Musical homecoming

By TIM PRESTON
The Independent

NASHVILLE May 06, 2008 10:00 pm

— Tom T. Hall has no intention of acting like a celebrity when he returns to his hometown of Olive Hill for the May 17 Homecoming on the Hill concert.
“I’m happy to be coming home. It is a great cause. I’m looking forward to seeing some of my old pals, and I plan to spend a lot of time walking around the audience and talking to people,” Hall said Tuesday from his home in Nashville.
His last “big” concert in his hometown was probably sometime in the 1970s, Hall said, although he has enjoyed more recent opportunities to sing a few songs during bluegrass festivals in the area. Organizers said Tuesday only a few $20 tickets remain for the upcoming concert. The remaining tickets are available at Commercial Bank of Olive Hill.
Hall said he wanted to play the upcoming show at the historic Olive Hill High School partially because he was asked to perform by the daughter of Curt Curtis, who managed The Kentucky Travelers, the first band he ever played with.
“She told me about the high school and their plans to use it as a community center. I think it’s great,” he said. “Olive Hill was a great little town to grow up in. It seems like we had one of everything when I was growing up there. It hasn’t changed much since then.”
Hall said he attended the old Olive Hill High School until his sophomore year, when he joined the Army and earned his diploma through the Armed Forces Institute.
For the homecoming show, Hall said he plans to play “some old country songs with just me and the guitar” before being joined on stage by Don Rigsby and his band Midnight Call. His set list for the evening will include many of his classic hits such as “I Love,” “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine” and “The Year Clayton Delaney Died.”
Recently inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Hall said he has been semiretired for a few years and no longer keeps a band in rehearsals. With multiple No. 1 records to his credit and numerous others that ranked high on the country music charts, Hall said he feels fortunate to have had his songs recorded by musicians including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Alan Jackson. His latest favorite, he said, is Solomon Burke’s version of “That’s How I Got to Memphis.”
“That’s the one I’ve got in my pickup right now,” he said.
Hall said he will be bringing “a bunch of people” to Olive Hill with him so they can see his home state during a beautiful season.
The Tom T. Hall Homecoming on the Hill concert will start at 7 p.m. with a set by Sasha Collette and Rob McNurlin, and continue with songs by Scott Tackett and Kentucky Sunrise, George Molton, Angela Knight, Anna Curtis, Hannah Bradford, Laurel Branch, Don Rigsby and Midnight Call. Morehead State University President Dr. Wayne Andrews will serve as master of ceremonies for the concert.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.