Valley native Jerry Douglas returns with his Grammy-winning band
Richard Gober remembers Jerry Douglas bringing his dobro in for show and tell when they were in grade school.
After Douglas finished playing a song, Gober said the teacher told him, ''Jerry, get yourself a trombone or a trumpet or a drum, something you can make some money with.''
Douglas did OK with the dobro.
Playing on more than 2,000 albums (and winning 12 Grammy Awards along the way), touring and recording with his own band and playing for more than a decade with Alison Krauss & Union Station, Douglas not only has made money for himself, but the Leavittsburg native came home Friday to make money for three local charities.
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas played a sold-out show Friday at Packard Music Hall, the third of three concerts band members played in their hometowns to raise money for various charities.
''We're so proud to be here tonight,'' Krauss said. ''Home of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen.''
Douglas also thanked the crowd for coming out and helping to support the Camelot Center, the Warren Family Mission and the Jimmy Franks and Jim Hillman Scholarship Fund at LaBrae High School.
''This is the top of the heap,'' Douglas said of Packard Music Hall. ''It's a far cry from the old Grizzly Bear Saloon,'' where he played with his father's band as a teenager.
The atmosphere in the lobby before the show felt more like a class reunion than a concert with many of Douglas' LaBrae High School classmates in the the crowd.
Barbara Johnson, also from the class of 1974, said she didn't realize when they were in school together just how talented Douglas was. But she scored some points with her son by knowing him.
''When my son was just learning to play guitar, he started talking about Jerry Douglas, and I said, 'Oh, I know him','' Johnson said. ''He was so impressed. I'm going to get Jerry to sign one of his CDs and give it to my son for Christmas.''
Patty Franks, who also graduated with Douglas, said she didn't know the scholarship fund honoring her husband, who died from cancer 26 years ago, was one off the beneficiaries until she heard it on the radio.
''I was on my way to a birthday party when the radio announced it,'' she said. ''I burst into tears. I almost drove off the road. It's unbelievable, just a wonderful thing he's doing.''
Debbie Meeker, program director for the Camelot Center, said they will put proceeds from the concert toward building an indoor riding area at its facility in Southington. When the weather is bad - a frequent thing in Trumbull County - the handicapped riders the center accommodates are restricted to a 40-by-30-foot area.
''It's like being on a merry-go-round,'' Meeker said.
The proposed covered arena would nearly triple the available space.
Nancy Spina, director of development at Warren Family Mission, said she wasn't sure exactly how the money would be used, but they were very excited to be included.
In addition to a class reunion, the day also had a family reunion vibe.
Douglas' parents, John and Autha Douglas, and his brother, Blaine, arrived from West Virginia around noon, and his wife, Jill, flew in from Nashville for the show and to celebrate their 24th anniversary today.
''We try to see him as often as we can,'' Autha Douglas said. ''May was the last time, I think.''
Douglas said the only other time he'd been on the Packard stage before Friday was ''to get my diploma'' at LaBrae High School's 1974 graduation ceremony (although Blaine remembers seeing him at Packard with Ricky Skaggs in the early '80s). Dad remembered playing there in the late '60s/early '70s with his bluegrass band, the West Virginia Travelers.
''One night Ray (Sponaugle) was at the mic playing the last tune,'' John Douglas said. ''They started closing the curtain, so we all stepped back, and there stood Ray on the other side. He got mad at us - 'You coulda told me'.''
Jerry Douglas said he was impressed with the stage at Packard.
''They've really kept it up,'' he said. ''It looks great.''
During the show, Douglas gave a shout out to the Hot Dog Shoppe, the place he said he stops to eat whenever he's in town, and Krauss raved about the pizza from Buena Vista Cafe.
Douglas said Friday afternoon that that it probably will take about a week to get final tally on how much money was raised. In addition to concert ticket sales, classmate Joe Chovan created a portrait of the band, and poster prints - both signed and unsigned - were being sold at the show. The original artwork was available in a silent auction, and the top bid was $800 at the end of the concert.
Tickets also were being sold for a post-concert party at the Hippodrome with Douglas, while others paid $100 each for preferred seating and a post-concert meet-and-greet with the band, where Mayor Michael O'Brien was planning to present Douglas with a key to the city.
