EDITOR'S NOTE: Bridgeport officials have confirmed that tonight's performance by Annie Neeley has been canceled due to the inclement weather that is supposed to hit the area. Details on a makeup performance will be announced when - and if - it happens.

 

Born and raised in Bridgeport, Annie Neeley has strong roots in the local music community. From the age of 3, she sang with Bridgeport United Methodist Church’s children’s choir and later studied the cello under both Virginia Hoppe and Waja Chang.

 

After living most of her adult life in the midst of the Pittsburgh and Nashville music scenes, the Bridgeport High School alumna is back in her hometown and she’s still playing music; lots of it.

 

“I have three different bands,” said Neeley, drawing particular attention to “Annie Neeley and the Lucky Old Sun.” That’s the group that will be entertaining locals Thursday night at Bridgeport City Park. The 7 p.m. performance is part of Bridgeport Arts Council’s Summer Jam series.

 

Named for the mid-20^th century R&B tune, the band plays what members call “electric soul blues.”

 

“We play blues and rock and roll. There’s a lot of stuff happening,” Neeley said. “We bring in some Allman Brothers, some Grateful Dead and some band jam kind of stuff. We do Koko Taylor and Etta James. It’s an electric band that’s great for big outside performances.”

 

The lead singer/guitarist is joined by her husband/bass player David Kirkpatrick, guitarist Matt Eakle, drummer Chad Herod, guitarist Carson Snyder and harmonica player Tim Hogan – also a BHS alum.

 

The daughter of Bridgeport residents Penny and "Wally" Neeley, the musician also fronts “The Annie Neeley Band” which features Neeley on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Kirkpatrick on upright bass, Eakle on guitar and Wayne Woods on banjo, guitar and percussion.

 

“That’s the band that performs most of our original music. It’s more of an acoustic band,” Neeley said. “We work primarily as a bluegrass/Americana outfit so it has lots of mandolin and fiddle – that kind of stuff.”

 

In 2010, the Annie Neeley Band released the CD, “Cold Heart Blues,” featuring original tunes by Neeley and Kirkpatrck.  

 

The third musical project which Neeley is involved with is a duet recording project with Andrew Adkins.

 

“Andrew is from Fayetteville, West Virginia and he and I met several years ago in Nashville at an Americana music festival,” she said. “We just kind of clicked. We kept in touch and we played the songwriters’ stage together in Charleston last year. He’s an amazing songwriter.”

 

Titled “Appalachia,” the project will be released Oct. 15.

 

“I think we sing really well together and there is some really beautiful songs on the project,” Neely said. “I look forward to that.”

 

Besides her music, Neeley is busy with her 7-year-old son Ray He is more interested in science and astronomy than music, but when she was his age, she was knee-deep in all things musical.

 

“I’m a product of the Harrison County School music program,” she said. “A woman named Olga Hardman used to have the Harrison County Children’s Choir. She was a fantastic music teacher – really amazing. I can remember singing with her all through grade school.”

 

Neeley studied the cello for several years – first under Virginia Hoppe, former Harrison County Orchestra director – and then under Waja Chang.

“She had been a great cellist in South Korea and she gave private lessons,” she said.

 

Although she gave up the cello, Neeley continued singing throughout junior high and high school, often gaining state choir honors.

 

At the age of 16 - she joined up with some musical friends and formed a rock and roll band, playing Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and various other artists of the day.

 

“We were just a bunch of kids banging on instruments,” Neeley said. “We called ourselves ‘Bones’ and played our first gig at Lydia Baldini’s house on Shannon Road. The second gig was in my driveway.”

 

Eakle was actually in that band, she said. So were Gary Hamrick, Matt Oliverio, John Allen and Brian Posey.

 

When she went off to Washington, DC to college, she joined up with more young musicians. She also started playing guitar.

 

“I joined a lot of different projects and kept it all going. I wrote songs and any time there was open mic at the coffee houses, I played,” she said.

 

While serving an internship in Belgium, she traveled and performed in much of Europe, including Paris and Germany. After obtaining her degree in international relations, Neeley moved to Pittsburgh, but not before a brief visit to North Central West Virginia where she met her husband-to-be at a band practice in Grafton.

 

“The band I was playing with had just fired their bass player and they hired David as their new one,” Neeley said. “He and I had a lot of musical ground in common and we just hit it off.”

 

Eventually, the couple relocated to Nashville where they stayed for 16 years. Her full-time work there was an interior designer, but she kept playing music – primarily bluegrass. They both did.

 

“We played a lot on lower Broadway, mostly for tourists,” she said. “It was really fun and I learned a lot.”

 

Neeley said she and her husband both also worked with other artists on their own recordings, providing vocals or backup instrumentation.

Music isn’t the only international language that Neeley worked with while living in Nashville.  

 

“I speak fluent French,” she said. “For 16 years, I worked with French people at a Nashville company which basically manufactured iron chandeliers and furniture through a family-owned blacksmithing shop in Normandy.”

 

After their son was born in 2009, the couple decided to move back home to be closer to family. Neeley said she enjoys sharing her music with her hometown.

 

Editor's Note: Photos of Annie Neeley and Carly Suplita

“It’s good to be back. People are all so receptive of the music and they are really enthusiastic,” she said. “I’m happy to be here.”

 

Thursday’s concert in the park begins 7 p.m. Bring lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy the free show, made free for residents through Bridgeport Arts Council.

 

The series continues Aug. 4 with The Masons, Aug. 11 with Wyatt Turner and Aug. 18 with Dennis McClung. The season wraps up Aug. 26 with a paid ticketed event at Bridgeport Conference Center starring Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Visit the Bridgeport Arts Council Web site for more information. 

 

Editor's Note: Photos of Annie Neeley and "Annie Neeley and the Lucky Old Sun" are courtesy of Carly Suplita.