Anita, Iowa.....It's the first mini-fest of the year for the Pioneer Music Museum in Anita, Iowa. Just off Interstate-80 at Exit 70, this down-home rural village is gearing up for their first music event at the Oak Tree Opry, located on Main Street, down-town Anita. APRIL 18-19-20 brings four great shows to the performance center, starting at 7pm on Friday, APR 18; a matinee at 2pm and an evening show at 7pm on Sat, APR 19; and a morning gospel show starting at 10am on Sun APR 20.
"There may even be a Saturday morning show," says Sheila Everhart, booking agent for the Oak Tree Opry. "Especially if we have the interest for it. As it is, we have a full program with different shows all four times, with some incredible new acts coming from Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and even New Zealand, plus all of our regulars who help out with this first fund-raiser which helps us keep the theater in good repair. It's always a fun time for us, we're a down-home kind of show featuring the very best in traditional country music, and we will also be treated to some bluegrass, rag-time, ballads, some folk songs, cowboy songs, and some great gospel music. Bob, Bobbie Lhea, and I just returned from a 3-month tour of New Zealand, so we have some new songs to do, new stories to tell, and some great new cd's to give away during intermission."
The Pioneer Music Museum, just across the street from the Oak Tree Opry, home of America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, will be open all weekend, free of charge, according to Bob Everhart, the curator. "We like to do this SpringFest early in the year, and it will be fun especially after a hard winter in Iowa. We can't wait to get started, the old time music is so different from today's country music, and we have some of the best elder statesmen in the business performing on our spring festival. It's really a kind of house-concert, and very intimate. The Oak Tree is not all that large, the stage door opens directly to our apartment kitchen. The entertainers gather in our living room before they go on stage, which gives them an opportunity to visit and catch up on the music business before they perform. It's probably one of the most unique venues in the entire state of Iowa, and everybody is invited to attend. It's especially attractive to anyone over the age of 50, who might not have heard the old songs for awhile. It's an incredibly pleasant trip down memory lane"
Headlining the weekend of great country music is New Zealand country music star Patricia Hannah who is on a whirlwind tour across mid-America to some performances in Ohio. She will probably perform on the Saturday afternoon mantinee show, depending on when she arrives. Jackie Shewey, the incredible vocalist who works with Terry Smith will be the featured performer on Friday night. Jackie has a full summer of performances with dedication to Patsy Cline one of her most redeeming stage performances. On the Saturday night show a great family string band, Family Affair from Minnesota will be featured. The regulars and a few special guests will be on all weekend, featuring Nebraska's Daughter, Pat Boilesen throughout the weekend. Other performers over the weekend will include Bob & Sheila Everhart, just returned from a 3-month tour of New Zealand, where they did a performance with the internationally reknown guitarist, Peter Posa. Danny & Donna Dee from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, will head up several of the shows, as will Francis Hahn, just back from the Rio Grande Valley, and host, producer, and performer on the big Mercedes Country Music Festival there. Expect to see Rick & Harriette Andersen, Wild Iowa Rose, and a few surprises, including an appearance by England banjo player Johnny Butten.
The Lake Anita State Park Campground will be open for anyone wishing to bring an RV to the event, the park being less than a mile from the theater. The Weathervane Cafe, just across the street from the Oak Tree will be open for lunch, and the Redwood Steakhouse will be open in the evening for some of the best corn-fed beef-steak dinners available in Iowa. The snack bar in the Oak Tree will also be open with hot-dogs, polish sausages, popcorn, soft drinks, and candy. There are motel rooms available in Anita, Adair, and Atlantic, all within easy driving distance to Anita.
"We'll be giving special tours of the Pioneer Music Museum, free of charge," says Bob Everhart, "with a lot of new items added in just the last year. We need to build a special stanchion for the inductees from New Zealand, and hopefully that will be up by SpringFest time. I'd like to personally guide some of the tours, because the music that we work so hard to save is an incredible cultural statement of our homesteaders, settlers, and rural folks, that made it possible for all the rest of us to live in this great state, and to enjoy our own rural music.
We wish we could get a little more understanding and assistance from the various arts councils because of this cultural importance, but our efforts in getting help there has been pretty dismal, yet hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent in the state capitol for classical music every year. Our own rural music seems to be shuttled aside. Still, we do what we can, and invite anyone interested in a pleasant weekend listening to some of the country classics of our past, in an acoustic format (not too loud), we certainly invite everyone to attend. Admission is $7 per person per show, or all four shows for $20. Reserved seats can be made by calling 712-762-4363.
More information at our website at
http://www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com/From: National Traditional Country Music Association, Inc. (501-c-3) Non-profit Corp.
P O Box 492, Anita, Iowa, 50020
Telephone: 712-762-4363
E-Mail:
bobeverhart@yahoo.comWeb:
http://www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com/Press release prepared by Bob Phillips, Public Relations, NTCMA
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