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Spring
2010
Schedule
MARCH 20, 2010
APRIL
17, 2010
MAY
15, 2010
|
Spring
2010 Newsletter
Hopefully, Old Man Winter will release his grip on us and
we can look forward to the beautiful balmy Spring days that
we enjoy here in Louisiana. The azaleas and wisteria will
soon be coloring the landscape and that pesky pine tree pollen
will dust everything in sight, but that is a small price to
pay for the enjoyment the time of the year brings. An important
aspect of the Spring season is, of course, the Abita Springs
Opry Spring series. We are very excited about what we have
booked for this Spring and we are looking forward to the start
of production. The audience enjoys the show, but those of
us who work to put them on have as much fun as anyone else.
The Opry is truly a labor of love and we are blessed with
a more that competent staff that has a deep appreciation for
the value of staying true to our mission statement, "The
Preservation and Presentation of Louisiana Roots music."
We have a great line up for the shows and other related activities.
Please remember that the shows are the third Saturday in March,
April, and May from 7:00-9:00 PM and the doors open at 5:45.
We will always have a front porch act before the show for
your entertainment, and there is always something good to
eat for supper.
March 20
Steve Anderson Group - traditional old time country
music.Steve is well known among local folks. He is a real
audience pleaser and is the "real deal" when it
comes to performing songs from artists like Hank Williams
and Jimmie Rodgers.
Smoky Greenwell and Mark Pentone - Traditional acoustic
blues guitar and harmonica in keeping with the roots tradition.
Jeff and Vida - Its been too long since these folks
have been to the Opry. They have been living in Nashville
and are busy touring around the country We are glad they could
make this show.They perform eclectic string music with strong
vocals.
Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band - Bruce is one of the all-time
greatest Cajun musicians in existence, and we are flattered
that he will be on the opry stage.
The Irish Bayou Band - On the front porch at 5pm to
6:30
April 17
The Petty Bones - one of our great house bands. Jerry,
Anne, Harvey, and Bobby always have something to please the
audience. Their strong musicianship and Anne's sweet vocals
combined with a great sense of humor generate smile in the
audience.
The Fabulous Bagasse Boys - always have fun. They advertise
themselves as presenting what they refer to as, "not
your daddy's bl;uegrass." They drive hard and will please
bluegrass lovers.
Erika Lewis and Tuba Skinny - traditional dixieland
jazz and roots blues. Erica can really belt them out. She
has studied the greats like Bessie Smith and combines with
an incredible band to present the music that blends the sounds
of New Orleans jazz and blues. This is a real treat.
Sunpie Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots - hard driving,
foot stomping zydeco. Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes is no
stranger to fans of Louisiana music. He is a regular at the
Jazz Fest and other local music venues. He will definitely
get your blood pumping.
Frank Cox - On the front porch at 5pm to 6:30
May 16
Pot luck String Band - this group is a new addition
as a house band. Most of them have performed at the Opry in
other groups. They are very traditional with beautiful harmonies.
Delta Reign - a very unique brand of bluegrass. We
feel that these musicians who come to the Opry from Mobile
may be some of the best bluegrass musicians to have appeared
on our stage. They are a return act that was very well received
in the past.
Johnny Price and "Mojelly" - acoustic blues
music. These are local boys who are superior musicians. Those
who like good picking will love these guys.
Don Vappie and Friends - Don Vappie is very well known
among Jazz musicians in the New Orleans area and around the
world. We are fortunate to have a musician of his caliber.
He blew the audience away when he last appeared with his Creole
Serenaders, and his presentation at this show promises to
touch every true music lover.
The Model Citizens - On the front porch at 5pm to 6:30
As you can see, we have a very good line up and we hope to
see you there. The best way to see the Opry is to purchase
reserved tickets. You can do this by contacting Kathy at 985-892-0711.
We always save a limited number of seats for walk-ins, but
those are on a first-come / first-served basis.
The Abita springs Opry is also very happy to present a series
of outdoor
concerts for the Spring at the Abita Springs Trail Head museum
stage.
Three concerts are scheduled for:
March 28 from 1:00-4:00 PM, Abita Springs Opry free outdoor
concert.
April 18 from 12 noon -6:00 PM, The Abita Springs Earth Day
Festival sponsored by the Abita Springs Friends of the Park
and the Abita Springs Opry.
May 16 from 11:00 AM-6:00 PM The Second Annual Abita Springs
Gospel Music Jubilee:
These events are free to the public and the muscic portion
of each program is provided by the Abita Springs Opry through
a grant from the St Tammany Commission on cultural Affairs
and the Louisiana Division of the Arts.
