One last show: Gross National Product farewell concert to be held at Waynesburg University
Colleen Nelson
Tom Reilly (left) and Cole Leathers are performing at GNP’s 50th Anniversary concert at Goodwin Performing Arts Center at Waynesburg University on Saturday, May 21.
Colleen Nelson
Saxophonist Lee Robinson and Teddy Webster are back for GNP’s farewell concert at Goodwin Performing Arts Center at Waynesburg University on May 21.
Gross National Product – or simply GNP – returns to Waynesburg University on Saturday, May 21 for a 50th Anniversary Farewell Concert at Goodwin Performing Arts Center.
Admission has always been free, but cash donations and food items will be accepted in the lobby for Greene County’s Corner Cupboard Food Bank.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. but here is a “friendly heads up” from organizer Bill Molzon: “People who are familiar with the show arrive early to make sure they get a good seat. It’s a small room – 250 seats. There are no tickets and no assigned seats.”
GNP, the perennial spring concert get together band for 49 years, got its first gig at then-Waynesburg College in 1970. Student art group Creative Idea invited Molzon, a freshman, to book NEBLOC, the band’s light show, for an April “happening.”
And sure, his hometown Jersey band GNP could come play.
But something must have clicked, because the artistry of the swirling freeform light show and its San Francisco-centric rock and roll band were invited back the next year.
And the next…
When Molzon graduated in 1973 he worked in the school media department, and the GNP concert became a hands-on teaching experience. Students got involved as performers and crew members, managing the stage, manning cameras and working the lights. Some returned as alumni to be part of the show that in time became a family reunion.
When original lead guitarist Linc Davis died May 29, 2018, Molzon noted, some of the magic went missing. The 50th anniversary in 2020 was scheduled as a final performance but pandemic restrictions put all plans on hold until now.
This year’s lineup includes Billy and Andrew Harding, who grew up drumming in performances with their dad Bill, WU alumnus David McCollum of Atlanta, Rachel Eisenstat of Denver and Daria and Randy Jones, who perform regionally as Kittens Ain’t Biscuits. Original 1967 band members Jeannie Clark Fisher, Scott Buttfield and Bruce Douglas will be here along with later band members Charlie Behrend, Bob Christian and Tom Minson.
Songs flow seamlessly from this cast of musical pros as they move through the landscape of jazz, bluegrass, folk, funk and good old rock and roll. Many songs have been played every year since the beginning, and the sometimes three-hour show is never done until “The Weight” by The Band brings down the curtain.
The Farewell Concert is happy to have Sam Kearney of Ashville, North Carolina, back once more. Her choral arrangement for her father Linc’s favorite song, the blues classic “Thrill is Gone” will be performed one last time by her and some of his best friends.