Thanks to The Tomato Fund and Mitchell Chevrolet
Arla Ralston
Contributing Writer
The Pocahontas Opera House, with financial assistance from the Tomato Fund and Mitchell Chevrolet, has added a second Kathy Mattea show on Thursday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m.
“When the Friday show sold out in five minutes, we knew that there was more than enough interest for a second show,” Opera House Operations Manager Brynn Kusic said. “We started working on that the same day.”
Mattea is one of the most respected country artists performing today. The two-time Grammy winner has also racked up four CMA awards and had four #1 country singles and five gold albums. She’s the first face you see in the Ken Burns eight-episode documentary Country Music now showing on PBS.
The Opera House got lucky. Kathy Mattea and her band were available on the Thursday before the scheduled Friday show. But booking the band wasn’t the only hurdle the Opera House had to overcome.
“There was no way we could afford to put on a second show based on ticket sales alone,” Kusic explained. “The Tomato Fund has been really generous in underwriting the Friday show and they agreed to provide partial funding for the Thursday show. Then I reached out to Mitchell Chevrolet who really saved the day. Their contribution made the second show possible.”
Tickets for the October 17 show cost $30 and will go on sale Monday, September 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Opera House in Marlinton and online at pocahontasoperahouse.org at 7:30 pm.
“There will be great seats for both in person and online sales,” Kusic said. “But the thing I really want to stress is how fortunate we are to have an artist like Kathy Mattea playing two nights in our little 220 seat historical theater. They’re all great seats.”