Dear Friends,
It’s not often you get to start out with your closing at the beginning. I thought it made a good title for the article. After all, I recently spent a week being a social butterfly in Phoenix as a greeter and worship assistant for my Church-wide expression’s triennial meeting.
Now I can come home and be the social butterfly for the weekend “5th Street Social” in beautiful Coralville, where I have lived for 43 years. If you are looking for me, I will be in the Kids’ Zone in my brown Scouting America shirt. Please stop by to say “Hello!”
How does this relate musically? Well, four musical acts are slated to perform at the two stages in the party zone. Three have been identified and are local musicians.
The opening act is a young man who began his career in open mic situations. Ruari Brownell has built up a local following enough that he has cut a recording of a song. He grew up on country music and will be sharing that love with us on the eastern main stage.
The western main stage will be near the many cars that are being exhibited in the car show. The car exhibitors are as talented with their hands and visions of what a car can look like as the musicians that grace the stage near them. One of my friends said to look for him there, but the contract negotiations were not yet complete when I began writing the article. I was sworn to secrecy. Sometimes you have to begin the article before you leave town for a week and you forget to verify the info before you submit.
The second act on the eastern stage is a group out of Solon, The Fox Hill Troubadours. If you’ve had the pleasure of watching this band, you know they bring huge energy to the stage and play an eclectic variety of music. I’ve been especially interested in some of their cover songs and how they try to remain true to the texts and genres from which they draw. Their original pieces are equally as gifted. If you can stay seated while they play, you have greater resolve than I do.
Heavy Indx closes out the western stage. I especially like it when they bring back some of the real songs of past decades when I was more active in listening to current culture. I’m sorry, kids, I like melody. And these musicians know how to make melody soar. Although I tend to be a sentimentalist, they remind me of many other great sounds we had when music was king.
So, if music, cars, chalk art, and food (and beer) are not enough to being you out, I’m sure you just might be a social introvert. Or vacationing. See you there.
Richard Tiegs recently returned from a week volunteering at a church convention in Phoenix. Just in time to volunteer in the Kids’ Zone for the 5th Street Social.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Socially yours, Richard | Music Column
Reporting by Richard Tiegs / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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