By Jay Brakefield, a retired journalist and longtime KEOS volunteer living in Bryan.
This year’s KEOS Lone Star Jam will offer something for just about every musical taste. The Oct. 1 fundraiser will mark the all-volunteer community radio station’s 22nd anniversary and cap its fall fund drive. It will again be held at the Lakeside Icehouse at Lake Bryan, whose laid-back atmosphere is the perfect setting for a day of Texas music. The suggested donation this year is only $10.
“We really want people to come out and help us celebrate another year of KEOS, so we're trying to make it as affordable as possible while still raising some money for the station,” says Krista May, board president.
This year, in addition to funding operations and improvements, the money will come in handy to repair damage from Hurricane Harvey that briefly knocked the station off-air. A silent auction will start at noon, when the doors open, and run until 4:30pm.
At 1pm, the entertainment will commence with HiFi. They are primarily a cover band, but that doesn’t mean you get a live version of the stale playlist of classic rock radio.
“We try to play songs that you haven’t necessarily heard before but that you need to hear,” says Tim Rogers, guitarist and lead singer, whose original tunes also go into the mix along with a lot of Allman Brothers and even an Amy Winehouse tune.
At 2pm, Charm Bomb will explode on stage. (The name comes from a line in Bob’s Burgers; look it up!) The trio plays originals inspired by 1990s girl groups and pop punk classics, says guitarist and lead singer Kirsten Jackson. A listener complained with tongue in cheek that the songs were so good that he couldn’t applaud ironically.
After a break, music will resume at 3:30 with a solo appearance by Milano singer/songwriter Brooke Graham. She’ll play tunes from her upcoming CD, Look at the Moon, inspired by phone conversations with her late mom who’d say, “Step outside and have a cigarette and look at the moon with me.”
At 4:30, Jacob Appelt and his group will deliver music with elements of funky jam music, hip-hop and reggae. He’s tentatively scheduled a couple of North Texas University music school friends and expects to have more musicians sitting in. Appelt, a bassist, is calling the band Texas Music Workforce Live, from the title of his popular Monday evening show on KEOS.
The closing act, the Great American Boxcar Chorus (formerly Ben Morris and the Great American Boxcar Chorus) should be familiar with many in the Brazos Valley for its tasty, seamless mix of country, rock, bluegrass and gospel. The show will feature songs from an as-yet-untitled CD due to drop in January. Morris says the music will reflect the shift that prompted the name change, more songwriting contributions from lead guitarist Eric Fisher and longtime drummer Bucky Bachmeyer and a stronger vocal role for Fisher. But the music is sure to reflect the strong vibe and wry humor that produced tunes such as There Is No Fun in Funeral.
Tickets will be available at the door at the icehouse, 8200 Sandy Point Road in Bryan.
