IN THE SPOTLIGHT – JOE STAMPLEY

It’s been almost four years since I featured Joe Stampley in this newsletter. shortly after his heart bypass surgery (https://dianediekman.com/dianes-country-music-newsletter-10-february-2016). When I called him for an update, he told me he feels good. “The thing that hurt me more than anything,” he said, “four months after my bypass surgery, my gallbladder ruptured.” He spent 18 days in the hospital, while the poison was removed from his system. “That was when I was SICK,” he explains. “That will make you sick, let me tell you. But other than that, I’m feeling great.”

CONCERT REVIEW – KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

When I stepped up to the ticket window at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, and asked for one ticket to see Kris Kristofferson and the Strangers, the lady said, “We have one free ticket. Would you like that, or would you rather buy one?” The free ticket was in Row X; the ticket for purchase was in Row U. It was an easy choice. My seat in the last row of the main section looked directly at the stage, with no one in front of me to obstruct the view. As I waited for the concert to begin, the preshow music included Randy Travis’s “Forever and Ever, Amen.” This looked like a promising evening.