A musician is bringing his one-man show back to the area for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year.
Steve Austin, who resides in Tennessee and used to live in Oconto County, will be at Meet and Treat, 205 N. Warrington Ave., from noon to 3 p.m. May 14 and 4-7 p.m. June 18 to provide visitors with a variety of music that he calls a mix between country and folk music. Both shows are free.
“I am trying to reconnect with some of my old friends and fans,” said Austin. “I try to come back and play at least once a year.”
The headline of Austin’s performance will be his song titled, “Mom and Dad,” which he was inspired to write about his own parents.
“It is a tribute and thank you to my parents,” said Austin. “It is a heartfelt song. I remember writing it at the kitchen table when I lived in Pound and at the time I was traveling seasonally to Texas and Arizona in the winter and would come back in the summer. I just wanted to write something to my parents and that song just came out. It is a kind of song that I recommend having two handkerchiefs when you listen to it, because it is a very thankful song. I think it will be appropriate for the occasion.”
The event at Meet and Treat will be a three-hour show that includes guitar playing, banjo playing. fiddle playing, harmonica playing, singing and dancing.
“Most of the music is original — I do cover songs, but most of the music is songs that I have written,” said Austin. “I really look forward to coming back.”
More than just wanting to reconnect with friends and family, Austin said that he enjoys coming back to the area, due to his love of the land and the people here.
“If you listen to my songs, I have a love for the land which goes back to the years that I lived in a cabin in the woods between Pound and Mountain,” said Austin. “I managed to hang on to that cabin so when I get a chance to do my performing and singing here, I get a chance to stop at my boyhood cabin too.”
Austin was born in Waukesha County and eventually moved to Oconto County. When he was young, he learned about the various uses for the forested area in Oconto County.
“I was just amazed at the beauty of the woods and how quiet it was and everything about it,” said Austin. “That really inspired my music — I was musical by the time I moved there and my music began to lean towards folk and country to express this love that I had for nature.”
Doing shows in the area in the past, Austin said he has a lot of people who are interested in the music and have it had an impact on them.
“The last time that I played in Cecil, I saw somebody that I hadn’t seen in probably 25 years,” said Austin. “That means a lot to me that he remembered my name and came out to hear me.”
He said that having the ability to reconnect with some of his former peers and friends is “absolutely gorgeous.”
“My parents have both passed away, but the people in the area have sort of become like family to me,” said Austin. “Even my ex-in laws — even though I am not married to their daughter anymore, they still claim me. That is all pretty cool.”
In regards to why people should come to the event, Austin said that these shows will be unique experiences for those who attend.
“It is something that you don’t see every day or hear every day on the internet or on the radio,” said Austin. “I will have a family show with a little bit of humor involved. It will all be clean stuff that everybody will love.”
lreimer@newmedia-wi.com
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