CABARET CONCERT

Story and Photos by Joe Dan Boyd

A good time was had by a full house at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA) Cabaret Concert Saturday evening, August 22. This was a fund-raiser for the Art Center and all the performers donated their time and talent to support the arts in East Texas.

Helen Burlingham, WCA co-president welcomed the large crowd and Joe Wayne Reynolds doubled as a performer and Master of Ceremonies.

Musical selections ranged from fast-paced instrumentals to slow ballads, including "You Are My Sunshine" by Shane Shepard, who also performed several Bob Dylan standards such as "Don't Think Twice," including harmonica leads.

Randy Lindsey wowed the audience with his version of "Pretty Woman," and the talented Ramsey Family performed numerous songs in a wide variety of styles, including the old standard, "Billy Boy," and several original compositions such as "Sailboat."

Joe Dan Boyd performed a tribute to the late Herb Cater, his musical mentor, before moving into one of Boyd's favorite areas of scholarship, the American Farm Song collection, from which Boyd sang "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" and "Tater Raisin Man," a composition he terms the quintessential farm song.

Joe Wayne Reynolds and his sister Carla Turner moved the crowd with their unique version of the old hymn, "Blessed Assurance."

Other performers included Reid Fisher and Chandler Apel, two young guitarists with a lot of talent. It was a night to remember!