Boomtown Opry coming in May
A Branson, Missouri-style variety show featuring live music, comedy, dancing and other family-friendly entertainment is coming to El Dorado in the form of the Boomtown Opry.
The shows will be presented each month, with the first show scheduled for May 5 in the El Dorado
Municipal Auditorium, 100
W. Eighth. Doors open at
6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $20 and may be purchased in advance or at the door. Children
12 and under are admitted free. A portion of the proceeds will go to the
Boys and Girls Club of El
Dorado.
The Boomtown Opry will feature local and regional entertainment and some of the most well known names in Christian music and comedy, said organizer Keith Owens.
Owens and singing partner Susan Tolin, both of whom make up the country music duo Southern
Koast and other organizers have chosen a gospel music theme for the inaugural show.
Singer-musician BJ Kyle will serve as musical director/house bandleader, with headlining performances by southern gospel group
Ernie Haase and Signature
Sound and Gena Roberts
Hamilton and the comedy of Frank Cheek, who is known for clean routines and is one of the most sought after acts on the
Christian comedy circuit.
Kyle, a McNeil native, is a musician and singer who has toured with Jason
Aldean, Luke Bryan, Justin
Moore, Colt Ford, Craig
Morgan, Tracy Lawrence
Kellie Pickler and other popular country music artists.
Hailed as a musical prodigy as a child, Kyle began playing the piano at 5 years old and has mastered several other instruments, including keyboards, organ, banjo, acoustic guitar and mandolin.
He also provides background vocalists for the artists with whom he tours.
Southern gospel quartet Ernie Haase and Signature Sound was formed in 2002 by Haase, who remains the only original member of the group.
The group has released 23 albums, one of which, “Dream On”, was nominated for Grammy in 2010.
Ernie Haase and Signature Sound has been nominated for 17 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and has won three — Southern Gospel Album of the Year for “Get Away, Jordan” and Southern Gospel Recorded
Song of the Year for the album’s titular song in 2008 and for Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, “Reason Enough”, in 2009.
Roberts Hamilton’s vocal performances are rich with traditional gospel and country music influences.
With roots in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, Hamilton has developed a regional following with appearances at numerous venues and events throughout the four-state area, including churches, the Columbia County Hayride in Magnolia, Oaklawn Opry in Texarkana and Music Country USA in Oklahoma.
She has recorded two country music albums, “Shuffle Back to Me” and “Gena Sings Tribute to Connie Smith,” and a gospel
album, “Trophies of His Grace,” which yielded the hit single “Higher Ground.”
Owens said the first 45 minutes of the Boomtown Opry will be dedicated to local and regional talent, including Southern Koast. Local performer and BGCE athletic director Steve Harrell will serve as emcee.
Dancers from local dance studios will also take to the stage.
Local and regional acts will also have an opportunity to audition for future Boomtown shows.
Owens said aspiring performers may come to rehearsal prior to the start of the show, about 3 p.m., for a chance to appear in a production of the Boomtown Opry.
New event
While performing on the regional “hayride circuit,” Owens said he and Tolin took note of some of the best acts the circuit had to offer and used that recognition as the basis for the idea to bring that kind of talent to El Dorado.
He and Tolin selected the upper tier of their co-performers to book for Boomtown Opry shows.
“If we go to a show and there are five or six people performing, we’ll take one or two and believe me, if we pick them, those one or two are the best of the best,” Owens said.
Owens said the Boomtown Opry was also fashioned in the style of the Grand Ol’ Gospel shows that used to regularly take place in the municipal auditorium and were organized by the late Harold Grimmett, a local singer and TV and radio personality who was known for his love of Southern Gospel music.
“He was my church choir director growing up and nothing like this has been done since he died (in 2011 at the age of 84),” Owens said. “We’re just trying to pick up the torch from him.”
To book talent for Boomtown, he said organizers also compiled a list of talent agencies that represent gospel music performers and those who perform outside the opry circuit.
In January, Owens pitched the idea to the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission and the group approved a funding request, agreeing to support the new event with $3,000.
At the time, Boomtown organizers had teamed up with the Union County Animal Protection Society, but the partnership has since dissolved, Owens said, adding that the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado was selected as the new beneficiary.
In turn, the club will provide volunteers to staff the show and man the concession stand, which will also serve as a fundraiser for the club.
Once the local and regional talents complete their sets, Owens said the
remaining performance time will be given to headliners Ernie Haase and Signature Sound.
“We’ll tear down our equipment. Earnie Haase will do 45 minutes, and there will be an intermission, and he will come back and do another 45 minutes,” Owen explained.
He said subsequent Boomtown shows will be presented on the second Saturday of the month.
The next Boomtown Opry is set for June 9 with Gene King, Heather Ponce, Melissa Evans, Courtney Taylor, Terry Lyne Moore, Dance Connection and Shinbone.
Owens said ticket prices for regular shows will be lowered $10 and children 12 and under will still be admitted free.
“We wanted parents to come and be able to bring all of the kids without going bankrupt,” he said.
Shows with special guests, such as Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, will carry higher ticket prices.
“We’ll only do a few special shows a year. The main purpose is to do a variety show and give local and regional people a chance to perform,” Owens said.
He said organizers are working to promote the show and have drawn interest from those outside El Dorado, including a ticket-buyer from Austin, Texas, for the May 5 show.
Tickets may be purchased online at itickets.com, at local outlets or at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 870-863-4559, send an email to boomtownopry@outlook.com or visit the Boomtown Opry Facebook page.