Sheryl Crow to headline Kennett Crossroads shows

KENNETT, Mo. -- While Sheryl Crow is thrilled about the upcoming Kennett Crossroads concerts in her hometown of Kennett, there is something she has recently had to take care of first.

"I've been spending almost all my time in Washington, D.C., for weeks and weeks now, and it's something I'm very excited to talk about," Crow said.

On Saturday, she joined famed film director and screenwriter Barry Levinson at Washington's Signature Theatre for the debut of the new musical "Diner," the pair's collaboration based on Levinson's iconic 1982 film of the same name. Written as a love letter to his youth in Baltimore and set during the last five days of 1959, the story follows the highs and lows of the friendships among six young men who liked to hang out on the right side of their favorite diner. The movie proved to have breakout roles for young stars Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Paul Reiser, Ellen Barkin and Timothy Daly.

"Levinson approached me three years ago, out of the blue ... really, like a cold call," Crow said. "He said he had been listening to a lot of my music lately. I couldn't believe how well he knew my catalog. He was citing some of the more obscure songs. He felt I was a good, descriptive writer. I guess my songs drew a picture for him, and he thought I was the songwriter most equipped to give voices to his characters."

Crow described the play cast as fresh-faced.

"They're all kids from New York ... some with Tony nominations ... but not names you'd recognize," Crow said.

After three years of production preparation, Crow and Levinson hope to take the show to Broadway.

"It's been going great. We've been in weeks of previews recently, where you basically take a show out of town, fine-tune and hone it, tweak it, until it's the best it can be. In fact, the Signature Theatre is known for nurturing these new shows, as they get ready for their official debuts, and then get ready for Broadway," Crow said.

While Crow's musical biography is long and distinguished, she said "Diner" is her first try at this type of stage work.

"Never! Never since my high school musicals have I ever done anything like this," she said. "Well, except for the fact that I grew up in the Crow family. There was Wednesday Music Club, and we all grew up watching song and dance shows on TV. In fact, I've always been a huge fan of musicals."

The nine-time Grammy winner is much more familiar with concert stages, especially in a place she knows like the back of her hand. Crow will headline the Kennett Crossroads concerts Jan. 18 at the Kennett Opera House and Jan. 19 at the Kennett High School auditorium. The event, hosted by the Kennett Educational Foundation, will benefit Kennett High School's performing arts and athletic departments. The concerts also will feature Kennett's three other musical acts: country music stars David Nail and Trent Tomlinson and Noll Billings of the Nashville duo, Blackjack Billy.

When reached this fall to talk about the event, Crow said, "I am thrilled to be a part of the Kennett Crossroads concert. I am so proud to be from Kennett and am always bragging about the talent that has spawned from our little town. I am really looking forward to sharing the stage with David and Trent and Noll, and his band. I hope people will come out and support this great cause."

While Kennett School Board president Matt Shetley and Kennett School District superintendent Chris Wilson got the wheels into motion on what has been a longtime dream of many in Kennett, a third person also helped the concert happen: longtime Kennett High School choir director and musical mentor Viretta Sexton.

"Mom told me some people in town were wanting to properly celebrate Viretta's longtime dedication to the arts in Kennett," Crow said. "We began emailing back and forth, and, eventually, a committee picked it up and ran with it. I think that was in the early fall or, perhaps, even earlier. I was on the road at the time, and I told them the January timing would be perfect. That is a good time for almost all touring artists ... a great time to catch them, when they're not on the road."

Sexton, a past vocal instructor of all of the performers at church or school, remains shy about taking up much of the spotlight.

"This concert is certainly something I have always dreamed of, but I don't know that I can take that credit," she said. "They [Shetley and Wilson] had the vision to push for it."

In fact, Sexton said, it was both men who went behind the scenes to negotiate final show dates and contract details with all the artists.

Tickets to the Sunday-night acoustic performance at the opera house are sold out. However, Monday night tickets remain available in the school auditorium main floor and balcony seating areas at $100, $125, $150, $175 and $200.

Crow is excited about her latest opportunity to perform for hometown crowds.

"I'm really looking forward to both shows. At the opera house acoustic performance, it'll be exciting because when you see artists strip down like that, you really get a sense of their talent and who they are. Then, the next night, when the bands plug in and truly give it their all, it's quite something to see," she said.

This will be Crow's fourth time headlining in Kennett. In July 1996, she performed in a Kennett Educational Foundation benefit at the Kennett High School Metz Cherry Football Stadium. In September 1999, as the Southeast Missouri State University-Kennett campus was getting up and running, she performed at the American Legion building to help raise money for area scholarships. In November 2010, she played the opera house in another benefit for the foundation.

