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Lorie Strother: Open Mic Throwback

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The first Open Mic Talent Night of the season was intimate as usual with some new faces mixed with old.

Speaking of old, one familiar act, The Early Dawn Drifters, debuted with a new member, Tyler, who took the crowd back to another place in time with his playing of the pedal steel guitar.  My conversation with Tyler revealed that he’d been playing the instrument for only two years but had been playing the banjo for many more (I recollect 12 years).  No doubt Tyler’s previous experience with an instrument had some hand in helping him master the pedal steel guitar in such a short period of time. He certainly impressed me. 

In addition to The Drifters, a newcomer from Nelson County, Connie, graced us with his cornet and trumpet solos of tunes from the early 1900s.  Connie’s passion for the tunes was quite evident as he thoroughly told us about the music-all before blowing one note.  He finally got to it and shared three songs with us – one featuring the cornet with a wah-wah mute.

Rounding out the evening were the familiar faces of Jerry Kelly (vocal/guitar), of the duo Age before Beauty, and Brett Leake who tried out his jokes on us in preparation for a special upcoming gig at his former high school.  We topped off the evening with what has become our group song at the Open Mic Talent Night, I’ll Fly Away, except this time we topped it off with some Folsom Prison Blues.

The next Open Mic Talent Night is Thursday, Oct. 25.

More at www.WayneTheatre.org.

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