UPDATED 11:20 a.m. Feb. 10: Western Plains Arts Association announces the late cancellation of Nashville Legacy that was scheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14 at Oakley High School. The musicians plan to reschedule the country program that features the music of Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins with WPAA during the next season. In addition, the Sunday, Feb 21 program of New Odyssey Guy is CANCELED because the artist is not touring this year.
WPAA
Oakley High School plans to host âNashville Legacyâ at 3 p.m. CST, on Sunday, Feb. 14. Information about this program will be provided later in this news release.
The lingering effects of COVID-19 has created some changes to the February and March Western Plains Arts Association season line-up. Cancellations or additions in the next two months are:
Feb 21 New Odyssey Guy - CANCELED because the artist is not touring this year.
March - Wichita Children's Theatre will NOT be on tour; however, they are doing some streaming of their programs to make available to schools. WPAA is still in the process of working out details to help provide opportunities to some area districts.
March 14 - Ball in the House is CANCELED, but WPAA is pleased to announce the return to Northwest Kansas of Denverâs Queen City Jazz Band that will perform on March 14, 3 p.m. CST, at the Colby High School Auditorium.
Pride of the Prairie Orchestra, Colby, usually performs a spring show for WPAA. They have not met all year so won't do a show.
NASHVILLE LEGACY
Jason Coleman and Meagan Taylor bring their âNashville Legacyâ to the Western Plains Arts Association at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Oakley High School auditorium.
This 51st Anniversary season concert is made possible from businesses and individual donors throughout northwest Kansas including special grants from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan, and the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation for Logan County, Bird City. At the door admission is $20 adults and $10 students.
The musicians bring new life to the âNashville Soundâ pioneered by their legendary forerunners â Colemanâs grandfather Floyd Cramer and Taylorâs uncle Chet Atkins â in this nostalgic concert, âNashville Legacy.â Youâll hear the musicians perform songs like Cramerâs âLast Dateâ on piano and Atkinsâ âFreight Trainâ on guitar.
Cramer and Atkins were legends at their instruments, two giants in the music industry. Cramerâs unique âslip noteâ piano style was an essential part of countless country, pop, and rock hits in the 1950s and â60s and is widely regarded as the standard for country piano. As innovative thumb-style guitar led him to become known as one of the worldâs pre-eminent guitar virtuosos, and many of the records he produced for RCA have become classics.
Though Cramer and Atkins have passed away, their Nashville Legacy lives on through pianist Coleman, and guitarist Taylor. In this concert, the musicians take audiences on a journey back in time to Nashvilleâs âgolden era,â sharing the music made famous by Cramer and Atkins, as well as by the countless country, pop, and rock artists whose careers they impacted, including Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, Dolly Parton and Jim Reeves.
The concert is much more than just music, the two share their personal stories of growing up with âGranddadâ and âUncle Chester,â and audiences will enjoy hearing tales of Nashvilleâs early recording days as told straight from the source. Nashville Legacy is topped off by a heartwarming series of video duets with the descendants and their legendary predecessors that youâll have to see to believe.
From a young age, it was evident that Coleman had inherited his grandfatherâs âslip noteâ touch at the piano, as it managed to âslipâ its way into even the most elementary songs from his early piano lessons. Colemanâs keen ability to play music by ear led to a childhood spent arranging his own renditions of the songs he loved, just as his âGranddadâ did throughout his career. In addition to sharing the piano bench at home, he grew up performing with Cramer at his concerts and on national television, and though he was only 12 years old when Cramer passed away, the close relationship they shared formed the foundation upon which Coleman has built his own music career. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut at age 17, and two years later, he was given the honor of playing for the Medallion Ceremony recognizing Cramerâs induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Taylor started out playing piano and then switched to fiddle around age 10, when Atkins gave her a lesson. She did not begin playing guitar until she was 18. While his health had begun failing by then, Atkinsâ friends were able to teach her many of his techniques. While an impressive professional guitarist in her own right, Taylor is hailed by fans as having a superior voice to her late uncle.
See jasoncolemanmusic.com/nashvillelegacy for album information and pictures of both musicians. Coleman and Taylor have produced a number of albums individually or together over the 17 years they have known one another.