ROCK HALL — The dream was alive in Rock Hall, as the sounds of the 60’s and the 70’s filled the air.
On Sunday, Mark Einstein, Clark Bjorke, Brian Cole, Dave Fife, Meghan First. Richard Geller, Don and Julie Gill, Stu Gray, Matt Mielnick, Bob Miller, Barbara Parker, Dave Sharp, Antoinette Smith, Bob and Laura Taylor, Steve Tremills and Greg Zane came together as the Mainstay Players, for an event called “California Dreamin.”
Community members and friends from far and wide came out to celebrate the music of a bygone era. It was a packed house of over one hundred attendees, riding the wave, drifting on a cloud of California vibes.
Located on the corner of Main Street and Sharp Street in Rock Hall, this event paid tribute to the icons of Laurel Canyon, inviting guests to a time when California was the epicenter of rock and roll.
According to the host of the event, WCTR’s Sunday morning on-air personality, Ya Buddy Emerson, “Everyone in attendance had a great time. There were smiles all over the building. Not a single person left without getting their money’s worth.”
He added people were already asking when the next tribute show would be.
Following a few announcements from the man that was heavily instrumental in organizing the event, (not to mention heavily clad in tie-dye) guitarist and vocalist Mark Einstein, Emerson kicked off the show with an introduction.
Following the intro, the concert opened up with, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” originally performed by The Byrds.
The format of the first set saw various combinations of The Mainstay Players performing songs such as, “Love the One You’re With,” by Stephen Stills, “Crazy Love” by POCO and closing out the first half of the show with “Suite: Judy Blues Eyes” by Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Throughout the night the host would jump onstage with a joke, funny story or a game.
During intermission t-shirts were sold and guests allowed to partake in some free oysters. There were also beverages and desserts available as well. During that time the audience were entertained by Emerson who playfully conversed with various members of the audience.
At the two minute mark, before intermission was over, Emerson was able to get the audience to sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” two times, surprising him.
After intermission the host opened the second half of show with a little bit of history that vividly described Laurel Canyon, before Stu Gray and Meghan First, performed a beautiful rendition of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Guinevere.”
The second half of the show featured songs like, “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell, “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and “These Day” by Jackson Browne.
While all the performances were engaging, the performance of the night had to go to the combination known as Drop D, lead by the very energetic Brian Cole. He stole the show with The Doors’ classic hit, “Roadhouse Blues.”
Also during the second set, one lucky fan was able to win a free ticket for two to any upcoming Mainstay event. That individual was asked to play a WCTR favorite, the Um/Uh game. They had to talk about the topic of “summer” for thirty seconds without saying “um” or “uh”.
The finale of the show had the Mainstay Players came together and with some heavy prompting, everyone in attendance stood to their feet and sang “California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and The Papas.
The hard work put in by everyone, including a month’s worth of rehearsals, paid off. It also seems like the Mainstay community members are already cooking up the next tribute show. A few ideas being thrown about are a Bob Dylan tribute or even a tribute to Motown.
One thing that’s for sure is that if the next event is anything like this one, a good time will be had by all.
To find more information about the Mainstay as well a video of this event and other events, visit mainstayrockhall.org
Einstein said it best, “From start to finish it was a fantastic event.”
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