Gill and friends close out Starry Nights

Last updated May 22, 2007 12:0pm0

The Sisters community was treated to once-in-a-lifetime experiences - twice - Friday and Saturday nights as the Starry Nights Benefit Concert Series closed out its 10th anniversary season.

Country music icon and multiple award-winner Vince Gill, with his friends, master singers-songwriters-guitarists Big Al Anderson and Bob DiPiero and keyboard great John Hobbs came together to share the intimacy of their long-term friendships with sold out audiences at the Sisters High School auditorium.

The informal, songwriter-in-the-round performances by the four celebrated artists, with the surprise appearance of Gill's friend and Starry Night's past performer Leslie Satcher, contributed significantly in boosting this year's Starry Nights series net profits to the $125,000 level.

During its first nine years the Starry Night Benefit Concert Series has raised some $600,000 to benefit the Sisters Schools Foundation. Music, arts, sports, science and math are only a few of the many activities and projects at all three Sisters schools that have been funded by dollars raised through the concert series. Without the monies that the concert series has raised, many of the funded pursuits simply would not have existed in Sisters schools.

Friday and Saturday nights' unscripted performances will never be repeated. Sitting in a semi-circle the four greats took turns chronicling their musical careers with a sampling of songs they had written and sung by themselves, crafted in collaboration and written for one another. Their compelling voices, rich guitar and keyboard work and humorous interchanges through their reminiscenses of times gone by captivated the Sisters audiences throughout the longer than three-hour performances.

Massive hits like Gill's "Whenever You Come Around" which he wrote for his wife Amy Grant, and "The Rock of Your Love" that Anderson wrote for Gill and Bonnie Raitt were welcomed with rousing applause and cheers. Lesser-known and new tunes and those that remained unknown for years until they were discovered and sung by artists like Jimmy Buffet, Dolly Parton and Martina McBride were no less appreciated.

High points of both Friday and Saturday nights' performances were the songs Sisters students sang with Anderson and Gill. On Friday, Sisters High School junior Jena Rickards and on Saturday high school graduate Monica Offield joined Anderson to sing his song "Trip Around the Sun" (see related story, page 33).

Middle school singers Jared Nelson, Daniel Faludi, Katie Douglass, Martin Allen and Peggy Barrett joined Gill to sing back up for his new single, "What You Give Away" to conclude both shows. Senior Sarah Douglass joined Gill to sing duet segments. After Douglass and the middle school students performed on Friday night, one gentleman in the audience was overheard saying to his wife: "Those kids, they were the highlight."

For Starry Nights co-founder Jeri Fouts, Gill's choice of "What You Give Away" to sing with the students and as both nights' final song vividly expresses what the concert series is all about.

"It is a beautiful expression of what it means to give back, and hearing the students sing it with him made me feel very proud of this town and our school district," Fouts said.

Rickards, Offield and Douglass sing with the stars

The careers of three aspiring Sisters artists got a big boost when each was asked to perform with singer-songwriters Vince Gill and Big Al Anderson in the last two concerts of this year's Starry Nights Benefit Concert Series.

Starry Nights co-founder Jeri Fouts invited Sisters High School junior and Americana Project student Jena Rickards to sing on Friday night and Sisters High School graduate and former Americana Project student Monica Offield to sing on Saturday in duet with Anderson in his song "Trip Around The Sun."

Sisters middle and high school choir director Tara McSween asked Sisters High School senior and choir member Sarah Douglass to join Gill in singing his new single "What You Give Away."

Middle school students Jared Nelson, Daniel Faludi, Katie Douglass, Martin Allen and Peggy Barrett were chosen to sing back-up in the song.

Anderson told The Nugget that he wrote "Trip Around the Sun" about 10 years ago but was never able to get it cut in Nashville.

"I think it had too many chords in it," he said. "I sent it to Jimmy Buffett a long time ago, and he never did it. Then, I think something happened in his life where he decided it would be a good time to do the song."

Rickards walked on to the stage Friday night to rousing applause. When Gill saw her he said: "When I was 16, 17 years old, there was nobody who looked like this who could sing like this."

According to Rickards, Gill told her that something about her voice captivated him and that not a lot of people have such a "captivating tone" quality.

"He asked me for a demo of some of my songs, so I think that's really exciting," Rickards said.

"I felt like we were all glowing, and when I looked at Vince and I looked at Al, I felt like I'd known them my whole life and they're some of my best friends. I've never loved to sing with anyone more than those two guys and everyone up there," Rickards said. "I'm just so blessed that Jeri (Fouts) gave me the opportunity to sing."

Saturday night's performance was the first time Offield had been on the stage since months before her kidney transplant on April 10. The Sisters audience greeted her with supportive cheers and whistles and thunderous applause.

"I'm actually doing really good," she said. "I feel really good, and I actually just got a job today (at Martolli's Pizza). I haven't worked for about a year and a half."

Thrilled with her performance on Saturday night, Offield said, "I feel like I'm back."

For Douglass the opportunity to sing with Gill was more than she could imagine. She plans to pursue a musical career studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston a year from this fall.

Opportunities like Rickards, Offield, Douglass and the five middle school students were given to sing with the stars come few and far between to public school students.

"I'm sure your kids must know how blessed they've become, how lucky they are to have a school like this and a music program like this. It's a miracle in today's public education.

"Y'all should be proud of it," said Bob DiPiero.

"All I had in my public school was somebody telling me I'd never amount to anything playing an electric guitar," Gill said.