Published: November 08, 2007 10:43 pm            

Opry offers selection of artists

The Great Western Opry is offering another great selection of local artists for its monthly show set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Jerald Shaw Auditorium at Vici High School.

In addition to the opry’s house band, the show will feature the Woodward-based Gethsemane Trio, as well as Doug Peeks and 14-year-old Shayna Hamilton, who are both from Vici.

The house band is made up of Kevin Oakes on rhythm guitar, Kason Oakes on bass guitar, Sheldon Halderman on rhythm guitar, Russell Ladd on drums, Mark Randall on fiddle and Molly Randall on piano.

The group has been playing together for about as long as the opry has been around, which has been almost two-and-a-half years, said Nancy Vaughan, one of the opry organizers.

Most of the band members are from Vici, she said, noting that one of the goals of the opry is to support local artists.

However, she said the opry also likes to feature artists from the surrounding area as well.

These artists include Jamie Torrance, Misty Rutledge and Dia McGowen, who are the three stay-at-home moms/talented singers who make up the gospel group Gethsemane Trio.

The trio has been featured at the opry before and joins several other artists who have given repeat performances at the opry, Vaughan said.

Peeks is another artist who is returning to the opry this month. Peeks has played a variety of instruments since the third grade and currently focuses his musical talents on playing guitar and singing contemporary Christian music.

Beyond featuring local talent like Peeks and the Gethsemane Trio, Vaughan said another important goal of the opry is to help give young musicians experience and confidence by inviting them to perform at the monthly shows as well.

“We have a lot of talented young guest artists as well as older guests,” she said.

This month’s featured youth is Hamilton, who already has had some stage experience as she was chosen to perform at the Oklahoma Heritage Rodeo Opry in Oklahoma City this summer. Hamilton not only enjoys singing but also enjoys playing the flute and is a member of the Vici school band.

Through showcasing all this local talent, Vaughan said the opry also hopes to enrich the cultural experience of other citizens in the area.

“We want to promote music and the arts,” she said.

She noted that in addition to the musical artists featured at the monthly shows, she and her fellow opry organizers also try to feature other types of artists each month.

This month the opry is featuring a collection of stained glass by artisan Sandra McManus. McManus is from Camargo and in addition to creating her own original stained glass designs, also teaches classes in stained glass at the High Plains Technology Center.

All in all, Vaughan said the opry offers “a good night out.”

She said it provides excellent family entertainment at a good price.

“It’s not that expensive,” she said. “You can see the show and eat a good meal for $10.”

“We would love for everybody to come out,” Vaughan said.

She also said she is very grateful to all the Vici Chamber of Commerce committee members and other volunteers who help make the opry possible each month.

“We have a lot of volunteers who help with the opry,” Vaughan said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to keep it going.”

“I can’t say how much we appreciate the volunteers,” she said.

        

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