Saturday night I was fortunate enough to attend a show in Kearney of true national quality. The premier event featured a diverse group of artists that I believe would rival anything you might see in Branson or even Nashville and it was held in Kearney's own Merryman Performing Arts Center.
Just to have a venue like Merrymans' this close to home is a treasure. I've been going to shows and concerts for more years than I care to admit and I'm sure somewhere along the way I've been treated to a better value for the price of my ticket but I really couldn't tell you when.
Cid Bealer produced the show and performed with some of Nashville's top musicians including Reba McEntire's drummer and keyboard player, the lead guitarist from The Grand Ole Opry and Mr. Steve Ivey of IMI records of Nashville. These folks flew into Kearney just for this event and I hope their sacrifice of both time and sleep was so greatly appreciated.
But it didn't stop there. Locally, Curtis, Michael and Cid's band, "Three 4 All", provided their own brand of three part harmony with a healthy dose of comedy.
The Richards Family from Holdrege added a great deal with their young daughter, a fiddle playing phoneme. To call her gifted is a real understatement. Of coarse I would hate to take away from the other dozen or so members of the Richards family. Great performance!
Alexa Whipple is a fifteen year old from Arapaho that I truly believe the country music industry is going to hear a lot from very soon. She just returned from a studio session in Branson, MO. Fifteen years old and already promoting her second CD.
After the show and photo ops the patrons of Copperfeilds were treated to an encore performance from Cid, both solo and duet with her brother Stan. A night I will remember for many years to come.
This is just the first in a series of "Great Plains Opry" events scheduled in the upcoming months. All to be held right here in your own backyard.
Please support efforts like this. It's taken years to get people willing to risk so much to bring you the opportunity to see such entertainment without driving hundreds of miles.
Kevin Ericson
Axtell, NE.