By Glen Tanner
On Mother’s Day (May 12), I had the pleasure of attending the live show, The Louisiana Hayride and “The Legends of Country and Rockabilly” at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre in 100 Mile House … and what a great time was had by all who attended.
Following the theme of the old-time radio variety shows made popular throughout the '40s and '50s, the local crowd was swept into the golden age of country and rock 'n' roll, with the outstanding talents of tribute artists who have been performing the personas made famous by this traditional program.
The crowd was first warmed up an excellent rendition of Hank Williams Sr. by performer Patrick Ryley who brought the character to life with a great costume and mannerisms. He even took a couple of pulls from a whiskey flask to show the wily ways of the first outlaw of country music.
Next came the performance of Adam Fitzpatrick as “The Young Elvis” and the ladies in the crowd gasped and cheered at his loads of hip-grinding energy to the song Hound Dog.
Andrea Anderson wowed the crowd with her versions of both Loretta Lynn’s Coal Miner’s Daughter and Patsy Cline’s Blue Moon of Kentucky.
Mike Melnichuk's performance of Burl Ives’ Funny Way of Laughing was masterful.
William Brookfield’s deep voice was excellent as he impersonated Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings – not to mention the incredible skills he used with his keyboard to create everything from percussion to the Mariachi Trumpets for Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.
Gil Risling was eerily realistic in his performances of both Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson, when his singing and guitar strumming brought the audience back to the ballads of the sixties when music was simpler and these music icons were fledgling stars.
The show would not have been as wonderful as it was without the narration and information provided by the lovely and talented Lori Risling, who is also the writer and producer of The Louisiana Hayride.
Although there were some minor technical issues with the light and sound, it just goes to show the professionalism of these great performers and their “show must go on” attitude. Their skill and enthusiasm more than made up for any of the tech issues and made them barely noticeable by the crowd.
In closing, I will state that in my humble opinion, this has been one of the best live musical shows to have come to the South Cariboo in a long time, and I for one, am looking forward to their Old-time Christmas Show coming to the Cariboo on Dec. 1 for the holiday season.
