Jessica Cuevas
On the evening of 9/11, the LEAP Ambassadors and Jocelyn Vazquez volunteered at the Old Town Theatre, where Marty Haggard–son of Merle Haggard– where an appreciative crowd enjoyed the show.
To our delightful surprise, there was an opening act by rising country singer Stephen Sweeten. While he sang and his guitarist strummed, his wife and son were selling his merchandise and recording his performance. Unfortunately, since we were either ushering guests to their seats, selling raffle tickets, or taking photographs, we were unable to sit in for the show but given that the theatre has excellent acoustics, we were able to hear him. We even had a chance to work with his son to take a few photos of Sweeten.
The audience enjoyed the music, as did we, as Sweeten played a mix of covers and originals.
When Sweeten’s set ended, we announced the winners of the raffle…
…which made a few audience members happy. They have tickets to see Moe Bandy on December 3 (buy tickets here!)
If ever there was a down-to-earth performer, Marty Haggard is that performer. He remained seated throughout the show, after telling he was a singer, not an “actor.”
Sitting or standing, however, he was a hit, performing the hits of his father, whom he described as “the greatest country music singer-songwriter in history.”
He did the songs justice, and he resembles a thinner version of his father.
As the event was wrapping up and the Old Town Theatre was getting ready to close, we stood by the doors and thanked the guests for coming while providing them with a calendar of upcoming events.
The crowd, however, was more interested in spending time with Mr. Haggard.
And that included us:
It was a good night, with strong performances all around.
By the way, the Old Town Theatre’s next event is on September 25th at 7:00pm, featuring a Frank Sinatra tribute. Purchase your tickets today and do not miss the Sinatra experience!
On behalf of the LEAP Center, I would like to thank the friends of the Old Town Theatre for giving us the opportunity to help in our community!Â
Although our volunteerism was complete, our night wasn’t. We moved on over to the wonderful Sam’s Table, where we had dinner and desert. We had eaten here previously, and it has great ambience and food, so we were eager to return.
The event was close to Yvette’s 19th Birthday, so we celebrated that, too, with pie…
…and cake.
After a nice night of volunteerism and eating, we left as happy as Yvette looked!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 