Allen Levi is bringing back a three-night run of RiverTown to our lovely Springer Theater on March 24, 25 and 26. The music from this album is, hands down, some of my favorite music. It reminds me what makes our bend in the river such a great place to live and rear our children. The lyrics are sweet, the music is hopeful and the fact that it is about my favorite place on earth makes these tunes so special to me. “Pieces of the Past” is probably my favorite song of the bunch. I’m listening to the album now and I’m flooded with sweet memories of my childhood. I won’t miss this show and if you love this community as much as I do, you need to get your tickets now. We need to pack the Springer for this show. Bring some people who are new to town. The show will jump start what I know will become their lifetime love of the Chattahoochee Valley.

My brother and I grew up on Britt David Road right at the end of the exit from the old Columbus airport. I spent hundreds of hours lying on my back in thigh high fields of red clover on the expansive front lawn of the airport with the earth end of a piece of kite string wound around my fingers. We shagged golf balls out in that field with our baseball gloves, hot off the face of my father’s driver. We’d snag them out of the air until his shag bag was empty and Eric and I would take turns running a bag full of balls back so dad could send them back our way.

We camped out in the woods that are now Windsor Park and we spent so many Saturday mornings up in the control tower with the men who guided in the tail dragging Southern Airways DC-3s. My daddy gave me an intense love for soldiers and the airport is where we met many of them during my childhood years. Dad would walk through the airport and find people who weren’t able to make it home for the holidays. They had dinner with us. He’d figure out which ones didn’t have cab fare and he’d load up our car with the young soldiers and take them out to Ft. Benning. Allen’s song, “Last Part of America” makes me cry every time I hear it. If Allen includes that song in his show, I’ll be the guy wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. Just ignore me, but do not miss this show!

Here is a link to the Springer Opera House website: http://www.springeroperahouse.org/plaintext/home/home.aspx

The link to purchase tickets is on that home page. Ticket prices range from $15 – $25 and I hope you’ll round up some friends and go. The last time this show was performed in town was in the late 90s and I’m one who thinks it should be an annual event. Keep in mind that I have never seen the show. I am basing my strong feelings on just the music that I hear coming out of my Macbook Pro laptop right now. I am really looking forward to seeing and hearing Allen Levi tell the good stories of my hometown.