Short Takes: 'Halleluja Girls,' Riders in the Sky and Blue Highway

HALLELUJAH GIRLS
Nary a bulb on Broadway will alight with the opening of “The Hallelujah Girls.”
Well, Broadway’s loss amounts to the Mountain Empire’s gain when the inspiring play runs from May 8 through May 24 at Jonesborough Repertory Theatre in Jonesborough, Tenn. Directed by J.J. Jeffers, the play features five Southern women who create a spa in what was once an old church.
Follow your dreams regardless of age. That’s a general theme among several within the play, a sometimes funny and often poignant look at how people deal with aging. Through ingenuity and particularly friendship, they not only cope but indeed thrive amid passing years.

IF YOU GO
What: “The Hallelujah Girls”
When: May 8-9, 15-16, 22-23 at 8 p.m. and May 10, 17 and 24 at 2 p.m.
Where: Jonesborough Repertory Theatre, 125 ½ W. Main St., Jonesborough, Tenn.
Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors and studetns
Info: (423) 753-1010
Web: www.jonesboroughtheatre.com

RIDERS IN THE SKY
Riders in the Sky sing like sons that Roy Rogers never had.
Today’s kings of the cowboys hope to corral a crowd when they sing songs of the old west on May 9 at the Lincoln Theater in Marion, Va. Led by Douglas B. Green, otherwise known as the modern-day savior of rainbow-colored cowboy music, Riders in the Sky appear as if they’ve leapt smack dab off the silver screen circa 1941.
They sound like it, too. When Riders in the Sky sing, Gene Autry is back in the saddle again. Tex Ritter rides the range. Roy Rogers sits astride Trigger with Dale Evans by his side, as they ride off into the sunset along yet another happy trail. So goes the relevance of Riders in the Sky.

IF YOU GO
Who: Riders in the Sky
When: May 9, 8 p.m.
Where: Lincoln Theater, 117 E. Main St., Marion, Va.
Admission: $30
Info: (423) 783-6093
Web, audio and video: www.ridersinthesky.com

BLUE HIGHWAY
A mix of life’s highways and bluegrass combine in the music of Blue Highway.
See the life loving bluegrassers on May 9 at the Farmers Market Pavilion in Abingdon, Va. Featuring Kingsport, Tenn.’s Tim Stafford, like a road building road grader Blue Highway has gradually carved an impressive career. Their songs are not merely hits today and gone tomorrow.
Instead, Blue Highway’s best resound like three-minute windowpanes. Stop, look deep inside their songs like “Homeless Man” from their latest album “Through the Window of a Train,” and gather substance. Now, they aren’t the second coming of God, but by golly Blue Highway has something to say.

IF YOU GO
Who: 2009 Abingdon Music Experience featuring Blue Highway and The Mountain Park Olde Time Band
When: May 9, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Farmers Market Pavilion, Abingdon
Info: (888) 489-4224 or (276) 676-2282
Web: www.bluehighwayband.com
Audio: www.bluehighwayband.com/Pages/music.htm

MUSIC NOTES: Dim the neon lights for Vern Gosdin. The singer of such hardcore country hits as “Do You n Believe Me Now” and “Set ‘Em Up Joe,” died April 28 in Nashville, Tenn. after suffering a stroke. Gosdin, 74, was remembered as “The Voice,” one of country music’s finest singers.
“He was a big brother to me,” said Chris Hillman, a member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group the Byrds who played bluegrass in The Hillmen with Gosdin during the early 1960s. “”Chiseled In Stone” gives me goosebumps. I loved him. God bless him, I hope he gets into the Country Music Hall of Fame.”
Amen.
-- Free music, part one: This week’s free MP3 download comes in multiples. Simply access www.mtv.com/music/downloads for a list of free downloads, including hip new pop and rock songs such as “New Love Grows on Trees” from Pete Doherty and “Short Fuse” from the Black Lips.
-- Free music, part two: Read Short Takes and Music Notes next week for details of an entire album from a million-selling rock band that will be made available as a free download. So, stay tuned!

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.