A Weekly Column
Riffs, Roams and Raves uncovers the creative, noteworthy and accomplished in the Wimberley Valley and beyond with tips on who to hear, where to go and what to see from managing editor Teresa Kendrick.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for KWVH’s Wimberley Music Fest on October 12 at the VFW Rodeo Fairgrounds. This is the first time that the community radio station has launched a live music festival, but like everything else they do, it’s sure to be great.
Hats off to the person who was able to bring four-time Grammy winner and hometown celebrity Sarah Jarosz into the two-day lineup. On October 12, Sarah Jarosz, Susan Gibson, HaleyAnna Finlay, Dylan James Riley, Bri Bagwell, Soma Jerome and the band, “Reintarnation” will perform. Jarosz’s set begins at 7:30 p.m.
I love that the musical focus on Sunday, October 13, is gospel. I’ve been trying to get tickets to the Gospel Brunch at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels and at Stubbs in Austin, but it has yet to work out. The brunches are often sold out, they’re so popular.
Kicking off the show on Sunday at 1 p.m. is “The Worship Team at Cypress Creek Church,” made up of singers and musicians who are actively involved in the church. They are fol- lowed by Wimberley Feng Shui, Dylan James Riley, Benji Uzo, the Hill Country Honeys and Icy Simpson-Monroe performing with the Wimberley United Methodist Church and Wimberley Presbyterian Church choirs.
Classical singer Simpson-Monroe of Austin has creds a mile long as a performer and her voice, described as “otherworldly,” was featured in the award-winning documentary, “When I Rise,” the story of Barbara Smith Conrad. Her business, The Voice Clinic, specializes in voice lessons and voice rehabilitation.
The Music Fest benefits Barnabas Connection so you know your money will be reinvested into the community. Tickets are $40 for Saturday’s performance and $15 to attend on Sunday and are available at Wimberleymusicfest. com. Sonora Bank is a proud sponsor.
Roam: Every Night’s a Saturday Night The excellent, never disappointing First Tuesday SMTX Film Series in San Marcos is showing “Every Night’s A Saturday Night: The Bobby Keys Story” on Tuesday, October 1.
Best friends with guitarist Keith Richards and considered the sixth Rolling Stone, Bobby Keys was widely considered the best rock ‘n roll saxophonist in the rock world. He was well known for his work with, among others, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton and an endless number of Texas musicians who are featured in the film. Keys, who toured with the Stones for more than 45 years, was especially recognised for his work on the song “Brown Sugar” and the album “Exile on Main Street.”
Like many gifted musicians, Keys was a small-town Texas kid who found the road out of town through music. He died at the age of 70 in 2014.
Following the film, there will be a question and answer period with the director Jeff Stacy and Hector Saldaña, Texas Music Coordinator, The Wittliff Collections. Tickets are $5. Doors open at 6:15 p.m, complementary pizza and drinks served from 6:30 p.m., and the film starts at 7. The Price Center is located at 222 W. San Antonio St. in San Marcos. For more information about First Tuesday SMTX, visit firsttuesdaysmtx.com.
Raves: Now and Then The play on stage at the Wimberley Playhouse, “Now and Then,” is a bonafide winner. If it hasn’t crossed your radar or you’re on the fence about attending, take a leap of faith and go. I thoroughly enjoy this kind of fresh storytelling from contemporary playwright Sean Grennan whose talents lie in his uncanny ability to create identifiable, lovable characters in humorous but very human moments. In recent years, the theatre has presented two of his other scripts, “The Tin Woman” and “Making God Laugh.” You might recall that the WP production of “The Tin Woman” garnered rave reviews, notably for Nina Bryant’s performance, from an eminent Austin reviewer who wrote, “I rarely jump to my feet after a performance to applaud an actor, but tonight I did . . .”
The play is set in a bar and the Players set is so realistic that I almost jumped up and started clearing the tables of glasses and bottles, alongside the actor. It was that convincing.
The play comes across, to me, as a television program of unusual substance. The dialogue is fresh, contemporary and so seamlessly real that it’s almost like overhearing a friend’s conversation on the phone. It is a dramedy, half drama and half comedy, which is a dramatic structure that is so relatable to American audiences.
The play opens in 1981, just as bartender Jamie is closing down the bar. At the last minute, a desperate customer offers him and his girlfriend, Abby, $2,000 to sit and have a drink with him. As the trio swap stories, the young couple realize that the last-minute customer is unusually invested in their choices and the reason he gives them is mind bending.
Four well-cast actors carry the play — Melinda Ellisor, Danny Mosier, Camden Rivers and Trinity Adams — under the excellent direction of Milton R. Zoth.
Take a chance on “Now and Then,” you’ll be delightfully impressed and moved. Tickets are at wimberleyplayers. org.
