By Staff Reports
Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome will headline the Patrick County Music Association’s Saturday Nite Opry.
Denny Alley, organizer of the PCMA, said the band was tapped at the last minute to fill in for Kenny and Amanda Smith. The husband/wife duo was the advertised headline group, but due to a scheduling conflict now will return to the PCMA stage in April.
Meanwhile, “the show must go on,” Alley said. “We’re tickled Jeff Brown and his band Still Lonesome could fill in on such short notice. They’re a great band, and always a crowd favorite.”
Brown, who plays the guitar and also sings, has been steadily gaining popularity in the bluegrass circuit with fans, DJ’S and promoters alike, according to an online biography. He was 8- or 9-years-old when he started playing. Brown and his brother formed the Richlands Bluegrass Boys. In 1993, Brown went to work for the legendary Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers as bass player and tenor vocals. Having performed on many famous stages such as: the Grand Ole Opry at the world famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., along with the television shows Austin City Limits in Austin, Texas and Song of the Mountains on PBS, Brown also toured with several bands, among them The Charlie Sizemore Band, and has pulled fill-in duties with Blue Highway, Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and Jesse McReynolds.
Members of Brown’s band include Austin Brown on acoustic bass, Nick Goad on mandolin and tenor vocals and Rod Smith on banjo, dobro and vocals, according to online information.
The remainder of Saturday’s lineup includes Alley, Junior Cassady, Roger Handy, Johnny Joyce and Ernie Power. Others may be added to the list, Alley said.
This year’s opry also will include Glenn Wood’s Race Cars, featuring the #16 Modified Race Car with a miniature version for youngsters to enjoy, Alley said.
The show also will feature an auction of some memorabilia donated by the Wood Brothers, Alley said. “The Wood Brothers have been very supportive in making this happen,” Alley said. “To my knowledge, this is the first racing/music show, and we’re excited to see how it works out.”
Long-and short-sleeved T-shirts featuring “The Woodchopper” also will be available for sale, Alley said, adding that only a limited number of the shirts were made.
Sponsored this year by Boyce Holland Veterinary Services, the annual opry show gets underway at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Rotary Building, which is located at 420 Woodland Drive, Stuart.
“Our hope is people will hang around Stuart after the Apple Dumpling Festival, which will be held earlier that day, and then join us for the opry show,” Alley said.
Concessions will be available for sale, and various vendors also will be on site with their wares.
Admission is by donation.
