YOU ARE HERE: Central Kentucky Home→Collections→Banjo

Osborne Brothers come to Leeds

October 20, 2006|Samieh Shalash

Bobby Osborne and the Dean Osborne Band will be in town for a concert tonight, but the bluegrass musicians won't be the only Kentucky-based presence on stage.

A Winchester family and the winners of a recent vocal talent contest at the Leeds Center for the Arts will be the openers. Kaitlyn MacMillan and her children, Brenna, 11, Theodore 13, and David, 17, go by the band name For Heaven's Sake. MacMillan sings while her children play the banjo, fiddle and backup guitar, respectively.

They first met Dean Osborne in May at a banjo workshop in Lexington, where MacMillan said Osborne was impressed with Brenna's talent on the banjo and Theodore's skill with the fiddle.

Next thing they knew, Osborne called and invited them to perform at the J.D. Crowe Festival in Nicholasville during an open mic session, which they did.

"The next day he called and asked the kids to come play on the main stage, so that was their first time to play any place really big," MacMillan said. That was in August. More recently, he invited them to open for the Osborne Brothers when they're in town tonight.

"Knowing that we were from Winchester, he thought it would be really great for the kids to be playing in their hometown," MacMillan said.

The family will play a 30-minute set that includes eight to 10 songs ranging from gospel tunes including "Amazing Grace" to old favorites such as "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."

"He's cool," Brenna said about Osborne. "He actually took lessons from the same teacher I have now, Dr. Ken Lake in Lexington."

Also opening for The Osborne Brothers will be the winners of the Leeds' recent vocal music contest, Pass the Mic Night. Alexander Schuler from the 18-and-under contest and James Holland from the 19-and-older competition will be on stage.

Doors open at 7:30. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information, call the Leeds Center at 744-6437.

|

|

|