After Douglas finished playing a song, Gober said the teacher told him, ''Jerry, get yourself a trombone or a trumpet or a drum, something you can make some money with.''
Douglas did OK with the dobro.
Playing on more than 2,000 albums (and winning 12 Grammy Awards along the way), touring and recording with his own band and playing for more than a decade with Alison Krauss & Union Station, Douglas not only has made money for himself, but the Leavittsburg native came home Friday to make money for three local charities.
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas played a sold-out show Friday at Packard Music Hall, the third of three concerts band members played in their hometowns to raise money for various charities.
''We're so proud to be here tonight,'' Krauss said. ''Home of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen.''
Douglas also thanked the crowd for coming out and helping to support the Camelot Center, the Warren Family Mission and the Jimmy Franks and Jim Hillman Scholarship Fund at LaBrae High School.
''This is the top of the heap,'' Douglas said of Packard Music Hall. ''It's a far cry from the old Grizzly Bear Saloon,'' where he played with his father's band as a teenager.
The atmosphere in the lobby before the show felt more like a class reunion than a concert with many of Douglas' LaBrae High School classmates in the the crowd.
Barbara Johnson, also from the class of 1974, said she didn't realize when they were in school together just how talented Douglas was. But she scored some points with her son by knowing him.
''When my son was just learning to play guitar, he started talking about Jerry Douglas, and I said, 'Oh, I know him','' Johnson said. ''He was so impressed. I'm going to get Jerry to sign one of his CDs and give it to my son for Christmas.''
Patty Franks, who also graduated with Douglas, said she didn't know the scholarship fund honoring her husband, who died from cancer 26 years ago, was one off the beneficiaries until she heard it on the radio.
''I was on my way to a birthday party when the radio announced it,'' she said. ''I burst into tears. I almost drove off the road. It's unbelievable, just a wonderful thing he's doing.''
Debbie Meeker, program director for the Camelot Center, said they will put proceeds from the concert toward building an indoor riding area at its facility in Southington. When the weather is bad - a frequent thing in Trumbull County - the handicapped riders the center accommodates are restricted to a 40-by-30-foot area.
''It's like being on a merry-go-round,'' Meeker said.
The proposed covered arena would nearly triple the available space.
Nancy Spina, director of development at Warren Family Mission, said she wasn't sure exactly how the money would be used, but they were very excited to be included.
In addition to a class reunion, the day also had a family reunion vibe.
Douglas' parents, John and Autha Douglas, and his brother, Blaine, arrived from West Virginia around noon, and his wife, Jill, flew in from Nashville for the show and to celebrate their 24th anniversary today.
''We try to see him as often as we can,'' Autha Douglas said. ''May was the last time, I think.''
Douglas said the only other time he'd been on the Packard stage before Friday was ''to get my diploma'' at LaBrae High School's 1974 graduation ceremony (although Blaine remembers seeing him at Packard with Ricky Skaggs in the early '80s). Dad remembered playing there in the late '60s/early '70s with his bluegrass band, the West Virginia Travelers.
''One night Ray (Sponaugle) was at the mic playing the last tune,'' John Douglas said. ''They started closing the curtain, so we all stepped back, and there stood Ray on the other side. He got mad at us - 'You coulda told me'.''
Jerry Douglas said he was impressed with the stage at Packard.
''They've really kept it up,'' he said. ''It looks great.''
During the show, Douglas gave a shout out to the Hot Dog Shoppe, the place he said he stops to eat whenever he's in town, and Krauss raved about the pizza from Buena Vista Cafe.
Douglas said Friday afternoon that that it probably will take about a week to get final tally on how much money was raised. In addition to concert ticket sales, classmate Joe Chovan created a portrait of the band, and poster prints - both signed and unsigned - were being sold at the show. The original artwork was available in a silent auction, and the top bid was $800 at the end of the concert.
Tickets also were being sold for a post-concert party at the Hippodrome with Douglas, while others paid $100 each for preferred seating and a post-concert meet-and-greet with the band, where Mayor Michael O'Brien was planning to present Douglas with a key to the city.
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