Hempstead Hall goes unplugged to help Auxiliary
HOPE, Ark. — Friday night’s kick-back-and-relax entertainment options may include live music, but one possibility is both online and unplugged.
Hempstead Hall hosts two popular Hope-area musicians in Bitsy Carter and Jeff Smith, who will partner on the Hempstead stage as a duo for “HH Unplugged,” a show that raises funds for the Junior Auxiliary of Hope.
Starting at 7 p.m., Carter and Smith will perform a variety of acoustic-style songs they enjoy bringing to an audience, even if it’s not in front of them.
To watch the show, viewers can look at Hempstead Hall’s Facebook page and the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana’s performance venue website, HempsteadHall.com. Viewers will have an option to make a donation, too, but otherwise it’s free to see.
“We’re playing basically as if there’s an audience in the concert hall,” Carter said. They’ll use a beautiful, restored Baldwin piano. “And then Jeff plays a pretty cool guitar,” she said, adding,
“Pretty much knocking it out from the stage.”
They’ll play an eclectic mix of songs, said Smith, who played a virtual concert before from the Hempstead stage just a couple of months ago with a full band, South Down Main.
“We’re going a whole bunch of different genres,” he said. “Make everybody happy.”
They were approached by Hempstead Hall to create an acoustic set, they say, and they’re happy to be part of a community event like this.
“Jeff owns a barbershop here in town. I’m with a flower shop here in town my family owns, and so we’re pretty community-involved, and just normal folks that like to strum and play and really have fun with our music,” said Carter, who’s also a pianist at the First Methodist Church and played for sever
al choirs in town.
“This is what I enjoy doing, just because it’s more of what I would prefer to play if I’m sitting down to play and enjoy myself,” she said. She likes an acoustic sound with cool chords and a nice vibe.
“I would say for me, I grew up playing the guitar and played in a couple different bands and stuff like that,” Smith said. He played in church for several years, too. He enjoys duets with Bitsy.
“Our voices seem to flow pretty good together,” Smith said.
They’ve done a few other fundraisers in town but this is the first time as a duo. In that sense, it’s a fun adventure, Carter said. And supporting the Junior Auxiliary feels right.
“I think anytime you can turn your music into something good that supports and helps the community it makes it that much more meaningful, so we’re excited. The JA has always been a great organization in town, of lots of ladies that are hard working and give lots of time back to the community,” Carter said.
And with all that’s gone on this year, the Junior Auxiliary hasn’t been able to do their normal fundraisers, such as a spaghetti supper, she explained.
“We’re excited that there is an outlet that they can use and use us to be able to still get their funds to support local students going to college,” Carter said.
Smith says it’s a bit different performing on stage and getting their energy without a crowd right there. “You have to kind of block all that out and really just focus on singing,” he said.
They’ll be ready to perform for about an hour on Friday night. They encourage folks to give a listen.
“I definitely hope they enjoy the music. Some of these songs that we sing have a message in them so you never know when you’re singing something. Somebody may need to hear something,” Smith said.
Adds Carter, “I think it’s nice to see the world continues.” She praised Hempstead Hall at finding new ways to reach people without having people in the venue.
“There are still some cool opportunities out there musically and entertainmentthat folks can tap into,” she said.