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Tuesday, 19 January 2010 |
By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
A healthy mix of country and bluegrass music coupled with comedic skits should again highlight a monthly opry series outside of St. Johns.
The Appalachian Opry returns to the Famous Old Time Music Company on Saturday, kicking of what the company calls “Wapakoneta’s answer to Hee Haw, Midwestern Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry.”
Kitty McIntyre, who owns the retail store along with her husband, Vernon, said the event features a variety of entertainment and music.
“There’s acoustic music, bluegrass, comedy and guest artists, too,” McIntyre said. “It’s something we wanted to put on for the local folks to come and have some fun.”
Saturday’s event is scheduled for 7 to 10:30 p.m. and is to include the Opry Band, Jenny Pleman, DDT, Jesse Manns and the Comedy Crew. Other opry dates have been scheduled for Feb. 20, Marc 20, April 17, May 15, June 19, July 23 and 24, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.
McIntyre said the music store held its first opry last January after store manager Laura Ritchie suggested the event.
“It was cooked up about something she said about wanting to do something different than a straight concert,” McIntyre said. “Something that would get more people involved.”
Beyond the tunes which will be played on Saturday, McIntyre ensured the crowd favorite from last year is set to return again — the Comedy Crew.
The group, started by Ritchie, entertains attendees with several comedic sketches.
“Laura puts together these skits and they’re just a hoot,” McIntyre said. “They’ll try anything once.”
McIntyre said the event steadily grew attendance throughout last year and hopes the trend continues through 2010.
She said anywhere between 75 to 150 people attended last year’s events and she has hopes of 500 attending sometime in the future.
While attendees enjoy the live music and comedy, McIntyre said she enjoys learning more about her music’s history.
“People come up and ask us to play these songs, and I find the originals on You Tube,” McIntyre said. “After I find it, I realize how good they are and I get a better understanding on where the music that I do comes from.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 January 2010 )
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