The Dewdrop Jamboree, a musical variety show featuring singers performing country and bluegrass mixed with a little rock ’n’ roll and blues, is coming together again on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. at Seasons of Murfreesboro.
“We’ll try to do a little of everything,” said Dewdrop Jamboree founder Larry Martin, who plans to include “some rock and blues.”
Bobby Howard is among the featured vocalists who will perform. He has been with Dewdrop Jamboree about four years.
“I do a little bit of everything,” Howard said. “But I grew up doing a little bit of Elvis and that has stuck with me. I don’t dress up [in costume] and I don’t try to look like Elvis, but people say I sound pretty close so I can’t do one of those shows without doing at least one Elvis [tune] or people will be upset. I don’t really have a choice; my parents were Elvis fans and we had his records, so that and church is how I learned to sing.
“I’ve done Stapleton, Skynyrd and quite a few different things on the show.”
Buddy Baker and Lacey Snider will be coming from Alabama to sing with the Jamboree.
Baker is a traditional country singer who has performed with Grand Ole Opry stars on a regular basis and who often performs in the local circuit. He released his first LP in the early ’80s.
“Now, I pretty much play the southern stage,” Baker said. Baker says that the presence of traditional-style country music makes Dewdrop unique. “It is getting harder and harder to find traditional country music,” he said. “I grew up on Merle Haggard and George Jones, so that is the kind of music I love. I have been on Dewdrop the last three or four years, and I have just been blessed to be a part of it. When you walk out there, they make you feel like you are on the Grand Ole Opry stage. No one can be nicer to you than they have been to me.”
Lacey Snider performs a variety of music from country and gospel to pop and ’50s and ’60’s rock ’n’ roll. She frequently performs in Nashville and was on the locally broadcast Nashville public access cable TV program the Johnny Daniels Bluegrass Show for more than 10 years.
“This will be my second time on the Dewdrop Jamboree show,” Snider said. “I am very excited to be a part of it.”
Dewdrop Jamboree usually has a seven-piece stage band, Martin said. The band is led by founding member Joe Khoury, who selects the musicians for the house band and prepares the song charts for the shows, which usually feature around 30 numbers. Joining the band onstage the Dewdrop Girls, a trio of backup singer that includes Rhonda Tenpenny, Teresa Camp and Pat Roden.
“For a typical show we have a house band and anywhere from 8 to 12 acts that come on and sing 2 or 3 songs each night,” Howard said, adding that the Jamboree is a family-oriented event formerly held at Patterson Park.
The show at Seasons will be a little different from the usual shows, performed in three sets as opposed to one long, continuous presentation.
Seasons of Murfreesboro Restaurant & Lounge, the Jamboree’s current venue, is well suited to live performance, and now boasts a brand-new dance floor. “Some people have told us before that they sure would like to dance,” Howard said. “This is their chance. The place has got a great sound. And the acoustics are good, so you can have a conversation there while you listen to the music.
“The food is good there, too. It is a meat-and-three style place. They have some healthy choices.”
Dewdrop Jamboree Founder Larry Martin
Some former members of the Dewdrop band may stop in for this show, Martin said. “I think my old partner, Pat Jackson, will be at this show,” Martin said. “Pat is a bass player so he’ll play it to his songs, and he likes to do Western swing. I always encourage him to do some of it because no one else does Western swing and I like to hear it.”
Dewdrop Jamboree is glad to have Dean Holman, from Music City Hayride, slated to perform at the Nov. 21 show. Holman is a Nashville humanitarian and classic country music artist. He is a member of the Traditional Country Opry in Nashville and the Traditional Country Opry Road Show.
“A lot of the performers with Dewdrop Jamboree have deep ties in the music industry and are very talented,” Howard said. “When I’m not on the bill, I go if I’m in town because the show is so well done. The guys that are in the bands are as good as it comes, with a few who have played on the Opry, even. As someone who has not been in the business all his life and is just a garage singer, it is just a thrill for me to be standing in front of those guys. They even make an old novice country boy like me sound pretty decent and it is a lot of fun.”
Seasons of Murfreesboro is located at 2227 Old Fort Pkwy. Tickets for the Dewdrop Jamboree are $10 at the door.
