Last modified: Thursday, November 5, 2009 10:53 AM CST

Gone Country

By Natalie Jordan, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com

Orchestra Kentucky’s retro series has been a part of Jon Crosby’s life for 10 years, and once again he and the Rewinders band will take to the Capitol Arts Center stage for Countrymadness III.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to this,” said Crosby, who will emcee the show and sing. “This show is like an old-time Opry setting, a variety show. People have loved it.”

Sponsored again by attorney Brian Schuette, Countrymadness III will showcase the orchestra’s musical range.

“We do a big variety of music from rock to jazz to bluegrass. We’ve covered everything but rap music, and that’s a testimony to the musicians who can do different styles,” said Jeffrey Reed, director of the orchestra. “We try to re-create original artist sounds ... the orchestra can do country.”

The concert is at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $36 for the main floor and $31 for the balcony, which includes the $3 box office fee.

More than 20 orchestra members, the Rewinders, with guest instrumentalist Jim Killen on steel guitar, and vocalists - some local and some from Nashville, Indiana and Arizona - will be doing classic, signature hits from major performers, Reed said.

“We have people who’ve sung with Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins ... there’s a lot of experience and talent in this show,” Reed said. “They’re all professional and all are good.”

The concert, Reed said, will feature hits from the likes of Patsy Cline, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Sr., Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Pride and Johnny Cash. He said they will even perform some country pop, such as hits from Ronnie Milsap, BJ Thomas and Elvis.

“There are certain songs people identify with these artists, and we wanted to keep that,” Reed said. “So we’ve stayed with the big hits.”

Reed said from the 1950s through the early 1980s, country music artists used orchestras on their recordings, although it is not as common now. Having the orchestra adds a totally different element to the recording, he said, and using an orchestra made music back then special.

Reed said what they are doing is re-creating what those recordings sounded like in a live setting.

“It is not an adaptation, like the elevator music version,” said Duncan McKenzie, director of external affairs for the orchestra. “It’s the real thing.”

This will be the third time the orchestra has done Countrymadness as part of its retro series, which McKenzie said reflects the success of the orchestra itself.

“We’re not just limited to classical music,” he said. “And I think it is so popular because it reaches an audience that wouldn’t necessarily come to an orchestra concert, but would come listen to the classic country hits.”

Crosby said for him, being able to play with an orchestra has been a great experience. He said for a musician like himself, the only local venue they have is the bar scene. But, he said, working with the orchestra provides the opportunity to display talents for a more mature audience.

“And we have fun,” he said.

While this particular concert will be taken out of rotation for a while, Reed said the orchestra will have something new in its place for the 2010-11 retro series.

“It’s great music,” he said. “All these shows are like my children. I spend a lot of time preparing and planning for them, but we like to keep things fresh ... it doesn’t mean we won’t bring it back in the future.”

Reed, like Crosby, said he is looking forward to this concert.

“The best part of my job is the variety,” he said. “People can expect a nostalgic trip back in time to a period with great country music. It’s the next best thing to seeing the actual artists.”

— For tickets or more information, call 842-2426 or visit www.orchestrakentucky.org.