Courtesy Photo

The Emporia Granada Theatre will host the Emporia Arts Council’s feature show, “Tap Kids,” on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. Through tap dance, the performance tells a story of the last few months of high school for a group of teenagers: the big dance, detention and finally graduation. The show is a New York original.

Tickets can be purchased at the Emporia Arts Council, The Sweet Granada, Granada Coffee Company, the Emporia Granada Theatre or the ticket office in the Memorial Student Union at Emporia State and are $24 for adults, $15 for youth and free for ESU students.

“We look at lots of performers around the country and this happened to be one that other organizations were bringing, it has a wide audience appeal,” said Melissa Windsor, executive director of Emporia Arts Council. “It is a wonderful art opportunity for the community.”

There are eight dancers whose ages range from 16 to 22 and according to their Web site some have experience in other tap shows like “Prodigy,” “Scrooge the Musical,” “Dream” and have competed in competitions such as “American Dance Idol.”

One dancer, Brittany Parks, has danced since age four and “appeared on The Grammy’s with Rihanna, Guy’s Choice Awards with Katy Perry, the ESPY’s with Justin Timberlake, the television series ‘Glee’ and films such as ‘Fired Up,’ ‘Janky Promothers,’ and ‘Fame,’” according to the Web site.

LIZ, studied under famous dance masters Buster Brown, Jimmy Tate, Lynn Schwab, Shea Sullivan and Lady Dianne Walker. She has earned over 75 awards over 13 years and the title of 1996 Jr. Ms. Dance of Ohio.

Windsor said the talent and accomplishments of the dancers are a major reason for selecting the show for the Emporia audience.

“I think it will be a wonderful show and the dancers have wonderful bios, they’re extremely talented,” Windsor said. “There are times when they are tap dancing on school lunch trays and doing different sports, I think it will be a performance with a variety of different aspects that can appeal to just about anybody in the audience.”

Executive Director of The Emporia Granada Theatre Jessica Buchholz said the show will add to the diversity of performances at the theater.

“I think it’s going to be a fun show for the whole community,” Buchholz said. “From what I’ve heard of it, I think it’ll be very energetic. It’s a new, unique form of performing arts to see at the Granada Theatre.”

Send article as PDF to

Jeff and Tessa Evason will be showing off their telepathy and extra sensory perception powers Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. in Webb Lecture Hall in the Memorial Union. www.evason.com

Union Activities Council will end the semester with Late Night and The Evasons, a mentalist duo, starting at 8 p.m. Dec. 14 in Webb Lecture Hall, upstairs in the Memorial Union.

“Late Night is kind of a tradition,” said Christian Holt, sophomore elementary education major and UAC featured events vice chair. “(UAC) does it every year. It’s always during finals week and it’s the only event that can happen during finals week. It’s kicking off finals week and just trying to get everyone to relax.”

The Evasons are a mentalist duo.

“They read peoples minds and they put on a great show for everybody,” said Liana Farnen, junior elementary education major and featured events chair. “They do predictions and interact with the crowd a lot.”

The act requires a lot of crowd participation.

“It’s an interactive audience, mind reading and ESP show,” said Jeff Evason, one-half of The Evason act. “In our performance is an actual spirit séance. We will bring somebody up on stage and you will see their reactions. It’s really something that people will remember.”

The Evasons have performed around the world for a wide range of audiences, including royalty.

“We’ve performed in 37 countries around the world,” Evason said. “Most recently we performed in the Middle East.”

The performance is not magic.

“It is not a magic show at all, but it is magical,” Evason said. “It is something of that realm, of the impossible.”

Evason said that performance will be something that people have never seen before.

“People can expect a show that will leave them thinking for a long time,” Evason said. “People will walk away with something they will remember for a long long time. When we come to the climax it will be calm. It’s very common, in fact it will be uncommon for people to not run out of the room. It’s a mind blowing show.”

The “late night” portion of the evening will consist of prize giveaways, games and carnival style food.

“All students are invited,” Farnen said. “Before the show, people can come and mingle. It’s a carnival theme, so there will be a smorgasbord. There will be corn dogs and funnel cake and soda.”

While the show is free, attendees can get tickets to enter to win prizes by bringing non-perishable food items. Prizes include an Ipod, a 22-inch television, a futon and a mountain bike, among other things. There is no limit on the amount of tickets a person can get to enter the prize drawings.

