Saxophone player provides impromptu concert during flight delay

The one item Wayne Hoey doesn’t leave home without is his saxophone, and it proved to be invaluable on a recent trip.

Wayne and Josie Hoey had a great trip to Detroit, where they visited family and took in the Motown Museum and Henry Ford Museum. They hit a glitch trying to leave Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta Saturday and found themselves stuck on the tarmac.

“Thirty minutes later, they announced there was going to be a delay,” said Hoey, an Army veteran who played the sax in the military and now plays with the Wayne Hoey Big Band. The Columbia County resident also been a longtime music educator.

Over an hour later, the passengers were still waiting on a co-pilot who ended up getting stuck in Atlanta traffic, Hoey said in a phone interview.

Fellow passenger Kate Dailey posted about the scene on Facebook.

“The poor flight attendants were trying their best to keep people comfortable and calm, but you know how it is. People are hot, tired and cramped in a packed flight. You could *feel* the tension rising in the air,” she wrote.

Among the passengers were a few small children, whose parents were doing their best to entertain them, Hoey said. So, he asked one of the flight attendants if he could “play a couple of tunes,” he said.

She asked what he meant, and he replied “on my saxophone. She said, ‘you have a saxophone?’ I said, ‘I don’t go anywhere without it,’” said Hoey.

After seeking permission from the pilot, the flight attendant gave Hoey the go ahead to the captive audience. He made spirits bright with a few Christmas songs and a favorite among the toddler set “Baby Shark.”

People clapped and sang along.

“I hope I’m not embarrassing him! It was just too neat a moment not to share. Especially since most news these days isn’t that joyful, you know?” Dailey later wrote in Facebook messenger.

Hoey said the plane arrived in Augusta about two hours late.

For his efforts, he had the gratitude of fellow passengers and a few extra SkyMiles in his account.

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.