The Abita Springs Opry is supportive of other events in the
area that focus on the presentation of Louisiana roots music
including the Covington Farmers' Market on Columbia Street
in Covington every Saturday morning where patrons can purchase
fresh organic produce, baked goods, and specialty foods while
listening to live music. The Covington Farmers market on Wednesdays
from 11am to 2pm at the new Trailhead complex with the clock
tower. The Covington Landing concerts are presented at the
end of Columbia Street on Third Fridays spring through Fall.
Every Sunday from 2pm to 4pm at the Abita Springs Trailhead
museum you will find local musicians playing old time country
and bluegrass. This one is an open jam, so bring your acoustic
instrument. Also the museum has a couple of donated instruments
the you can play. Many of the musicians who perform at these
assorted venues also have been performers at the Opry, and
we are happy to be networking with these events.
Recently, the Opry was given a very prestigious award. The
St Tammany Parish Commission on Cultural Affairs was given
to me because of the work I have dome in producing the Abita
Springs Opry. I am very gratified to have been given this
honor, but the award truly belongs to the staff who makes
it all happen, and I would like to mention them and tell you
what they do.
The Associate Producer and chief sound engineer is Kent Birkle.
Kent is a professional sound engineer who stays very busy
at his job. He is well known in his field. He has mixed sound
at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for over twenty
years. He has worked in many venues around the world, and
remains in high demand as a free-lance audio engineer. Kent
also serves on the Abita Springs Opry Board.
Assisting Kent are Robert Bentley and Jerry Hess. Robert
is a graphic artist and our broadcast sound engineer. Jerry
is a well known musician in this area. He is an electronics
technician who has played in several bands in the area. He
also produces sound at the Covington Farmer's Market every
Saturday. Kent, Robert, and Jerry show up at 10:00 AM to get
everything set up for the shows and stay until 11:00 PM to
break down. That's a full day's work and they are good at
it.
Jan Biggs and Bobby Belloni are our back stage managers.
They see to the needs of the musicians at each show, assist
with the set changes when necessary and organize and perform
at the after-the-show jam session at the Abita Brew Pub after
each show. Both of them perform in one of our house bands,
The Steve Anderson Group and serve on the Abita Springs Opry
Board. Bobby is a math teacher in our school system, and Jan
heads up the Covington Farmers' market and the Covington Landing
Concerts. Both are members of the Abita Springs Opry Board.
Lisa King is a local Justice of the Peace and notary Public.
She handles the books and money for the Opry. She also oversees
the food concessions at the shows. She lines up the groups
that prepare the food and sees that the groups offer concessions
that are high enough quality to please our audience. She is
a member of the Abita Springs Opry Board.
Kathy Armand is an employee of the Town Of Abita Springs.
Kathy has a music background as a music teacher. She is the
lady who handles the tickets at the door and all of the ticket
sales. She is a member of the Abita Springs Opry Board. Kathy
and her husband, Byron come to the Town Hall early on every
show day to make sure the chairs are arranged properly and
to place the numbers on each chair.
Danny Zechenelly, Jamie Hooper and Shannon Drinkard of the
St.Tammany Parish video crew, help with the taping of the
show. The Abita Springs Opry has over 40 shows since November
2002. There are others who assist us with ushering and selling
souvenirs and our sponsors who generously donate to supplement
our income. These are the people who make it all work. A lot
goes into each show, but we all enjoy what we do and are always
gratified to see a happy audience, and I want to give them
credit for what they do and share the award with them.
The MC of the show is Bryan Gowland. He served as Abita Springs
town mayor for 15 years and is a retired school teacher and
coach. Bryan is the chairman of the ASO board and the producer
of the Abita Springs Opry. He's also the man to talk to if
you want to sponsor the Opry. Bryan was one of the original
founders of the Piney Woods Opry - the predecessor to the
Abita Springs Opry.
As you can see, we have a very busy Spring lined up, and we
want to share the music with you.
See you at the Opry!
The Abita Opry is proud to bring these shows
to you. Our Opry staff functions as a family. Each member
loves what they are doing and we want to share our efforts
with you. We have a great season prepared for you and hopefully,
we'll see you at the Abita Springs Opry.
Front Porch
If you haven't had the experience of arriving at the Opry
early enough to catch our free outdoor pre-show offering,
you are missing out on a great experience. We always provide
one of our local groups on the porch to entertain folks who
are waiting for the doors to open at 5:45. Many of them stay
out and listen to the music until right before the show. We
also have a giant screen closed circuit TV on the porch during
the show. Some folks take advantage of the set to get a breath
of fresh air, and some of our musicians watch it outside after
their performance. It offers folks who can't get a seat, if
we sell out, the opportunity to still see the show.
