| Nashville singers perform in the round on Maple Street |
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By: By ERIN EDGEMON, July 27, 2008
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Posted: Sunday, July 27, 2008 8:41 am
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TMP Photo by Kelly Hite. Diane Untz, a professional singer/songwriter, who is hosting Music in the Boro each week with her husband Jack.
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The lights were turned down low and the sounds of clear country voices and the picking of guitars filled the room.
That was the scene on a recent evening at Maple Street Grill. The downtown Murfreesboro restaurant is now playing host to music in the round every Wednesday night.
“It is our favorite way to perform,” said Diane Untz, a professional singer/songwriter, who is hosting Music in the Boro each week with her husband Jack. “We love the intimacy of the performance style.
“It like sitting around the living room and playing with friends just in a professional place,” she said.
For the performance, a few tables in the center of the elegant yet casual restaurant are removed and replaced by a lamp and microphone stands.
Jack and Diane invite two of their friends, all seasoned professional singer/songwriters or independent music artists, to perform each week.
“We really want to make this consistent for the audience every week,” Diane said. “We are very particular about who plays.”
By 7:30 p.m. at the last Music in the Boro, the restaurant was nearly full. Diners were finishing up their meals in preparation for the evening of music.
They lingered to hear the stories behind the songs.
Nashville singer/songwriter Travis Woodruff wowed the audience with his warm, gritty voice on such heartfelt songs as “Burn” and “Love in a Cereal Box.”
Becky Watson and Ben Jamison were impressed with the quality of singer/songwriters that came out to Music in the Boro. They attended to support fellow church members Jack and Diane.
“I think they are phenomenal — very, very talented,” Jamison said of Jack and Diane.
They also loved the intimate setting of the music in the round.
Maple Street Grill owner Mike Zelenak said Music in the Boro has been great for his business.
“It is like a Friday night in here when it starts,” he said, adding between 50-60 people often attend.
Jack, a professional musician who has toured with the likes of Brian Setzer and George Thorogood, and Diane decided to create a writer’s night in Murfreesboro after growing tired of the regular commute to Nashville.
They were regularly performing at venues like the Bluebird Café and Douglas’ Corner Cafe where they would usually place for people in the music industry.
“We want to have a real audience,” Diane said. “We wanted to have everyday people coming.
“That has been more fun for us to play for a real audience again,” she said after four weeks of Music in the Boro. “The artists who are playing absolutely love it for the same reason.”
Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.
Music in the Boro
Every Wednesday from 7:30-9 p.m. at Maple Street Grill
109 N. Maple St.
No cover charge
Upcoming performers:
July 30 – Tom Fedora and Sage Keffer
For more information, visit www.musicintheboro.com
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