“You get one automatic ticket just for coming,” Holt said. “You take those tickets and you put them in for whatever prize you want. There’s no limit. The more cans you bring, the more tickets you get, the more chances you get for prizes.”

One canned good is worth one prize ticket. The goods will be donated to the local food pantry, DECCA.

Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

Lowery on one of the sets for “True blood.” Courtesy Photo.

One of HBO’s most popular shows has a fan site run by a staff member at Emporia State. Melissa Lowery, administrative assistant of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism, helped start the Web site in March of last year.

It was the first “True Blood” site of any kind – HBO didn’t even have theirs up by that time.

“We ran a couple of other fan sites and we started them in 2007,” Lowery said. “We were looking for something else, with the new television series coming. I was a huge fan of the books. I saw that Alan Ball had optioned them for a series. I was a big admirer of his work and was excited that he was going to do it.”

“True Blood” also has a following among college students.

“I liked the first season,” said Zack Day, junior English major. “But I feel the second season focused more on the sex and it kind of got overbearing and over took the plot.”

In an untimely manner, the writer’s strike happened and the show was delayed.

“It finally got an air date and we started our site,” Lowery said. “It’s our biggest Web site. We had half a million visitors at one point.”

Lowery runs the site with her co-creator Liz and occasionally a few contributing writers.

“I do a lot of the technical side of things, designing the site, making the database, any technical changes we need to make, updating things,” she said. “Liz and I jointly write articles and interview people.”

They have a radio show Fridays at 10 a.m. that they post through blog talk radio.

“We air interviews when they have them,” Lowery said. “We talk about the show. We’ll do a recap about the last show and give spoilers and the latest news.”

Lowery said that she and Liz created the show because they were interested in the books that the show is based on.

“We wanted a place where we could discuss the show, because we were both big fans of the book series,” Lowery said. “We wanted a place of our own and thought we would maybe get a couple hundred people. It turned into be something bigger than that.”

She has met the cast and has interviewed a lot of people that have dealt with the show.

“You can’t even believe how nice the cast is,” Lowery said. “For as much gore and dark stuff that goes on in the show the cast from the top down is so nice. Alan Ball, he’s amazing, he’s very gracious he’s from the south and has that southern hospitality gene built in.”

Liz, Mel’s partner and resident of Chicago, gathers info and writes articles.

“My favorite cast member has to be Kristin Bauer,” Liz said. “She has so much to talk about and she’s a girl’s girl. She’s someone you would love to go shopping with and have lunch with.”

The two of them were taken to the set of the television series.

“It was so awesome,” Liz said. “The menus for the bar and grill were real. There were scratches on the tables to make them look more real and that people had sat on them before and eaten on them. The paint jobs they did made them look old.”

People seek out the Web site duo to help promote events.

“It’s really flattering to have them actually seek us out,” Liz said. “It’s flattering to be sought.”

““True Blood”” is a television series on HBO created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on the book series The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

To view the site, go to www.true-blood.net.

Felix Ceradsky/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

Winston

The Emporia Arts Council will host Grammy Award winning pianist George Winston at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Granada Theatre.

“Personally, I have been a fan of George Winston since my freshman year of college and know many people who really enjoy his art,” said Melissa Windsor, executive director of the Emporia Arts Council. “He’s very well received and people appreciate his work. We knew that he would be a good fit for Emporia.”

Winston received a Grammy for best new age album in 1996 for the album “Forest.” He also founded Dancing Cat Records in 1983 to record the “Masters of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar,” according to his Web site.

“When I’m producing in the studio, I’ve been there myself,” Winston said. “I understand what’s going on here because I’ve been in that position, so I feel like sometimes that’s the main purpose, but it’s a dual purpose. I’m very happy that somebody’s inspired me to do something for them.”

Winston recorded the solo piano soundtrack for “The Velveteen Rabbit” with narration by Meryl Streep in 1984 and for “This is America Charlie Brown: The Birth of the Constitution,” in which he played mainly Vince Guaraldi’s late pieces, in 1988 according to his Web site.

Winston said that he plays three main styles of piano music: folk piano, New Orleans R&B and stride piano. He said that he is playing his “summer show” for the concert at the Granada.

“I’ll be playing some Vince Guaraldi, some of The Doors, some New Orleans R&B, and some of the melodic folk things from some of the recordings,” Winston said, “songs that I regard as having to do with spring summer and nature.”

