May 3, 2024 @ 8pm
Raue Center For The Arts
The origin of Bourbon Country goes back to 2012 when Randy Leggee and Nathan Masey shared a common thread of music with a country feel in churches and entertainment venues all over Chicagoland and Wisconsin. When Nathan moved to California, Warren Pohl joined Bourbon Country bringing decades of successful band experience, and a plan to bring a classic rock genre to complement country music.
While continuing to deliver country hits from the past and present, Bourbon Country has evolved once again with the addition of seasoned music professionals, Jody and Paul Fields, and Jim Seidel, and is now one of the strongest vocal bands around. Bourbon Country’s influences vary widely–from Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks to the Carpenters and everything in between. The core of Bourbon Country now includes the additional sounds of the Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Elton John, James Taylor, Van Morrison, America, and rounds out that lineup with music as diverse as songs from Adele, Jim Croce, Coldplay, Cat Stevens, Walker Hayes, Florida Georgia Line & more.
As successful bands and artists do, Bourbon Country continues to expand its musical palette but always delivers the best in popular music from multiple styles. Don’t miss this amazing night of music!
Raue Center Artist in Residence, Bourbon Country, takes audiences on a journey exploring all aspects of Love over three distinctly different shows in the 2022-23 season. Each show will explore Love in all its forms: love of family, spouse, community, friends, and the world, the sad, bitter, and the sweet. Join us for an unforgettable season of music.
Randy Leggee
Randy started Bourbon Country in 2012 with the concept of a 2 person acoustic country band highlighting the best of country music with an emphasis on vocals and harmonies. Having been in many bands over the years and active in various church musical groups, Randy has constantly reshaped and envisioned what audiences really wanted. He also started to realize that there were significant similarities between modern country music and the music he grew up within the 60s and ’70s. Bands like the Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, America, Guess Who, and individual artists like Elton John and Harry Chapin were major influences and crowd-pleasers. Mixing these two genres together formed the next generation of Bourbon Country.
Randy has continued to excite audiences throughout Illinois and Wisconsin and partnered with various guest artists to make it the best experience possible for the audience.
Jody Fields
Jody grew up listening to her dad play jazz classics on the piano and her smooth Karen Carpenter-style voice lends itself particularly well to the genre. You can often find Jody on Thursday evenings at Jack & Lidia’s in Lake Villa, where she sings old-school classics with the StanDard Jazz Project. Jody rings handbells at the First Congregational Church in Crystal Lake and also gathers some of her musician friends for their annual Beatles Sunday every summer.
Jody has sung in worship bands such as FreeWill and The Elevate Project and brings a jazz quartet to three area churches every year. In 2021, Jody sang background vocals for the local Pop cover band, GooRoos, during their busy spring and summer season. Recently, Jody crooned Christine McVie’s vocals at two Chicago venues in a Fleetwood Mac tribute band called Vinyl Eyes. Jody also loves soft rock from the 70s and 80s (a.k.a. Yacht Rock) and has a 10- piece band with her husband, Paul, called Jody’s House.
Jody’s natural voice and innate sense of rhythm and harmony add a beautiful dimension to whatever musical endeavor she participates in, but she is particularly thrilled to add her special touch to Bourbon Country’s rich vocal tradition.
Paul Fields
Paul was essentially born to play music. His father had a long musical career as a live and session drummer playing with artists such as Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack. As a boy, Paul would often watch his dad play and find himself completely absorbed. Paul began playing drums at the age of 9, playing his first professional gig at the age of 12. Paul is formally educated, but mostly self-taught. In his younger adult years, he dabbled with his own original music.
Through the years, Paul has been in all sorts of musical groups, from Funk and Classic Rock to Latin and Country. Groove is groove and it’s all fun to play. While living in Europe, Paul played and sang with various Pop and Gospel groups. His favorite is J-Box, a Pop/Rock cover band that played in the Copenhagen area during the 1990s. Paul returned to the U.S. in the mid-2000s and has enjoyed seasons with local bands including Common Ground, LOL, Cinful, County Line, and the GooRoos, and he occasionally lends a hand to some jazz projects in the area as well.
James Seidel
James was called to a career in music at the ripe old age of 10. His mom, understanding that he wanted to play bass, got him a ukulele. Which he quickly played like a bass. He was doing regular gigs by the age of 13, and then he excelled in the high school music program. He attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston before settling in the Chicagoland area. He played with Cab Calloway’s Big Band, and the genres of music he has performed over the years is as diverse as, well, music! He’s been featured on dozens of recordings, and he is a consummate professional with a lot of soul.
Rich Prezioso
Rich Prezioso is a guitarist and singer/songwriter from Cary IL. For the last 30 years he has toured nationally with his wife and partner Jacquie Manning as the folk/acoustic duo Small Potatoes. He also works with the local bands Arranmore, The White Saddle Band, and The Leftovers, and as the guitarist for the Woodstock Community Choir. Rich has written for musical theater and also for TV and radio commercials in Chicago, writing jingles for Cap n Crunch Cereal (he met the Cap’n…), Gatorade, and Domino’s Pizza, among others.
Special thanks to
Mark Rockwell (lighting consultant) and James Kita (audio/ video consultant)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tim Paul, board president
John Jacobsen, vice president
Chuck Stevens, treasurer
Luanne Flavin, secretary
John Green
Mike Johnson
Richard Kuranda
Stacey McInerney
Jack Minsley
Rich Naponelli
Michelle Nowland
Sandra Pierce
William Schmiel
Regan Shepley
Steven Szalaj
Jerry Trachsler
RAUE CENTER STAFF
Richard Kuranda, executive director/founding artistic
director (CEO)
Justin Wellington, managing director
Meredith Schaefer, director of marketing & institutional advancement
Robin Irwin, director of education/cultural partnerships
Erick Buckley, associate director of education
Chris Tumblin, technical director
James Knight, economic development manager
Michele V. Knight, marketing manager
Ryan Meadow, technical manager
Maribeth Ling, front of house manager
Jenna Klaproth, operations manager
About Raue Center For The Arts
Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 20 years, they have provided quality programming – striving to make it pertinent, available, and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional showcase theatre named for its benefactor—Lucile Raue—Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a gathering place for our region’s citizens and has become a true destination.
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