St. Paul alum Lippia returns to perform and to give back

BRISTOL — Steve Lippia, one of the most prominent, in-demand vocalists and St. Paul Catholic High School alumnus, will be returning to his school to perform and to give back.
Lippia is a Southington native who graduated St. Paul in 1974.
“It was a great school and it continues to be a great school,” said Lippia, who will be performing a one-night event called “Come Fly With Me!” Friday, June 25.
There is a 6 p.m. compli-mentary reception. The show begins at 8 p.m. He will be performing swing music in the benefit for St. Paul.

“It’s my way of giving back,” said Lippia.

Cary DuPont, St. Paul Catholic High School president, is very excited for him to return to the school.

“I’m very grateful and excited,” said DuPont. “Tickets are selling well and it’s going to be a great night,” he added.

This will be the first event, that DuPont is planning in a series of events to have alumni return to perform and give back to their school.

“This all came about with alumni being involved with the school and we have several alumni that are on Broadway,” said DuPont.
The first of these events is of course going to be Steve Lippia. Yet, with all his success, it hasn’t been an easy road.
He overcame obstacles by challenging them and believing in himself.
“A lot of people will try telling you ‘no you can’t do that’ or try to snuff out your dream,” said Lippia in an interview. “You are in control of the engine behind your life. If someone can’t see it for themselves, don’t let their limitations define you.”
He started his adult life after college at Central Connecticut State University with a small paving business. That was soon fazed out when he took a job in sales. But his goal was to perform.
“My father had a friend in the entertainment industry. I asked my father if he could get in touch with him and he did. He then contacted me and just gave me the facts about the industry. All the facts were very, very negative,” said Lippia, but he pressed on.
“You have to create the luck and you have to refuse to be denied,” said Lippia.
After years of hard work and dedication, Lippia started to get regional attention. He was standing up on a stage and performing to large audiences.
“It’s like an out of body experience when performing. I will ask myself, is this really me doing it?” said Lippia.
He has headlined in such places like the Rio Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and Resorts Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
Lippia has performed to sold-out audiences with major symphonies including Peter Nero and Philly Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Naples Philharmonic and many more across the country.
It was a long and hard road, but “Everybody has to deal with adversity at some point in their life . . . it’s what you do with adversity that’s important. You should use it as a tool,” said Lippia. “Look at Rocky Marciano, he took quite a few punches but he stands up as one of the most successful boxers.”
Lippia does between 80 to 100 shows a year.
“I live at the U.S. Airways,” said Lippia.
He has performed for and met people like Aaron Spelling, Donald Trump, Michael Dell, Irwin Winkler, Joe Pesci and Henry Connick Jr.
“Harry Connick Jr. is a great musician, he is very knowledgeable of music and an excited and enthused entertainer,” said Lippia. “I met Joe Pesci after a late show when I was performing at the Rio in Las Vegas. He was backstage and said to me ‘nice job, very, very nice.’ His mother told him to see me, she is a big fan,” he added.
One of the biggest moments of Lippia’s career was being able to play with Frank Sinatra’s band. He had to learn all new music.
“It was do or die,” said Lippia. “But I had an entertainment S.W.A.T. team behind me to get me through the engagement,” he added.
The night was a huge moment in his life and career, a moment that ended with thunderous applause. “It was an amazing night for me,” said Lippia.

Tickets for his St. Paul show are $45 and $75 for the premium seats. They are available at http://spchs.net/ or you can call the school at (860)584-0911.

If you are interested in learning about more events that Steve Lippia will be doing or to buy his music, visit his website at http://www.stevelippia.com/.