‘It doesn’t get much better’
WAYNESBURG – Tuesday night’s Sounds of Summer concert at Greene County Fairgrounds was the perfect place to be a kid.
While Brother Short Band rocked the 4-H rabbit pavilion with original versions of classic rock, country and rhythm and blues, drummer Bill Harding’s grandkids and other youngsters had front row seats to the way music used to be played in Greene County – on an improvised stage surrounded by friends and families and the smell of grilled hot dogs in the air.
“Live music is good for kids,” Harding said. “It gets them away from their (electronic) devices and gives them a chance to see music being made. You can’t get that from watching a concert on TV.
“It’s great the Lions Club set up these free concerts to give kids and their families a chance to do something like this together.”
The Sounds of Summer was modeled after the free music that Uniontown hosts every week on Mondays during summer. Hosting these concerts is part of the Waynesburg Lions Club’s “We Serve” community outreach. Concertgoers bring their own lawn chairs and club members grill hot dogs and serve refreshments.
Kyle Hallam of Jefferson attended every concert of the summer and was watching this past Tuesday night’s performance from his premium spot – a wooden bench on the packed earth of the pavilion with the band a few yards away.
“You can’t beat the seating,” Hallam said. “The musical talent that I’ve heard so far is incredible. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
As a teenager, Harding played drums in the Harding Brothers Band and went on tour with mom as manager during the teen band craze of the 1970s. Now, as drummer with Brother Short Band, Harding, guitarist, singer-songwriter Greg Short and bass player Lynn King are seasoned performers who have released four albums and play clubs, shows and major events in the tri-state area.
“I’m a hometown boy, born and raised in Bobtown and I make my home in Waynesburg,” Harding said. “Greene County is steeped in music. Back in the ’70s, we kids had so many bands. Lynn King played with Paul Howard, Randy Jones and Dave Pebley back then, so it’s fun for us both to be here.”
When the concert was over, 8-year-old Madison Harding and her brother, Wyatt, 7, were there to help “Pappy” pack up his drum kit. Harding was all smiles.
“My kids got started doing sound checks on my drums before they started school. They loved it,” he said. “They used to stand behind me when I was drumming at GNP (an annual spring concert hosted by Waynesburg University). Now my grand kids are growing up with music. That’s how they learn – by seeing and doing. The whole community should be a school.”
The next concert on Tuesday features Square Thirteen, an Americana ‘Newgrass’ group from Columbus, Ohio, that uses Celtic, gospel, folk music to connect to local history.
Emerging artists Lexie, Courtney and Cassidy, accompanied by guitarist Luke Schroyer, have been rescheduled for the last performance of the season in September with the date still to be announced.