From left, Cheryl Terry; Robie Carter; and is Greg Richards make up the country and rock and roll band Klassics.
From left, members of the bluegrass band Prairie Fire are Cindy Compton on banjo, Cheryl Terry on stand-up bass and Robie Carter on guitar.
When she’s not dishing out doggie treats or pet advice, Robie Carter, of Picky Puppy at the Fairway Center, plays guitar and sings in both a country and a bluegrass band.
It is a way of life for Carter, who has been playing guitar since the age of 8 and playing professionally in a band since the age of 14.
“I grew up with it. We used to go to all the bluegrass shows,” Carter recalled. “Later, I lived in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Carolina and that was the main music there back then, and we’d have a jam session every week. Practically every night you could find a jam session somewhere.”
But Carter sees the country and bluegrass scene she grew up in slipping away, with fewer and fewer musicians playing these genres.
“Our kind of music is dying out,” Carter said. “The old-style country and bluegrass is dying but there’s still a lot of us that like that music and there’s not a safe venue to go and see it.”
Carter would like to change that.
On Feb. 17, she’s kicking off a monthly series she calls the Oakview Little Opry. She first got the idea about three years ago to create a space where country and bluegrass musicians and enthusiasts could gather for some good, clean fun.
It took her three years to come up with the venue of the Oakview Grange in Centralia and a format for the event, but she said she knew all along the end result would be worth the work.
“The music is what keeps me going,” she said. “We’re practicing twice a week to get ready for the show.”
Oakview Little Opry is planned for the third Saturday of each month at the Oakview Grange. Carter’s band, Klassics, will kick off the show at 6 p.m. with classic country and rock & roll hits. The venue will include places to enjoy the music as well as to get up and dance.
Oakview Grange members offered to add a potato bake dinner to the event, which starts at 7 p.m. For $8 attendees can get a baked potato with all the fixings, a salad and dessert. Carter said she believes the baked potato dinner will be the offering for quite some time because it is a food that is both vegetarian and gluten free, which means more people will be able to enjoy what they are offering.
At 7 p.m., Carter’s all-women bluegrass band, Prairie Fire, will take the stage. Carter said both bands plan to play each month at Oakview Little Opry, but she is talking with different “special guests” who will round out the offerings in subsequent months.
“I’m hoping we just provide a place for everyone, but mostly seniors, where they can come have a good night out in a place that’s safe and affordable,” she said.
