The Nancy Appleby Theatre had a pretty good crowd for Tuesday with everyone coming to see pianist Rod Russell’s solo performance.
The Canadian pianist and singer from Kelowna B.C. played over 30 different songs from the 1930s to 1980s, in front of an intimate crowd of 100 people on Nov. 29. The crowd may not have been the size he was expecting, but the energy level was everything he hoped for.
“It wasn’t a big crowd, but they were sure responsive,” Russell said after his performance. “I like the theatre, the people were just wonderful it was a successful show.”
After logging over 1,200 performances since playing as a teenager, Russell brought a large set list to his show playing foot tapping tunes from Elvis Presley and the Big Bopper, to slower songs like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and “Blueberry Hill.
Russell also played one request during his encore performance hammering the keys to a fast paced “Wall Street Rag,” which dazzled the crowd one last time.
“I haven’t played that sucker for years and years,” he said. “It was fun to be able to play that again. You know I had open heart surgery three months ago, so I’m still recovering, but I wasn’t that tired so it wasn’t too bad.”
Although no plans have been made just yet, Russell said he is contemplating a return to the Nancy Appleby Stage.
“I definitely would come back, I’ve got a quite a few relatives here – cousins, actually,” he said. “I’d maybe try and do another swing, probably in the fall. Or maybe next summer. We’ll see.”
“It’d probably be a good idea to come back,” he added. “This is just a great town.”