In 1967, when he was 18, Winston said he heard The Doors and they inspired him to start playing music.

“I was an avid listener, especially to the instrumentals and particularly the organ,” Winston said. “When I heard The Doors I said ‘I gotta get an organ and play in the band.’ They inspired me to go to the next thing with that.”

Windsor said the concert is being funded by ticket sales, Arts Council membership fees, funding from Internal Medicine Associates, its sponsor, Kansas Continental Express and ESU.

Proceeds from CD sales at the show will go to the Salvation Army food bank and attendees are also allowed to bring canned goods to help.

“Obviously, something like this just doesn’t come along very often and he’s definitely an amazing performer and an amazing musician,” Windsor said. “I would recommend to anyone who is interested or might be interested to come because I guarantee you will not be disappointed. He’s definitely a phenomenal musician and it’s just going to be a fantastic concert.”

Lauren Walbridge/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

Aubrey McCord, senior secondary English education major, rehearses Tuesday afternoon in Heath Recital Hall. The ESU Chamber Orchestra will hold a concert on Friday, October 23, 7:30pm at heath Recital Hall. Jennifer Baldwin/The Bulletin

Emporia State’s Chamber Orchestra will play at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Heath Recital Hall in Beach Hall. Tickets are $4 for students and $5 for general admission.

Jeremy Starr, director of orchestras, conducts two orchestras at ESU, the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra.

“The Chamber orchestra is more of an intimate group,” Starr said. “If you’re a ‘chamber’ anything it usually means a small group ensemble. There are 18 players and it is a string only orchestra.”

Because of its size, the Chamber Orchestra brings a sense of familiarity to its members.

“I like the intimacy of playing in a smaller group,” said Joshua East, junior music education major and the Chamber Orchestra’s concertmaster. “String quartets and small string orchestras allow for that type of playing.  I also enjoy playing the repertoire that is written for string orchestras.”
A string orchestra consists of four different instruments: violin, viola, cello and bass. Starr plans to add a few wind and brass instruments for the next concert

“Symphonies are generally a full orchestra and have wind, brass and percussion with 65 people,” Starr said. “It’s a mixture of ESU students and community members from Emporia.”

The Chamber Orchestra will perform four works during the concert, including pieces by Gustav Holst, Felix Mendelssohn and Mozart.

“We’re playing a work that was originally written for voice and piano that was transcribed for a string orchestra,” Starr said. “It’s a really nice arrangement. We follow that with a suite, three different pieces by Gustav Holst. After that we’re playing the third string symphony by Felix Mendelssohn. Then we end the concert with a piece by Mozart.”

Starr says that the group rehearses four days a week Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. It consists of people who have very little experience playing and people who have more. Starr said the director plays a very particular role.

“A director is there to help everyone play,” Starr said. “The conductor is just a guide that will get everyone thinking in a way they don’t normally think about the music. They are there to serve the orchestra, not to commandeer it.”

Hannah Belton, sophomore elementary education major, could not remember if she had even heard of the Chamber Orchestra performance. But after a moment of thought, she remembered that she had.

“I heard about it in my theater class,” Belton said. “Everyone was leaving and a guy in the class told (us) to go.”

She said that she might go.

“I think people need to come and hear the orchestra,” Starr said. “I don’t think a lot of people even know there even is such an event. Something about hearing live string instruments play that you can’t get from anything else.”

Felix Ceradsky/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

Starr

The Emporia Symphony Orchestra will play at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Albert Taylor Hall. The orchestra is conducted by Emporia State Director of Orchestra, Jeremy Starr, son of former director James Starr who retired last year.

Tickets will be available for $5 general admission, $4 for students and senior citizens and free for children under 12.

The group is playing “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius, a transcription for a full orchestra by Bach and Beethoven’s 2^nd Symphony.

Starr said he gets a lot of advice from his father and they have weekly meetings every Monday morning. He said his father is a great mentor and it was strange working where his father used to work in the beginning.

“There was kind of an adjustment period because I very much was feeling like I was in my dad’s office, which I am, technically,” James Starr said. “But I think this is really exciting because my dad took over the orchestra conducting position this last year and that set it up so his job covered everything that I was specializing in at the University of Iowa, so it worked out. I just applied and that was it.”

Sophomore psychology major Fernando Cartagena said Jeremy Starr has been doing a really good job. He’s had classes with both Jeremy Starr and his father.

