As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m new to Lake Charles so in addition to playing some of the best Country music everyday from 10am to 2pm on Kix 96 I’m just now finding my way around town and exploring. Last night was a ball from the time I left the radio station until I hit the hay. Lake Charles has so much to offer and last night was a great example!
My night started with Downtown at Sundown where I got to see Marcia Ball who has been a Grammy nominee five times! Marcia was born in Orange, raised in Vinton and rocked Lake Charles with new songs from her album “The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man.” Oh, by the way…Did I mention the food!? You can’t go to Downtown at Sundown without (over) eating. I can hardly wait for Rusty Metoyer and The Zydeco Krush next Friday. I’m bringing my dancing shoes!
After getting my fill of Rhythm and Blues, I headed over to the The Golden Nugget for Wine and Jazz Under the Stars. Coming from a farming community in Western Pennsylvania I appreciate planting, growing and nursing anything on the land, in fact I always thought it would be fascinating to be a Vinter. These folks are mixture of farmer and artist.
I had the opportunity to meet winery owners, and winemakers under the stars and palms at the H2O Bar at the Golden Nugget, which is a story for another time. What an incredible place to have in our backyard. When they put on an event, they know how to do it right.
There were over 75 wines to sample. I didn’t manage all 75 but I made a small dent. There were wines from Archery Summit, Rex Hill, Ponzi, Erath, A to Z, Pine Ridge, Alexander Valley Vineyards, Ste. Michelle, Pepper Bridge and many more. All the wines were from Oregon, Washington State and California.
Oh, yeah, and of course there was more food too. but since it was wine tasting we’ll refer to it as cuisine.
The high-light of my evening was Mickey Smith Jr. with his saxophone. My Father was a good saxophone player. He didn’t read music, he’d just close his eyes and wail away, I took lessons but quickly discovered I was not a prodigy. Watching Mickey Smith was a treat! You may already know about this guy but for me it was the discovery of the night. He’s from Sulfer and if you have kids at Maplewood Middle School he’s probably teaching them music. If Mickey taught me music in Middle School I may be able to get more than squeaks and whistles out of the old sax. Here’s some video from Friday night.
Mickey began playing music in the 6th grade and was a member of the band at Westlake High. He received a scholarship to attend McNeese State University and he was a quarterfinalist for the Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation. Add Jamain and Germain Winfrey on bass and drums and you’ve got a great trio! What talent! What a night! I can’t wait to see what’s next here in Southwest Louisiana…To be continued.