Riffs, Roams and Raves:
Riff: Monty Good and his honky tonk heroes
Kudos to Mercer Dancehall for bringing Monty Good and his band to play for country music fans who cannot get enough of swing and the honky tonk sound.
A traditional country performer, Good plays the greats with expert musicianship. In Nashville, he played with Capitol’s Scott McQuaig and opened for the likes of Eddie Rabbit and Lorrie Morgan. Later, he played with Sony’s Stacy Dean Campbell and opened for Alabama, Tanya Tucker, the Mavericks and Sammy Kershaw along with appearances at the Grand Ol’ Opry, “Nashville Now” and other shows about Nashville music makers.
He played with Sony group’s Ricochet and for Atlantic’s John Michael Montgomery. He toured with Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Chris LeDoux, Tim McGraw, George Strait, appearing on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Academy of Country Music Awards Show” and “The CMA Awards Show.” The list goes on and on.
Good retired from working for other Nashville artists and moved to Texas. He returned to the music he grew up on in Oklahoma and released his first CD, “A Texas Honky Tonk”, to rave reviews.
Mercer dancers took to the dance floor and never looked back. To learn more about Good, visit montygoodmusic. com.
Roam: Seguin’s Magnolia Hotel Just 36 miles from Wimberley, by way of Texas Highway 123, is the remarkable town of Seguin.
Home to 31,000, the town is packed with Texas history — from the time Texas was its own Republic and before. Just blocks from the town square is the Magnolia Hotel, arguably the oldest hotel in Texas. Begun as a two-room log cabin in 1840, it evolved into a ten-room, Greek Revival-style beauty.
After a charmed early life, the ten upstairs rooms were converted to apartments. In time, the life of the hotel wound down and died, leaving behind the bones of its once-beautiful existence. It sat for decades like an unkept gravestone. Unsurprisingly, this abandoned state led to plenty of rumors involving hauntings and other such paranormal activity.
In 2013, husband Jim Ghedi and his wife, Erin Wallace Ghedi, purchased the Magnolia. Since then, they have been carefully resurrecting the property bit by bit.
Today, Magnolia stands on Crockett Street and is on the way to being completely restored. The hotel is open for business and is downright ravishing to the eye. Filled with antique furniture, beautiful wallpapers, drapes and artifacts from its long history, the building is fresh, appealing and popular among the Airbnb set.
Except for just one little thing. The hotel is filled to the brim with guests who have no interest in checking out.
Despite the Ghedis’ understanding and acceptance of their circumstances, these lodgers have simply refused to pack up and go. What’s a hotelier to do?
“I have to admit that, over time,” Erin said, “Sarah and Willie, Sam, JJ, and the rest, as well as Emma, Itsy and the other kids have become like family.”
And amazingly, the Ghedis have let them stay on, rentfree, making room from time to time for new guests who rent the upstairs suite.
Every month or so, Jim and Erin open the hotel to curious visitors to talk about its history, the trajectory of its renovation and the remarkable story of how they were drawn to acquire it.
During each twohour open house, Erin gives a tour of the premises, room by room, and introduces her extended family as she goes, freely sharing the stories and the events that brought them there. For amenable visitors, some of the kids may affectionately hug their legs while the others are content to sing or play with toys. Occasionally, a grown-up lodger may startle visitors with an inquiry about the new gadgets they carry, but mostly, everyone plays nice during open houses.
It is clear to all who visit that the hotel is a fan-favorite for lodgers — both living and not.
The Magnolia is also considered the most Haunted Hotel in Texas. Since the word got out, the Magnolia, the Ghedis and their lodgers have been the subject of intense interest by television news, film and cable crews, paranormal investigators, psychics, newspaper and magazine writers. This has drawn visitors of all stripes, including skeptics and other non-believers.
Even if history is not your favorite pastime, the tour of the Magnolia is extremely interesting and chock full of stories of Texas Rangers and other colorful characters who shaped this part of the state’s history. Led by Erin, the twohour tours are worth every bit of the $47 ticket price, which goes toward the restoration.
Erin has written four engaging books on area history and its paranormal activity. Her current book, “Mysteries of the Magnolia Hotel,” is sure to keep media interest alive and kicking for years to come. I doubt there’s any chance that Erin and Jim will be getting “ghosted” any time soon.
To learn more, visit hauntedmagnoliahotel.com.
Rave: The McAdo Whatever you do, make plans today to attend Gilbert and Sullivan Austin’s performance of the McAdo, June 9 through 18.
The McAdo is W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera, “The Mikado,” transported to Scotland. Kimonos are replaced by kilts and tams, while Gilbert’s libretto and Sullivan’s score are kept virtually intact.
It is a farcical tale of a wandering minstrel, a cowardly executioner and an iron-fisted ruler told with some of the greatest songs in musical theater. As with most stories written by this musical duo, it is a funny satire of British politics and stuffy institutions.
Although we Americans might not get all the references, the themes are universal and oh-so-entertaining — like Monty Python, pre-imagined.
Tickets are $37 and less for students and children.
At the Worley Barton Theater on the campus of the Brentwood Christian School in Austin, it is about an hour-long, one-way trip from Wimberley. Combine it with an early dinner, if possible, for a memorable and uplifting evening.
To learn more, visit gilbertsullivan. org or call (512) 4745664.