“I wouldn’t say his dad is better,” Cartagena said. “I don’t have a preference. I wouldn’t say one or the other is better.”

In 2000, the symphony orchestra was disbanded. This year, with the help of Starr, the orchestra was brought back.

“The symphony was in the hands of the university and it didn’t serve primarily the university, it served the community,” Starr said. “The full orchestra experience would be in the symphony. When the university got rid of it, it left a hole that’s been here ever since. So it’s just sort of been on peoples’ minds for all these nine years and it just sort of worked out when I came in and I had training in orchestral conducting.”

Cartagena said the best part about the orchestra is that people from the entire community, adults and students, come together and play. The group has 65 people. including 15 ESU students, 7 high school students and other members of the community.

“It gives people a chance to be involved with music and enjoy music,” Cartagena said. “It’s a great idea for people to get together and play.”

Starr said the greatest thing about orchestras is that they are like families in that the instruments are so different, but everyone comes together. He said people’s personalities come through when they play and describes it as a microcosm for what a community should be like.

“I think this is a beginning,” Starr said. “I don’t think it’s something that people are going to see go away, hopefully, ever again and I hope that the community realizes that. I hope this becomes something that they understand is theirs. We have a symphony, something that can really bless the community for generations to come and that’s why we’re around. I’m really excited to be part of it.”

Send article as PDF to

Photojournalist Dirck Halstead will speak about his experiences as a photojournalist tonight at 7 p.m. in the Kanza Room, upstairs in the union.

“We’ve been dedicating a lot of time to promote this because he’s such a significant person,” said Aaron Newton, junior sociology major and vice chair of the Talks and Topics Committee of the Union Activities Council. “He has so much leadership and talent that he can to display for our university.”

Halstead has been featured on a record number of 49 TIME magazine covers, taken pictures of the Vietnam War, photographed several presidents and taken pictures for numerous Hollywood productions in 30 years of photojournalism, according to Halstead’s Web site.

“I know this presentation is going to be really educational,” said Karie Nicholson, freshman business administration major and chair of the Talks and Topics Committee of the Union Activities Council. “It’s an opportunity to learn, network, meet a famous photo journalist and it’s not just for those interested in photography.”

Halstead is famous for being the youngest combat photographer for Life magazine’s coverage of the Guatemalan Civil War at the age of 17. He also gained notoriety when he covered the White House in the years surrounding President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky

Halstead has had many instances to gain experience in his 29 years covering the White House. His book, “Moments in Time: Photos and Stories from One of America’s Top Photojournalists,” is a compilation of a lifetime worth of work.

Despite his fame, Halstead has been very easy to communicate with, Nicholson said.

“It hasn’t been hard to get a hold of him at all,” Nicholson said. “He’s just a phone call away, and his Web site, digitaljournalist.org, has been helpful in learning more about him also.”

Those with journalism backgrounds and interests should attend the presentation, Newton said.

“I really hope people that our journalists will come out,” Newton said. “It’ll give them great insight into photojournalism and how to be a better photographer.”

Halstead seems excited to showcase his years of experience in photography, Newton said.

“He seems excited to even just talk to classes on campus,” Newton said. “We’ve seen teachers wanting to get involved, since it’s a great opportunity for education.”

Newton encourages students from all majors to listen to Halstead’s presentation.

“It’ll be a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more about photography or photojournalism,” Newton said. “We’re planning on raffling off a prize, which may be a camera. We just have to get it approved first.”

Josh Johnson/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

The Emporia Arts Council and the Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home will host The Spencers Theatre of Illusion at 7 p.m. on tomorrow at the Emporia Granada, located at 807 Commercial St.

“We’ve always had a great audience with you guys,” said Kevin Spencer, magician in The Spencers Theatre of Illusion. “I’m hoping some of the university students will caught our show at the Granada.”

Tickets to see the husband and wife duo are free for students and can be picked up at the Emporia State ticket office in the union.

“We’re really lucky to be able to bring this quality of performance to the area,” said Melissa Windsor, executive director of the EAC. “I expect it to be really something that will be fun for everybody.”

The Spencers are internationally known magicians and have won the performing arts entertainers of the year award six times and the international magicians of the year award according to a press release about the pair.

“It is wonderful entertainment that they provide,” Windsor said. “It’s fascinating and it intrigues everyone who attends.”

Spencer said his show has been described as “Broadway meets rock and roll.”

