Arts & Entertainment
Summer Concert Series: The Hunt Family Doesn't Fiddle Around
Peters Township Parks and Recreation kicked off its summer concert series in Peterswood Park Wednesday night.
On Wednesday night, a warm summer’s eve, Peterswood Park was filled with a joyful noise—the multi-talented Hunt family, playing fiddles, singing and dancing Irish jigs.
The family is comprised of mom and dad, Clint and Sandy, and their seven children; the twins, Jessie and Jenny, 21; Josh, 19; Jonathan, 18; Jordan, 16; Justin, 14; and Jameson, (JJ), 13.
The family, originally from Chesapeake, Va., plays an eclectic mix of music, including Celtic, bluegrass and rock.
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“One day my girls wanted to take music lessons and then the boys started to play instruments,” Sandy said to a delighted crowd. “We got booked at Busch Gardens and played there for three years.”
Their first song was an instrumental tune entitled “Catharsis.” The song had an ethereal quality. The audience started tapping their toes to the bluegrass number, “Old Joe Clark.”
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Every child in the Hunt clan plays several instruments, sings and dances—some of them even compose music and lyrics.
Jenny sang a song entitled “Friend,” a folksy ballad about missing a friend over a long distance. She wrote the song while the band was on a tour through the United Kingdom, primarily in Ireland and Scotland.
Jonathan played a tune called “Crazy Fingers.” It was a big hit with the audience.
The family also did some rousing step dance numbers in the classical Irish tradition, feet flying about while the arms remained motionless.
There were some fun moments of audience participation, too. They called four kids on stage and played, “Name That Tune.” The songs were “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Happy Birthday” and a few other popular children’s songs.
Later, the Hunt family got the parents into the act, playing “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Gilligan’s Island theme song” and stumping a contestant with “O Sole Mio.”
They also taught the participating audience members a few step dancing lessons.
Jenny and her twin sister, Jessie, sang a beautiful a capella rendition of “Fly Away.”
The band and the audience were having a blast.
They finished with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Then, after the concert, they signed CDs for their fledgling new fans.
The CD contains many of the tunes heard at the summer concert such as “Catharsis,” “Friend,” “Crazy Fingers,” “Hardest Part,” “Apple Tree” and many more. The Hunt family continues their tour and are off to Delaware.
After that, the family will be teaching music at “Music Blast Camp” in their hometown of Chesapeake from July 11th to 15th. Clint, Sandy, Jessica, Jennifer and Joshua will be teaching lessons in fiddle, violin, acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, singing, piano, mandolin, and step dance in beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
The Hunt’s are living proof of the old adage, “The family that plays together, stays together.”
For more on the Hunt Family check out their website at http://huntsontour.com.
Peters Township Parks and Recreation Summer Concert Series continues July 20th when the Stickers and special guest Vanessa Campagne perform. Don’t miss this free event.
