Fun and Good Music at Cotton Pickin’ Theatre
By
Minda Painter

A display of old time clogging by young teen Becky Cason opened the Shindig Show to the opening theme song of the, “Orange Blossom Special” that was performed by the Shindig Band. Showtime Impresario, Joe Ben Cason, was up next and he maintained the fast paced tempo with his rendition of the song “Elvira”.

Danny Calk (L) chose to sing “Middle Age Crazy”, which well described a man’s mid-life crisis, and his performance was a hoot. After his number, Calk got into the swing of spilling out line after line of jokes and comedic stories, referencing Freddie York. Darren Felts followed suit picking on York. It was an evening filled with hilarity and the audience loved it.

The crowd was enthralled by a guest performer, Michael Meshell, (R) a gospel singer from Dallas. His strong tenor voice gave an astounding performance of “Beulah Land”, “Amazing Grace” and “The Lighthouse”.

He took this opportunity to sing a special song to his wife on the occasion of their 32nd wedding anniversary. His emotional presentation of “Cross My Heart” by George Strait was very touching and appealed to everyone.

Multi-award winner singer and guitar player, Chuck Jennings, graced the stage to play with the Shindig Band and sang his favorite song “Okie from Muskogee”. The sounds originating from the guitar by this instrumentalist were mesmerizing and provided a lift to the others in the band.

As a youngster Jennings (L) first learned to play "You Are My Sunshine" on one string, and since then his development as a master guitarist has earned him several awards. In 2008 he received recognition from the “Hall of Fame” by the Texas International Music Associations. He still performs throughout the Southwestern United States with many of the stars from the "Grand Ole Opry."

Another artist, Charles McGill, (Below R) was invited from the audience by Chuck Jennings for a performance on stage. Obliging the request, McGill rendered a couple of selections. Jennings and McGill performed on the road together, years before. McGill’s performance was well appreciated by the audience.

Also, making it back to the center stage for a couple of number, was Patsy Hanks. A line of patrons at the tip hat showed the positive reception of her singing style and presentation.

The very receptive crowd had a fun evening of entertainment, filled with laughter, good music and ending with heartwarming gospel singing by the Cason Family Quartet.

Next week, the regular 4th Saturday presentation by the P.O.I.N.T. organization of the Rural American Music Revue will feature a lineup of new talent auditioning for the Rural American Idol Competition. Anyone interested in entering the competition may call Minda Painter at 903-598-3809 or email point_inc@msn.com. For information on the competition and download entry form, visit www.ruralamericans.org Showtime is at 7:30 p.m.