Those performances brought along a variety of bands.

"I started my solo career 23 years ago. My first band, I put together with all St. Louis players," Crow said. "The next band, we played together for 13 years. They came from all over ... two from the U.K., two from Atlanta, one from Oakland. Then, I released '100 Miles from Memphis,' which was rhythm and blues, so the band changed completely. It was very large. Now they're all from Nashville. They're fabulous, and that's the band that will be with me in Kennett."

Crow's dedication to her hometown has never stopped at the schoolyard. The Sheryl Crow Aquatic Center was built in 2005 after the old city pool in Jones Park was condemned. Crow has also been a supporter of the Delta Children's Home in Kennett.

"I have an incredibly generous fan base, which holds a birthday drive for the home every year," Crow said.

She also helped to build the new high school tennis courts.

"Well, you know, Dad always played tennis. So did I. I grew up playing on those courts. Tennis is a great sport, something we can do and enjoy all our lives. The courts were dilapidated, so we redid them."

Crow reached out to tennis legend Billie Jean King for help.

"I met her years ago. I had done a couple of fundraisers for the Women's Tennis Association. They had an auction one year, and I bought a couple of chances to play against her on Center Court at the U.S. Open," Crow said. "It was my dad's 75th birthday, so we all flew to New York, and that was his present. It was such a great outing for the family, and my nephews, Bradley and Chase, even got to serve as ball boys for Billie Jean King."

Kennett has long enjoyed rich depths of musical talent. But the Crow household must have had something extra.

"Both my parents have always been, and still are, avid music fans. They exposed us to all different kinds of music. My mother has always had one of the finest voices in town. And, as most of Kennett knows, Dad plays in a rock band," Crow chuckled.

Bernice also is a longtime piano instructor and her husband, Wendell, plays in the local band, The Usual Suspects. He even occasionally appeared on the road with his daughter.

"As rock and roll goes, I definitely didn't have a tortured childhood," Crow said. "I grew up with very loving, very giving parents."

Sisters Kathy and Karen are also singers and pianists, and Kathy is also a songwriter. Crow's brother, Steve, a construction contractor, also mixes into the family's musical brew.

"He went a different direction, but he, too, is very musical. He's got a great ear and can, dead-on, sing any guitar solo or whistle string lines. He's a big music lover, and he also plays a bit of piano."

The Crow family also has been involved in another genre locally: jazz. Bernice and Wendell played in a local swing band years ago, The Kicks Band, which featured a group of jazz musicians who regularly performed at a variety of community events. Bernice sang, and Wendell played trumpet.

"One of my most cherished memories is hearing my parents come home, late at night, playing their records on our old Magnavox. My sisters and I would sit at the top of the stairs, and even fall asleep there, wondering what was going on, on the other side of that wall. It was magical. I have great memories of it," Crow said.

These days, Crow has little ones of her own to tuck into bed at night in Nashville -- two young sons, Wyatt and Levi. Since their earliest days, the boys have routinely gone out on the road with their mom. Crow said: "It's a bit trickier, now that Wyatt's in school. But, yes, I still take them out with me, whenever I can. I also do a lot of red-eyes. I try to, at least, put them in bed or wake up with them in the morning. Our rule is to never be more than two nights away from each other."

The rest of Crow's family also is a frequent visitor on the road.

"Steve and his family come out as much as they can. And, in fact, my parents and Kathy recently joined me for an eight-day tour of Scotland, Ireland and England. I also played London's Royal Albert Hall on that trip, a huge, old Shakespearean theater, which is my absolute favorite place to play in the world," Crow said.

When the holidays are over and the "Diner" preview run closes, Crow will return to Washington to perform in a concert tribute to singer and songwriter Emmylou Harris. Shortly afterward, she'll return to Kennett for the Crossroads concert.

"Everyone who knows me knows that Kennett is my beloved community, my first home, and I continue to get home quite often. Having come from such a supportive community, I'm glad to be a part of the Crossroads concert lineup," Crow said.

Sexton is more than happy to welcome her.

"I truly believe that Sheryl's success has inspired our students, after her, to believe that it is possible to follow your dream and succeed. I am sure her success had a very positive influence on Trent, David and Noll and, hopefully, many students yet to come. Our community is truly blessed with talent," Sexton said.

For more details about Kennett Crossroads or to buy tickets, visit KEFconcert.com.