“It has all of the elements that you’d expect from a theater performance with the music and the backdrops and the scenery and the lighting,” he said. “It’s got a really high tech edge to it and we’re going to do a lot of illusions in the show that were created just for us. So nobody else in the world is performing them.”

Crowd interaction will be a large part of the show, Spencer said.

“We use lots of people from the audience,” he said. “I’m actually going to walk through a brick wall (tomorrow) and I’ll get a member of the audience up on the stage not only to check the blocks but to hold on to the wall while I walk through it. We need lots of volunteers who will be willing to get up there and help us out.”

The number of tickets that are available to students is limited so students should pick up tickets as soon as possible.

The EAC is expecting a big crowd, but if the show is not sold out, additional tickets will be given to students.

In addition to the performance tomorrow, the Spencers will participate in the educational element that the EAC offers.

“Just like all of the performances that we bring to Emporia, they have an educational component to it and this one won’t be an exception,” Windsor said. “We will be going to an elementary school and working with children with special needs (today).”

“They’re going to be sitting on the edge of their seats,” Windsor said. “They’re going to be excited. They’re going to be amazed. They’re going to see truly world class talent.”

For more information about the performers, go to www.spencersmagic.com.

Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

Christopher Anderson, junior communications major, writes down his thoughts about one of Ashton Ludden’s, senior fine arts major, prints at her opening art reception MEAT in Gilson Gallery on Friday. JONATHAN ELLIOT/THE BULLETIN

Ashton Ludden, senior fine arts major, held the opening reception for her show, MEAT, in Gilson Gallery on Friday. The show will continue to run until Sept 18.

The reception ended with a silent auction outside the gallery. One engraving piece, named “Food Stamps,” was completed by Ludden in 2008 and sold to the last bidder for $200.50.

Ludden’s art works displayed in her Senior Thesis Exhibition are mostly engraving and printmaking pieces.

The inspiration of making “MEAT” came from a conversation which Ludden had with a worker in a slaughterhouse the summer before, listening to his experience working on food processing.

“Before that morning, I never heard about how my food is processed and what goes behind it,” she said. “It really interested me that I knew so little about food, you know, such a vital thing for us to live.”

Since then, Ludden realized that the more she thought about food, the less she felt she knew about it. Thus, Ludden decided to start researching what goes into food processing in order to acknowledge the food processes, as well as gaining insights for her art.

Ludden studied food processesing through numerous readings and speaking with people in the meat industry.

“I have had a lot of interesting experience running into people in a town like Emporia, where there are a lot of local ranchers and farmers,” Ludden said.

For Ludden, MEAT was supposed to make people think about and acknowledge the food processing industry.

“The concept is really cool,” said Kiwamu Otsuka, physics major, after viewing the gallery.  “I didn’t think about meat, animals, creatures and stuff like that before. It makes me feel like I should know more about animals.”

Ludden initially came to Emporia State planning to study art therapy. She discovered that she was more interested in creating art and gradually found her gift in engraving and later her passion for printmaking.

After graduating from ESU in December, Ludden will accept an invitation from master engraver Martin Strolz in Höhere Technische Lehranstalten (HTL, also known as Higher Technical Institute) Metal Design School in Steyr, Austria.

She also plans to continue her studies in graduate school after studying abroad, pursuing her Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking.

The proceeds of the auction will be split in two. One portion will go to The Humane Society, which is a national non-profit organization that celebrates animals and confronts animal cruelty. It protects all animals, through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, science, advocacy and fieldwork, according to their Web site.

The other portion will benefit The Kansas Rural Center, which supports the rural land and its people through research, education, and advocacy, according to KRC’s official Web site.

“MEAT” will still be available in Gilson Gallery located on the first floor of King Hall until next Friday.

Xinyi Chen/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

COURTESY PHOTO DAVID OAKLEAF

In its first post-summer show, The Granada Theatre will host David Oakleaf and Jared “Pete” Gile at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“They will play music as a combination of vintage country and modern rock,” said Jessica Buchholz, the new executive director of the Emporia Granada Theatre.

Buchholz, an Emporia State graduate, took over The Granada in May after being chosen from a group of 27 candidates, according to the Granada website.

“Both David Oakleaf and (Jared) ‘Pete’ Gile are originally from Kansas,” Buchholz said. “They are both performers that have traveled all around the United States.”

