ON THE ROAD WITH THE EVERHARTS
Wahoo, Nebraska….We’re definitely on the road, this
time to the home office of David Letterman. That’s right, the ‘Late
Show’ nationwide TV host, made Wahoo, Nebraska, his home office many
years ago. Granted, he doesn’t visit the home office very much, if
ever, he still thought the name of the town ‘Wahoo’ was deserving of
attention, so that’s what he did. Sharon Kenaston is another
interesting person that makes Wahoo her hometown for a week. It just
happened to be this week, and Sheila and I were asked to come along and
play some good old time country music, so we did.
time to the home office of David Letterman. That’s right, the ‘Late
Show’ nationwide TV host, made Wahoo, Nebraska, his home office many
years ago. Granted, he doesn’t visit the home office very much, if
ever, he still thought the name of the town ‘Wahoo’ was deserving of
attention, so that’s what he did. Sharon Kenaston is another
interesting person that makes Wahoo her hometown for a week. It just
happened to be this week, and Sheila and I were asked to come along and
play some good old time country music, so we did.
It’s called the ‘Wahoo Country Music Show’ and
consists of about four days of traditional and classic country music,
though this year proved to have more than an abundance of country music
dance band sounds. Sharon Kenaston is the mover and shaker behind this
great festival. Lots of rim-shots, if you know what that is, were heard
throughout the four days, plus a lot of ‘drinking in my beer’ songs.
Not a bad thing, especially if you have been deprived of hearing those
great ‘I lost my love somewhere’ songs. Two major attractions, Leona
Williams (Merle Haggard’s ex-wife) was on Thursday night. Leona is a
great entertainer as well as a great songwriter and a great singer.
She’s such a down-to-earth woman, very attractive and super on stage.
Got to spend some time talking with her about Kenny Seratt who is coming
to the LeMars Festival. According to Kenny, he’s the guy who taught
Merle Haggard how to sing. When I asked Leona (who like I said was
married to Merle) about this, she said ‘Kenny did show Merle how
to sing. You will be amazed when you hear Kenny sing. He sings just
like Merle sings, and Merle learned how to sing like Merle from Kenny.”
Well, that was pretty much the gist of the conversation, and the two
shows she did were simply exemplary. She brought her son Ron along to
help out, and he’s no slouch on the microphone either. The other super
good entertainer was Terry Smith who wrote “Far Side Banks of Jordan”
for Johnny and June Carter Cash. His shows were full all the time,
meaning there were no empty seats. He will be at the LeMars festival
too, and will be doing a couple of concerts at the Oak Tree Opry on Aug 2
and 3. He received constant standing ovations at Wahoo for his
programs. The one time we heard a completely gone crazy response to an
act was the closing song “Ragtime Annie” performed on the Bob Kenaston
Memorial Fiddler’s Jamboree. So you see, there was some incredibly
exciting old-time country on stage as well. Only thing I saw missing
this year was a little bluegrass, but I’m sure that will be coming back
again too. They have an interesting songwriting contest at this event,
won by Janet Snell from Stuart, Iowa. They had to write a song about “A
Little Bit Sore” and there were some really good results. They also
host a band scramble which was won by the ‘Thrrs’ who did a magnificent
version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger.’ Fun all the way round, super good
festival.
consists of about four days of traditional and classic country music,
though this year proved to have more than an abundance of country music
dance band sounds. Sharon Kenaston is the mover and shaker behind this
great festival. Lots of rim-shots, if you know what that is, were heard
throughout the four days, plus a lot of ‘drinking in my beer’ songs.
Not a bad thing, especially if you have been deprived of hearing those
great ‘I lost my love somewhere’ songs. Two major attractions, Leona
Williams (Merle Haggard’s ex-wife) was on Thursday night. Leona is a
great entertainer as well as a great songwriter and a great singer.
She’s such a down-to-earth woman, very attractive and super on stage.
Got to spend some time talking with her about Kenny Seratt who is coming
to the LeMars Festival. According to Kenny, he’s the guy who taught
Merle Haggard how to sing. When I asked Leona (who like I said was
married to Merle) about this, she said ‘Kenny did show Merle how
to sing. You will be amazed when you hear Kenny sing. He sings just
like Merle sings, and Merle learned how to sing like Merle from Kenny.”
Well, that was pretty much the gist of the conversation, and the two
shows she did were simply exemplary. She brought her son Ron along to
help out, and he’s no slouch on the microphone either. The other super
good entertainer was Terry Smith who wrote “Far Side Banks of Jordan”
for Johnny and June Carter Cash. His shows were full all the time,
meaning there were no empty seats. He will be at the LeMars festival
too, and will be doing a couple of concerts at the Oak Tree Opry on Aug 2
and 3. He received constant standing ovations at Wahoo for his
programs. The one time we heard a completely gone crazy response to an
act was the closing song “Ragtime Annie” performed on the Bob Kenaston
Memorial Fiddler’s Jamboree. So you see, there was some incredibly
exciting old-time country on stage as well. Only thing I saw missing
this year was a little bluegrass, but I’m sure that will be coming back
again too. They have an interesting songwriting contest at this event,
won by Janet Snell from Stuart, Iowa. They had to write a song about “A
Little Bit Sore” and there were some really good results. They also
host a band scramble which was won by the ‘Thrrs’ who did a magnificent
version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger.’ Fun all the way round, super good
festival.
“Dad managed to make a budget lunch work for us while
we were at Wahoo,” Bobbie Lhea added. “By going to the Culver’s Food
Stand, he was able to get three Reuben sandwiches, three orders of sweet
potato fries, and three soft drinks for under $20. Well, hip hip
hooray, but I have to say, those Reuben’s were totally delicious.”
we were at Wahoo,” Bobbie Lhea added. “By going to the Culver’s Food
Stand, he was able to get three Reuben sandwiches, three orders of sweet
potato fries, and three soft drinks for under $20. Well, hip hip
hooray, but I have to say, those Reuben’s were totally delicious.”