Amy Friedl Stoner returns to Paramount Theatre on New Year’s Eve

When Amy Friedl Stoner steps onto the Paramount stage to ring in the New Year, the glamorous singer will flash back to her debut at the Cedar Rapids venue in 2008.

“I was in the Follies and I had one solo at the Paramount,” Stoner said. “It was such a thrill. It’s wild that I get to do my own show there. I can’t express how excited I am about having this opportunity.”

Stoner’s concert will be an eclectic event, as she and her band veer from blues to rock to jazz to holiday songs.

"It’s a big mixed bag,“ she said. ”We’re looking forward to doing Christmas songs. We’ll be doing this big beautiful arrangement of ‘What Child Is This,’ with this beautiful and haunting piano part. I’ll be doing a cover of Madonna’s ‘Borderline,’ which is unlike anything you’ve ever heard, since it’s a bluesy folk version of the song.

“The set list, the many styles of music that will be presented, is a reflection of what I’m about. I get bored as a performer and I like to be all over the map. It just makes things interesting for me and I think it’ll be that much more interesting for the audience. I’m very much looking forward to this show since the Paramount has had a big impact on my life.”

Stoner, 40, of Cedar Rapids, started going to the Paramount as a child and has indelible memories of her own performances and the concerts she has experienced.

“I feel like I grew up at the Paramount,” she said. “I danced at recitals there. I saw Broadway shows there and those shows had such a profound effect. One of my favorite concerts I’ve ever seen was going to the Ani DiFranco show in 2001 at the Paramount.

“The venue is like a second home for me so I want to make this New Year’s show as special as possible.”

The Mount Vernon High School alum is inspired to go the extra yard since New Year’s Eve is a special night.

“It’s always a big deal ringing in a new year,” Stoner said. “I feel that this year’s show is significant, since it’s putting more distance between now and 2020 (when the pandemic arrived). Hopefully this night will be fun for people so they can spend a joyful evening out interacting with music.

“There’s not always a ton to do around here for New Year’s Eve. For me, catching a show at a theater is a good option compared to going to a club or sitting at a bar. But maybe that’s just my view since that’s how I’m wired. I’ve always been up for going to a show. For me, it’s always been about live music. I just don’t think there is anything better.”

The concert experience is part of what inspired Stoner to attend Indianola’s Simpson College to study vocal performance.

“I had a great experience there and after that, I went back to Kirkwood (Community College) and did the jazz program. I learned to sing in a straight tone at Kirkwood. I credit the jazz program there with what I do now. It’s a great school that so many people here take for granted. Kirkwood has an amazing jazz program.”

Stoner also tips her cap to her friend and longtime music director, Luke Viertel.

“He and I have been working together for eight years and have an amazing relationship,” Stoner said. “It’s wild since when we started doing this show at the Paramount, we knew everyone in the crowd. Now there are all of these people in the audience we don’t know, and we laugh and wonder what they’re doing out there. We’re just so thankful that people show up to enjoy what we do.”

Like many of her peers, Stoner is introverted.

“I don’t need all of the attention,” she said. “For me, performance is about expressing myself and communicating. Attention is fine but that’s not the payoff. There is this release I get from performing, but afterward I’m fine going back into my hole.”

Looking into the new year, Stoner plans to record an album in 2023.

“That’s my goal,” she said. “I would like to make a Christmas album and book a lot more gigs. I want to do more singing in New York. I’m hoping for a busy year, but we’ll see what happens.”

Much of Stoner’s focus is on her 10-year-old son, Weston.

“He plays guitar and he’s been playing for five years,” Stoner said. “He has the music bug like I did, and the Paramount is having an impact on him, just like it had an impact on me. The Paramount is a special place and New Year’s Eve is a special time. It’s a privilege for me to be on that stage as we ring in 2023.”