Oakleaf, who moved to Nashville, Tenn. three years ago, was born in Howard, Kan. As described in his Country Music Television profile, Oakleaf picked up playing guitar and singing as a hobby along with roping horses in Howard. At the age of 11, Oakleaf had his first performance in the local Opry House in his hometown.

Oakleaf and Jared Johnson won the fifth place in the first season of the show “Can you Duet” last year, which is produced by FremantleMedia, the same company that is in charge of the production of “American Idol.”

The performer plays an array of instruments including the guitar, harmonica, trumpet and drums and is influenced musically by the likes of George Strait, Keith Urban and Led Zeppelin, according to CMT.

After his Granada performance, Oakleaf will travel to several other cities in Kansas, including Caney, Axtell and Howard, later in September.

The featuring artist Jared “Pete” Gile and Oakleaf met each other when they spent their academic years in Manhattan at the same time. They both played music in a pub, which was full of musicians.

Jared “Pete” Gile, is from Scandia, a small town located in North Central Kansas.

“It is kind of funny,” Gile said in a telephone interview. “Pete is just a nickname. That’s why it is in quotes. I kinda go by Jared ‘Pete’ Gile, but everybody who knows me just calls me ‘Pete’.”

Gile received a degree in biology from Kansas State University. Recently, he started a new business with his father.

“Well, I never actually formally did music,” he said. “It is just always a hobby of mine. As soon as I graduated from college, I went ahead and was trying to make a living from my hobby. So I kinda have been doing that ever since.”

Gile has independently released two albums of his original music, “Modern Day Mountain Man” in 2003 and “More of Me” in 2007. Last week, Gile spent his time in Austin, Texas, recording his new single, which will be released in early October.

Gile will play music in a folk and country style. Oakleaf’s band will play more modern rock. Gile also plans to reveal the stories behind the music to the audience.

“I heard (The Granada Theatre) is very nice,” Gile said. “I’m looking forward to performing there”.

Tickets are available at the Granada Coffee Company, Sweet Granada, or by calling the box office for $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

The Granada will also host movies and other concerts throughout September.

Xinyi Chen/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

At 10 p.m. this Saturday, Ha Ha Tonka will perform at Beer:30, 402 Merchant St. The band will also be touring in Cambridge, Mass., Philadelphia, Penn., and Dallas, Texas.

Josh Olsen, a co-owner of Beer: 30, said he is excited to have Ha Ha Tonka back in town.

“We are expecting a crowd of 500 or more and we’ll have drink specials all night,” he said.

Some of their specials will include a mixed drink recipe that is the signature drink of Ha Ha Tonka. Beer: 30 also offers the band drink specials and free Pyramid Pizza.

Ha Ha Tonka will play after two openings acts, Treaty of Paris and Eric Murphy. A cover charge of $3 will be charged to those who are over 21 and $5 for those who are under, Olsen said.

Ha Ha Tonka is classified as indie/rock and is promoting their second album “Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South.” Their first album, “Buckle in the Bible Belt,” can be accessed via their merchandise links on MySpace. They are originally from Springfield, Mo.

The band consists of four guys – Brian Roberts (vocals and guitar), Lucas Long (bass and vocals), Lennon Bone (drums and vocals) and Brett Anderson (keyboard, guitar and vocals).

The four use harmony to their benefit in most of their songs, but especially in “Hangman.” The group has been touring all summer and has been getting a lot of attention from radio stations across the U.S.

Just recently they’ve had requests for their music to be played on stations in Alaska and Florida. A station in Wichita, KACY 102.5, is the only station in Kansas listed as playing their music so far, according to their Myspace page.

Ha Ha Tonka has also recently received a lot of attention from magazines. J. Edward Keyes of Rolling Stone said in May that “(Novel Sounds) Occupies the sweet spot between country and indie, writing ornery songs with big hooks.”

This weekend’s performance will be Ha Ha Tonka’s third time playing in Emporia, and Olsen said he hopes they continue to return in the future.

Krista Harries, junior accounting major, discussed her musical preference as consisting of country, soft rock, and oldies.

“I’ve not heard of them before, though I would be interested in going,” Harries said.

Ha Ha Tonka will have merchandise for sale at the show.

Beer:30 will also host an Open Mic night tonight, the DeWayn Brothers on Friday, with Granny Tweed and Calvin Bennett opening, and the grand finale of Ha Ha Tonka with Treaty of Paris and Eric Murphy on Saturday night. Both shows start at 10 p.m.

Shawna Berry/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to