A little slice of the Grand Ole Opry heads to the Hardin Auditorium Feb. 7 as Augusta Amusements presents its third annual Evans Opry.
“The whole concept is young people who’ve been on the stage of Grand Ole Opry. There’s so much talent,” said Mike Deas of Augusta Amusements.
Tony Jackson is this year’s featured performer.
“He sounds like Randy Travis. He has that traditional country music sound,” Deas said.
Jackson is a Marine Corps veteran who had a career in banking before turning his attention to his music. His newest album is called “I’ve Got Songs to Sing.”
“Jackson is an old country soul in the body of a rising superstar,” his website said.
Opening for Jackson will be the Flat River Band, a trio of brothers whose latest single is “God Bless the Radio.”
And “it wouldn’t be Evans Opry without Terri Gibbs,” Deas said.
Gibbs, who lives in the Augusta area, shot to stardom in the 1980s with her hit “Somebody’s Knockin’.” She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Artist Award and also was the first winner of the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award, given to emerging artists.
While she’s expected to sing “Somebody’s Knockin’” on Feb. 7, Deas said he’s put in a couple of requests including one for a song called “Letter From An Old Friend.”
“I love that song but from a different meaning. We don’t do letters anymore,” he said.
Evans Opry will be at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 7 at the auditorium at the Columbia County Library. For tickets, go here.
Other performances coming up for Augusta Amusements includes Hotel California, a tribute to the Eagles on March 7 and 9. The original date sold out quickly and a second show was added. For other concerts on the season, go here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
