New Castle – Henry County Concerts Series kicks off the season with Flynnville Train at Arts Park Pavilion
By: Kevin Vickery
Friday, June 21st was a hot evening in downtown New Castle with temperatures hitting 90 degrees but the hottest thing in town was local favorite, Flynnville Train (FVT) taking the stage to start the 2024 Henry County Concert Series with their signature country-rock sound and style.
The show opened with local duo, Richey Dickerson & Beau Bowlin whose acoustic sounds and harmony vocals warmed up the already hot crowd perfectly for FVT.
Speaking of heat, in my opinion it doesn’t get any hotter than when FVT guitarist, and Middletown native, Brent Flynn lights up the stage with an electric guitar. His technique of playing a right handed guitar in the left handed position making it upside down and backwards is always mesmerizing for any musician to watch. The tone he gets from his Fender Stratocaster and his Gibson Les Paul was as soulful, thick and crunchy as always which is a testament not only to his playing style and experience but also to New Castle’s own Stocktone Custom Shop’s hand crafted pick-ups used regularly by Brent.
FVT’s line up also includes Joseph Shreve on bass and drummer, Tommy Bales along with Brent’s Brother, lead vocalist/ frontman, Brian Flynn. The band formed in 2001, and started gaining national acclaim when they were signed by country music great, the late Toby Keith’s label, Show Dog Nashville in 2006.
Their careers in music have changed and evolved over the last twenty or so years as has the music industry in general. I was able to speak with Brian about their latest evolution in their journey and he explained that they had just signed a new record deal. He went on to announce from stage that their newest single, “Preaching to the Choir” along with a corresponding music video will be released both nationally and internationally on July 8th. After hearing them perform it live, I’d say their timing is perfect as the song’s message is sure to speak volumes to anyone frustrated with various social issues in our nation today.
Their set also included crowd favorites like their songs, “Friend of Sinners”, and “Home” as well as cool version of “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel, which I particularly enjoyed.
I was also able to speak with Brent Flynn about performing at the Arts Park Pavilion for the third time and he said, “It’s a cool venue because of its history and the staff treat us great. It’s also a great place to bring people from Middletown and New Castle because I have family in both as well as far away, and they can all come together to all have a big party!”
Having also performed at the Arts Park Pavilion three times myself over the years, I would definitely agree and add that since the shows are free and for all ages, it’s an excellent opportunity to get local fans, friends and family out to a show who might not be able to otherwise.
Concert Committee members, Lydia Ferguson and Duane Matthews were in attendance, both exited about seeing FVT perform and looking forward to the remaining events throughout the Summer. I asked Duane what he liked most about the concert series and he said, “What’s great about it is that we get to feature local groups from the area and throughout East-Central Indiana who perform original material. We think it’s a good thing to support the music of local, original groups.” Lydia added, “We love it because it’s family friendly and provides a warm, comfortable atmosphere for people to get together and have a good time”.
The Henry County Concert Series continues with The Why Store and Bash Crider & Rose City Salvage on July 19th, Henry Lee Summer with Dave Ellison on August 16th, and Cornfield Mafia with Jasper Wright & John Thompson on September 20th. All shows are at the Arts Park Pavilion with a 6:30 PM show time.
It takes a great deal of work and planning to bring a series of events like this to fruition and part of what makes that possible are the corporate sponsors. The Henry County Concert Series thanks Modern Fold, Henry County Community Foundation, Edward Jones, New Castle – Henry County Chamber of Commerce, and Art Association of Henry County for their support.
For more information about Flynnville Train find them on social media or their official website at FlynnvilleTrain.com
To find out about events at The Henry County Arts Park Pavilion visit the Art Association of Henry County’s website at henrycountyarts.org
Henry County resident and Ball State alum, Kevin Vickery, is bassist and lead vocalist for The Cousin Brothers. He spent several years working in Nashville for some of the biggest names in Country Music before taking over the reins at his family business. If you have a story idea or an event that you think Kevin should cover, contact him at kevin.makesomenoise@yahoo.com
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