith will perform this Thursday, Aug. 14, at Sunset Beach, in Tarpon Springs.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: August 9, 2008

A female duo familiar to Sunset Beach concert goers will headline the next concert. The Spells have appeared at the outdoor concerts in Tarpon Springs for about seven years.

They add a feminine touch to the concerts, said acoustic guitarist Gale Trippsmith, one of the pair. "We're kind of whimsical and slightly girlish," she observed.

Tracy LaBarbera, who plays keyboard, is the other members of The Spells.

Their act is casual, Trippsmith said. "We interact with kids. The audience makes requests."

Trippsmith likened LaBarbera to Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, who is known for her ballads.

"I'm a little more bluesy," Trippsmith said of herself.

The two women met exactly one year before 9/11, on Sept. 11, 2000, when LaBarbera substituted as an emergency partner for Trippsmith. "Even without any rehearsal, we seemed to jell immediately," Trippsmith recalled.

Trippsmith has been a professional musician for 20 years. She was born in Scotland. Her family immigrated to Canada when she was 10 and to this country when she was 13.

The family then moved to Jacksonville when she was in high school. It was there she began to entertain, at first singing in coffee houses.

She took a detour from the entertainment world in college, at the University of Florida, where she majored in journalism communications. After graduating, she landed a job as a reporter at a television station but soon became disillusioned with the job. "Fairly quick, I realized it just wasn't doing it for me."

She is content with her decision of becoming a professional musician. "I'm still paying the bills," she said.

LaBarbera lives in Tampa and has performed with many groups and also does studio work. In her day job, she is an elementary school teacher.

The two are regulars at Stumps Supper Club, in Tampa, and at Green Iguana Bar and Grill, in Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Audiences can expect a mellow evening of female energy. "The comment we hear most often is, 'Your voices sound really nice together,' " said Trippsmith.

The lowdown

The duo The Spells will perform a free concert 7 - 9 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 14, at Sunset Beach. The beach is at the western end of Gulf Road. Many concert-goers bring chairs, blankets and picnic dinners. Alcohol is not allowed.

Cheryl Bentley can be reached at 727-815-1069 cbentley@suncoastnews.com.

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