The Opry on TV
For those who live in the area, don't forget that the Opry
airs on Charter cable channel 10 at eight O'clock on Friday
nights and on the Southeastern Louisiana University channel
18 on Saturday nights. We are grateful to our loyal viewers.
Every day, I run into someone who recognizes me with a comment
like, hey, you're that Abita Opry guy." A lot of our
viewers are seniors who no longer drive at night or otherwise
can't get out to see the show at the Town Hall. We are happy
knowing that we are providing them this service. We also receive
e-mails from loyal viewers in our viewing areas, like Las
Vegas, Henderson County North Carolina, and Herndon County
Virginia. Thanks for watching the show.
Outdoor Concerts.
The Opry is proud to offer concerts at the Abita Trailhead
stage next to the museum on selected Sunday afternoons in
the Fall and Spring. We often have the concerts in conjunction
with activities scheduled by the town organizations like the
Friends of the Park. they sponsored the Earth Day Festival
and the Abita Springs Gospel Music Jubilee. The concerts are
held at the Trailhead adjacent to the Tammany Trace right
across from the Abita Brew Pub. We are in the process of constructing
shade shelters so that folks can get a good view of the stage
in a shaded area. The dates of these activities will be announced
later, and you will receive a supplemental newsletter about
the concerts and related activities.
Sponsorships
Those of you who attend the shows and watch on TV are aware
that we have a list of sponsors who donate money to assist
the Opry. We don't cover the cost of the shows from the admission
charges and the sponsorships help us to continue to pay for
the TV production. We do not derive any income from TV. We
pay for the taping in order to have the show visually preserved,
as well as, to provide access to a broader audience. We also
use sponsor moneys to improve the Opry sound and stage equipment
and produce free outdoor concerts. We would like to thank
our sponsors for their generosity, and if you have a business
or you are a generous individual, we would like to invite
you to join our sponsors.
If you are interested in helping out, contact Bryan at 985-503-7728.
Concessions at the show
During each performance of the Opry, we allow one of the local
charitable groups the opportunity to raise money by selling
concessions. The Opry itself does not charge the groups for
the opportunity. The treats usually include gumbo, hot dogs
homemade sweets, and cold beverages. Many of our audience
members make the food part of their Opry experience. They
come to the show early, visit with friends, get some food,
and listen to the musicians go through their sound checks.
Some of them buy the food and go back outside to watch the
front porch act. It is a great down-home experience, and you
are assisting one of our local groups raise money for a good
cause. This season, the concessions will be provided by the
local S.N.I.P. organization that provides spaying and neutering
of pets, the Friends of the Park who continue to help improve
our park, and the Abita Springs Museum.
Jam Session
Another part of the Opry experience is the after-the-show
jam that takes place at the Abita Brew Pub. Many of the musicians
who perform at the show gather and blend their music. Some
of the jams have been amazing, and the musicians usually play
until closing. Coming to the Opry and taking part in all the
offerings can provide a total experience that compliments
and goes far beyond the two hours of music on the stage.
"Yall come out and have a great time and enjoy the whole
package. We love to see happy faces.
There are other Jam sessions open to whoever
want to play accoustic music or just listen. Every Sunday
at the Abita Trailhead from 2pm-4pm and every Wednesday from
11am to 2pm at the Covington Trailhead Farmers Market.
Ticket Sales
Because of the popularity of the show, there is a greater
demand for season and advance show tickets. We will continue
to save a number of seats for folks who show up on the night
of the show. The choicest seats, however, are being bought
in advance. We limit the number of advance tickets available
to three hundred, and the hall can accommodate about three
hundred and seventy five. There are actually no bad seats
for the shows because of the size of the hall, and there is
always an intimate relationship between the musicians and
the audience from any vantage point. The cost of advance tickets
is $15.00 per show, and the cost of at-the-door tickets is
$12.00. Children under twelve are free unless they are in
reserved seats. The sale of advance tickets has proven to
be a success for the Opry and the audience. In the past, there
was always a hassle to get there early that caused a line
down the block for folks looking for a choice seat. That problem
has been solved, and we would encourage you to consider purchasing
the tickets in advance. Better yet, you might want to buy
season tickets. For more information on ticket sales, please
call Kathy at the Abita Springs Town Hall at 985-892-0711,
and she will be happy to help you.
We have held the price on the tickets for several years, and
will continue as long as the revenue covers the show. We are
a non-profit, and we want to make our great music available
to our audience without causing a hardship on them. To have
a two hour concert presenting four live, high quality acts
for the prices we are charging is a bargain.
See you at the Opry!
Bryan Gowland
Executive Producer - Abita Springs Opry
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