Thursday’s Rock The Route event, a monthly summer-time music fest orchestrated on by Sapulpa Main Street and a local sponsor is looking to continue on its bang of a start with even more local goodness.
May’s Rock The Route seemed to turn a new corner for event, renaming it from last year’s “Rock The Block” and taking a two-fold approach of inviting a popular band, and adding in some local talent.
Last month, “Route-goers” were treated not only to a phenomenal set by Tulsa-based Weston Horn & The Rush but also featured a nice opening by local, sure-to-be-favorite Lainey Shasteen.
The response was fantastic, earning a good crowd and almost universal praise for the show, and hopefully earning staying power with the Sapulpa folks who need something to do on a Thursday afternoon.
We’ll get the chance to see if that’s true on Thursday, and judging from who the lineup is, we’re betting it will be.
Yardbone
The main act is a Tulsa-based pop/rock act called Yardbone, and a recently-released promo of their album sounds like a winner:
Yardbone is a female-led band that used to be called “Gypsy Soul” and are described as having a “unique sound that includes original music and covers ranging from rock and blues to charming, sultry songs…”
If that’s not enough to get your attendance, they have a reputation for putting on a good show, “not because we are supposed to, but because we love doing it.”
Riley Groves and The Kindred Souls
Riley Groves is a classically-trained pianist. That happens to love and play blues music. Oh, and did we mention he’s just fourteen?
The Sapulpa local is a graduate of “Pinetop Perkins Academy,” which is a blues camp that trains and performs at the revered Ground Zero Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The academy is named for Pinetop Perkins, a Grammy-winning pianist who played Blues for so long and with so many other people, he could very well be considered the father of the music genre.
Ground Zero Club is a world-renowned Mississippi Blues Club owned by Morgan Freeman—yes, that Morgan Freeman.
In addition to playing Blues at Ground Zero, Riley plays synthesizer for the Sapulpa High Marching Band and piano for the Jazz Band.
In a phone conversation with Sapulpa Times on Tuesday, Riley’s mother Shannon Groves recounted how Riley’s love for playing piano came from as early as age seven: “He’s always loved the piano and begged me to take piano lessons. Even though he’s been trained in classical and competes at a classical level, he really loves the Blues and has always wanted to play it.”
Aside from his performance at Ground Zero, Thursday’s Rock The Route will be Riley’s first live show. Let’s make sure we give him a warm welcome.
Rock The Route’s Pre-Show with Riley Groves and The Kindred Souls will start the show at 6:00 pm, with Yardbone coming on at 6:30 pm, the location is the parking lot at the corner of Hobson and Park Street.
Food Trucks, Vendors and More
Like times past, Rock The Route will feature Food Trucks Senor Pablos and Pie in the Sky. CTX Coffee will be offering fruit smoothies and a special drink they call The Flower of Texas for just $5.00. Be sure to cool off before or after the show at CTX, located just on the other side of the building at 11 N. Water Street.
