An Evening with Ty Gregory at the HarvesteR
10.02.2024 - When I first started meeting with Bert Driver over three years ago to help figure out directions for his Harvester Event Center in Historic Downtown Smithville, Tennessee, I don’t think either one of us realized the scope of the journey we were undertaking. One thing was certain - coupled with Bert’s Driver family legacy (his Grandfather Bobo Driver/Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree), and Bert’s love of music from the soul, no matter the genre, he wanted to emphasize and promote the “local vibe”, showcasing the musical and artistic talents of his Upper Cumberland friends and neighbors.
In order to present the musicians and entertainers in their best light, we quickly realized that a state-of-the-art sound system not only had to be acquired, but NOW people with expertise in such technology were required to be part of the process. The Harvester Event Center was very fortunate in obtaining the interest of Philip Stafford, their resident sound engineer and an excellent musician in his own right, with a background in sound design and engineering as well, a newcomer to our area - Mr. Petar Poucki. Philip and Petar worked for a solid week repositioning speaker arrays, tweaking the system electronically, and then finally, with a combo of science and musical expertise, helped us make a significant step forward in sound quality, and we’re only at Phase 1 of the project!
As it worked out, Ty Gregory, a new up and coming country singer/songwriter, who is from Carthage, Tennessee, along with Colton Rhody from Smithville (Colton knows all the licks), Clint Tucker, Terry Dickerson, and Greg Hyatt - all three hotshot players residing in the Upper Cumberland area - had a Wednesday night free on their schedule and we needed...well…”guinea pigs” to test out the Harv’s new sound system improvements.
Boy, Howdy! Ty and the boys showed up, and although they’re being very successful in the “Country” market, there’s an undertone of straight out rock and roll that makes for a great feeling musical vehicle.
They breezed through several of Ty’s original songs, spiced up with covers from Dierks Bentley and the likes, but they always did a little something special to their cover tunes to make them their own…very tastefully so. Yes, it was a Wednesday night musical church service at The Harv and we all received many blessings.
Ty Gregory and all these ole boys might be from lil ole Upper Cumberland, but they just got off the road opening up for Luke Combs, playing stadiums all over America….AND the Harvester Event Center.
Like my Mama always said, “You’re known by the company you keep”. We are just super blessed and proud to be able to work with artists of such status – What a BLAST! .
Tasty BBQ treats of the evening were very capably provided by the Hardwoods Smokehouse food truck, and Cornelia was on hand with delightful flower arrangements from Evins End Flowers.
New neighbor Philip Seagraves, who just purchased and re-opened Griffin’s Produce who brought along mums, pumpkins, and other fall-related produce to form a beautiful arrangement in the Harvester’s International Hall. Also, there were tons of Burlap Room merch on display - if interested in securing any of these limited edition items, just contact anyone at Bert Driver’s Nursery. As always, thank you to the Harvester Event Center Service and Security Staff!
This show kicked off our series to take us through the rest of 2024…next on the schedule is Macbeth, performed by the Nashville Shakespeare, and Larry Pinkerton and the Eclectics on Friday, 10/25, our 5th Annual Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead with Plainview Vibes, P-Nuckle, and Austin Grimm on Friday, 11/1, Big Al and the Heavyweights and Johnny Cats on Thursday, 11/14, and our 3rd Annual Holidays at the Harvester with the Tiger Beats on Saturday, 12/7! More shows in the works to finish out the year! Stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the Harvester) by signing up for our ‘The Local Vibe’ Newsletter - released the first Tuesday of the month, straight to your inbox! And don’t forget the Harvester is for rent: corporate events and parties, weddings, receptions, graduations, baby showers, or whatever you’re celebrating, we host ‘em all! Contact us for more information, and check us out on Wedding Wire or The Knot!
