December 11th ...2008. KATIE RHODES
Tonight I witnessed one of the finest performances I can recall during our six - year residency at Shobnall. She may be diminutive in stature but when Katie Rhodes takes the stage her presence is colossal, her voice all powerful and bass guitar playing a joy. Starting tonight with the uptempo Shelly West No 1 from 1983, Jose Cuervo, she immediately won over our members. This was followed by Hal Ketchum's, Tonight We Just Might Fall In Love Again, and a song new to me, I Wonder, from new country star Kellie Pickler, which was delivered with such emotion, it made the hairs on the back of my head stand up. The evening continued in similar vein, each song being conveyed with such power and emotion, including, Crystal Gayle's 1978 chart topper, Ready For The Times To Get Better, and Rita MacNeil's, Working Man. A lovely mix of old and new numbers throughout featured Dannie Leigh's, I Don't Feel That Way Anymore, Garth Brooks, If Tomorrow Never comes and Callin' Baton Rouge, Reba McEntire's, He Gets That From Me, Conway Twitty's 1983 chart topper, The Rose, Clay Walker's, Dreaming With My Eyes Wide Open and Heather Myles' Who Did You Call Darlin' . Ending the show to tremendous applause, Katie gave us The Judd's, Love Can Build a Bridge, her third encore and the song she invariably uses to end her concerts, which incidentally brought the entire audience onto the dance floor in celebration. Katie's show tonight is one that will live in my memory for a long, long time. Cyril Insley
January 10th 2008.. KATIE RHODES.
Following the success of her first sensational concert at our club this time last year, It was inevitable that Katie would be asked back.So it was tonight as she and sound engineer Ady produced another superb show.
Splendidly attired, she immediately developed a great interaction with her audience after her first song, with humour and vitality, and then continued throughout with such exciting and emotional vocals. She is best described via Brenda Lee's sobriquet of ' Little Miss Dynamite'.
Songs were aptly chosen and perfectly delivered. A lovely mix of ballads and uptempo numbers both old and new were ideal for both dancers and listeners and each number received appreciative applause from our members.
Katie's programme included amongst lots, Walkin' Talkin' Cryin' Barely Beatin' Broken Heart, a hit for Johnny Wright in 1964 and Highway 101 in 1990, Leann Womack's 1995 charter, I May Hate Myself In The Morning. A beautiful Christmas ballad, Mary Did You Know, from the Kenny Rogers 1997 album, The Gift, which as a duet with Wynonna was a hit the same year. Reba McEntire's 1999 smash, Wrong Night, Eddy Raven's, Who Do You Know In California, a 1982 hit and Streets Of Bakersfield, a chart topper for Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens in 1988.
Lots of more frequently heard songs especially popular with the dancers included, Down At The Twist And Shout, Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under, Except For Mondays, Speak To The Sky, Closer, and Past The Point Of Rescue.
One song I cannot recall hearing here before was, Where Corn Don't Grow, a hit for Waylon Jennings in 1990 and Travis Tritt in 1997, which Katie presented with fine, dramatic power.
I can only describe tonight's performance as brilliant and see Katie's status on the country music circuit going from strength to strength.
Cyril Insley
January 18th 2007 KATIE RHODES  It is always a pleasure having artistes new to our club as the entertainer and tonight was such an occasion. This evening it was especially joyful as Katie and her manager / sound engineer Adrian had been caught up in the most horrendous weather and road conditions. This meant the three hour trip from Manchester had taken twice as long. Nevertheless the trauma in no way affected the performance as Katie gave an unforgettable show, one we all will savour.
This lovely, lively lassie from Lancashire was brought up in a musical family of Irish extraction. Mum, Dad and her siblings variously played in the Ryan Family Band performing Irish Country music.
Katie for eight years played bass guitar and did harmony vocals with the Ghostriders until deciding to go solo. She had her first gig in May 2006.
Tonight she made an immediate impact with our audience the moment she stepped on the stage. dressed immaculately in a black glittering suit and delivering, Rose Garden with such tuneful power, she had our members in the palm of her hand.
Her show was a lovely mix of old and new country, some of the latter never having been heard here before. In between songs she soon developed a great rapport with the audience having a super sense of humour and bubbly personality.
Both dancers and listeners were enthralled by Katie's performance. Line dancers filled the floor for Julie Roberts', Unlove Me, Billie Joe Spears, What I've Got In Mind, Carlene Carter's, Every Little Thing, and more. Partner dancers did likewise for Jan Browne's, Mexican Wind, The Judds' Love Can Build A Bridge, Bruce Springsteen's, Tougher Than The Rest, a hit for the late Chris Ledoux, and the Paul Overstreet / Don Schlitz classic, When You Say Nothing At All. Even the Rock 'n' Rollers took to the floor to, Guitars, Cadillacs, Bad Moon Rising, Suds In The Bucket, etc.
New songs here included Brooks and Dunn's, South Of Santa Fe, Heather Myles' Love Me A Little Bit Longer, Leann Womack's, Why Do They Call It Falling, and Travis Tritt's, Still In Love With You.
Golden Oldies also featured including, Crazy, Snowbird, You're Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad, and more.
Although Katie and Adrian were rather late to appear tonight lots of our members commented ' Well worth waiting for' ' Superb', ' Excellent' / which I can only endorse, and they still managed to produce a stunning, first class show.
I am sure they will be back here again, and I for one cannot wait. If this act is in your area, I urge you to go and see for yourself. You will not be disappointed.
Incidentally, Katie accompanied International Country Singer, Heather Myles on her tour last year and has been chosen to do the same this year.
Cyril Insley
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