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Local and area musicians reunite for Incense and Peppermints 2 concert at the Averitt Center

Musicians from 10 local bands which were popular in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s will share the stage for an all-star jam session at the Emma Kelly Theater in January.
Incense and Peppermints2

Musicians from 10 local bands which were popular in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s will share the stage for an all-star jam session at the Emma Kelly Theater in January.

The second annual Incense and Peppermints Retro Band Show comes to the Jan Brown Anderson stage on January 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. and admission is $20. The first set starts at 7:30 p.m.

Bands scheduled to appear are Gary Barnes and The Sundown Band, Danny Carter and Yesterday’s Sunshine, The Four Plys, The Barons, Fifth Crusade, The Rogues, Pressure, Critical Mass and three versions of Wheatstone Mission. Each band will play three songs and cover popular rock, pop or soul tunes from the 1965 to 1972 timeframe. Gary Barnes and The Sundown Band, believed to be the first rock-and-roll band in Statesboro, has the honor of kicking off the fun while Wheatstone Mission wraps up the evening. There will also be a special song performed during the concert in memory of deceased musicians and friends.

Statesboro music legend Jerry Roberson, who was a member of Wheatstone Mission, is the creative genius behind the event but he remembers when the idea first was introduced to him.

“About nine years ago, Bill Whitley, who was a drummer for several Statesboro-based bands in the early 70s, approached me about having a Wheatstone Mission reunion,” remembers Roberson. “Wheatstone was a band that was formed in the late ‘60s by Mike Reeves, Bill Lane, Dennis Kaney and others.  Over a period of five or six years, it morphed into a nine-piece ‘horn band’ that played fraternity and sorority parties at Georgia Southern as well as the infamous Flame nightclub that was located on Chandler Road.”

According to Roberson, the “large band with the large sound” played complicated songs by Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears and some great soul and rock-n-roll.

“As long as the band was going to try to have a reunion,” he said, “we decided it would be great to “jam” some at the same time. That’s when I approached the Averitt Center about using the Emma Kelly Theater.”

As the members of different editions of Wheatstone Mission were contacted, more and more musicians and friends from the past became interested and excited about getting involved.  It wasn’t long before 15 different bands were lined up for the musical get-together.

“These bands have a lot of history in this area,” said Roberson. “They played many, many ‘teen town’ dances, Elks’ Lodges, American Legion dance halls, The Flame and other local bars, private parties and so on. Wheatstone Mission and Critical Mass were all popular at Georgia Southern around the same time.  Gary Barnes had the first rock and roll band in Statesboro.”

Musicians will be coming from far and wide to get into the action.

“We have musicians coming from as far as Corpus Christi (Texas), Atlanta, Mississippi, and Florida,” he said. “The Four Plys are from Swainsboro, The Rogues are from Savannah and Danny Carter is from Metter. The Barons and Critical Mass are from Statesboro. We have lawyers, lumberjacks, car salesmen, teachers, business owners, and some guys who still play music professionally. We want people to feel free to roam around, take pictures, sing along and have fun.”