The Oak Ridge Boys are one of the most recognizable groups in country music. They played the Rose Music Center Saturday night to a half-filled house. The crowd anxiously awaited the classic hits and gospel hymns as their tour manager, Darrick Kinslow, stepped out to greet the crowd. Darrick polled the crowd to see who had never seen the Oak Ridge Boys before and approximately 75% of the crowd held up their hand. Kinslow went on to tell the crowd some history of the Oak Ridge Boys. He gave a sales pitch offering current merchandise and specials that would be available following the show. He then introduced the one and only, Oak Ridge Boys to the Rose Music Center stage!

The Oak Ridge Boys featuring Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban graced the stage with a demanding presence like no other. Joe Bonsall is the most energetic of the group as he frolicked, skipped, and jumped with animation and amazing energy. Duane Allen demanded the crowds attention with his powerful yet golden vocals. He kept a calm and collected stage presence often showing his excitement with his hand gestures. William Lee Golden is the longest reigning member of the Oak Ridge Boys and sporting the best beard in country music! Golden’s rendition of “Ozark Mountain Jubilee” and “Thank God for Kids” were crowd favorites. Richard Sterban captivated the crowd with his deep bass vocals. Prior to joining the Oak Ridge Boys, Sterban toured with JD Sumner and the Stamps quartet singing backup for Elvis Presley.

The Oak Ridge Boys have been blessed with many accolades and award throughout their journey in country and gospel music. Joe Bonsall talked to the crowd about the excitement of their most recent achievement of being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Joe told about the Rotunda at the Hall of Fame and Museum where bronze plaques commemorating the greatest musicians of country music are displayed. Joe stated, “You can walk right in there and see our four faces in bronze! On those plaques are each of our birth dates, then there is a dash and nothing behind that dash! We are thankful that there is nothing behind the dash! We are calling it #CelebrateTheDash!”. The crowd responded in laughter and applause at Bonsall’s story.

The Oak Ridge Boys are backed by an impressive group of musicians complimenting their vocal harmonies. The Mighty Oaks band consists of Jeff Douglas (guitar/dobro), Ron Fairchild (keyboards), Roger Eaton (lead guitar), Scotty Simpson (bass), Rex Wiseman (fiddle/pedal steel/mandolin/guitar) and David Northrup (drums/percussion). The Oaks played many of their classic hits as well as gospel hymns throughout the night. Prior to intermission, a Christmas in July celebration would take place as they sang “White Christmas”. This gave the crowd a preview to their upcoming annual Christmas Celebration tour. The Christmas celebration tour will be coming to Lima, OH on December 6th. After a 20 minute intermission the boys took the stage once again and finished with a 3o minute set closing out the show with fan favorites, “Elvira” and “Bobbie Sue”. If you haven’t had the chance to see the Oak Ridge Boys you better get out and do it. The Oak Ridge Boys’ show is a quality show of first class professionalism, clean humor, and one that is recommended for all ages!