​Metamora Performing Arts

This week holds the last Friday of the month. That means it's an Acoustic Final Friday in Metamora. Back in 2007, Jim and Connie Wendel decided that since the barn at Lane's End needed a new roof, they might as well go on ahead and build the Back Porch they'd been thinking about for the Music Festival. Once that was in place, it was a short step to deciding that there needed to be music there more often than every Labor Day Weekend. So Acoustic Final Friday was born. And on

The MPA Opry Barn has had a good year so far, we've had a few shows of various types, we have a few more to go this year. But how did we get to this point of having a barn? Many years ago there was a Metamora Performing Arts group that put on variety/medicine man shows in the backyard of the Martindale House (more about that property at another time). That group moved into Brookville for their shows and then slowly faded away. Meanwhile, Jim Wendel had a folk/porch music gang

Looking at the calendar, it hit me that we have really a lot coming up. Heading into the end of July we're looking at a bluegrass night, a gospel night, and an acoustic show of bluegrass and country music. Here we have a photo of Jim Pelz and Brandt Smith doing their set of acoustic picking at the Listing Loon in Cincinnati's Northside. They'll be at the Opry Barn on July 25. And then August---it's a veritable cornucopia. Beginning right off the bat with a return of the popul

Someone shared the story of Fiddlin' Joe on Facebook today and it just struck me as interesting. The folklore aspects of story about sitting on his coffin fiddling on the way to the hanging, and the challenge to find a better player. Then the family supposeably restoring him to life and spiriting him off to live out his life elsewhere. Makes you wonder if there might have been some official doubt about his guilt and some collusion on the disposition of the body. http://nati

We had a Hee Haw Tribute show this spring, and it was so popular that we're going to bring it back again. The first weekend in August there will be a show at 6 PM on both Saturday and Sunday Evening. If you have a sketch or contribution to Or send a message using the contact form here on the website and we'll get the information to him.