Category: St. Clair Entertainment

A class act

McConaughey shows Pell City
why he is a fan favorite

Story by Scottie Vickery
Submitted Photos

Lena Parris went through hail to see Matthew McConaughey. And by the time the time the Ragland woman caught a glimpse of the actor, whose upcoming movie recently called for filming at the Pell City Steak House, she’d also survived five hours in the summer heat, gotten drenched from several rain showers, and acquired a sunburn to boot.

So was it worth it? “Yeah, I’d say it was,” Lena replied. “I’m not planning on going to California anytime soon, so I figured this was the closest I was going to get to seeing a celebrity. It was an experience for sure, and it was true Alabama weather. You ride out the rain and a hailstorm, it gets bright and sunny, and then you get burned.”

She also got some good photos of McConaughey, who has been in the Birmingham area since early June filming scenes for The Rivals of Amziah King, which is written and directed by Andrew Patterson and produced by Black Bear Pictures.

The award-winning actor, who earned a Best Actor Oscar for this role in Dallas Buyer’s Club and has also starred in blockbusters such as The Lincoln Lawyer and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, will star in the movie, a crime thriller set in rural Oklahoma.

Since arriving in Alabama, the actor and crew have been spotted at a variety of places in at least three different counties. In Jefferson County, they’ve eaten at Birmingham restaurants and filmed at J&J Grocery and Deli in Bessemer in addition to a Hoover church and home. Shelby County’s Elvin Hill Elementary School in Columbiana was recently transformed into Bill Waugh Elementary School for filming, and McConaughey’s trip to St. Clair County took him to the Steak House as well as a farm in Cropwell owned by Kathy and Bill Carleton.

All Abuzz

Kathy had no idea just how appropriate the name of their farm – Bin Swindled – would turn out to be. She didn’t find out that McConaughey had spent a morning there until hours after he’d left, and she felt as if she’d, well, “been swindled” out of her chance to meet one of her favorite actors.

An avid Texas fan, McConaughey gives his fans the “Hook ‘em, Horns” sign. Photo credit: Anna Turner

“I was so ticked off,” she said with a laugh. “I would have at least enjoyed getting his autograph or getting my picture with him while he was in my pasture. I’d have loved to have taken him a glass of tea.”

The Carletons allow a relative, a beekeeper, to keep his bee colony on their property, and he showed the actor and crew some of the finer points of beekeeping. “I guess Matthew plays a beekeeper in the movie,” Kathy said. “He was showing them how to act and react around bees.”

The fact that McConaughey was long gone by the time she found out he’d been there still stings, Kathy admitted. “How would you feel if he was on your property, and no one told you? My husband still doesn’t get why I was mad,” she said. Now that some time has passed, however, the irritation has faded. “What can you do but laugh? It’s a good story to tell.”

That morning, she noticed several people in their driveway, so she sent Bill, who apparently hasn’t pored over many issues of People magazine, out to check. He came back and said the relative was showing some people the bees. Later, when the crowd had grown, Bill headed down for another look.

He talked with some of the folks and came back and told her a few had gotten stung and added that “one of them looked familiar.” When the beekeeper told them later who the A-list guest had been, “Bill said, ‘I guess if it had been John Wayne or someone like that, I would have recognized him,’” Kathy explained. “Can you imagine?”

Kathy, a concierge travel professional, said she was working from home that morning and not dressed in her finest since she didn’t know company was coming. “What if I had wandered out in the driveway? I would have absolutely flipped,” she said.

The farm, however, looked great. “The grass had just been cut, thank goodness,” she said. “Everything looked really pretty.”

Steaking claim

Bruce Spann, manager of the Pell City Steak House, said the crew started scouting the location a few months before the filming. “They just came in one day out of the blue,” he said. “They came in several times after that, just looking around, and then we sat down to do a contract.”

Although they weren’t told at the time which movie it was and who the star was, “we kind of figured it out since we knew they were shooting in Birmingham,” he said. They got official confirmation on Monday afternoon and learned that filming would be Wednesday, so they announced on Facebook that the restaurant would be closed. Bruce said he and his mother, Janice Spann, were the only employees allowed to be there the day of filming. “They were very strict, but they were very professional, every one of them,” he said. “It was a great experience.”

Tuesday night, “they came in and took everything down from the walls and redecorated,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a restaurant in Oklahoma, so they took down the business license and anything to do with Pell City.”

Bruce said the filming process was fascinating. In addition to the action happening in the main part of the restaurant, “my downstairs was slap full of people watching it on big screens,” he said. “They were looking at every little thing, and I don’t know how many times they would reshoot things. They worked very hard, and I have a whole different respect for what they do. They were busy people.”

He also learned that filming a movie requires a lot of silence. “You can’t have any noise whatsoever because their mikes are so sensitive,” he said. “I had to cut the ice machine and air conditioner off. We couldn’t cook anything because we couldn’t run the exhaust fans.”

As a result, he and Janice got an inside glimpse of Hollywood magic. Although McConaughey was only having a cup of coffee in the scene, the extras who portrayed the diners at tables around him had full plates. “It was plastic food,” Bruce said. “It looked so real.”

Although they got to see the whole experience unfold, they only had a brief encounter with McConaughey. “He was a super nice guy,” Bruce said. “He came back about 3 o’clock and asked if we wanted a picture with him and said he might not get another chance. He shook my hand and said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and went back to work.”

The next morning, the crew returned and put everything back just like they’d found it. “They had taken pictures of how we had everything, and they took their stuff down and put ours back up. We opened up that morning at 10:30, just like we always do,” Bruce said. “It was a cool experience and we enjoyed it.”

Braving the elements

Although things were nice and dry inside the restaurant, that wasn’t the case outside where a group of fans gathered, hoping to meet – or at least see – McConaughey.

Throughout the day, there was rain, heat, and even a few minutes of hail, but the storms are what led Sundi Hawkins to the Steak House, which is not far from her home. “Our power went out, so I looked at my youngest and said, ‘Hey we need to go get some exercise. Let’s go for a walk.’ He knew exactly where I was going,” she said. “I just couldn’t be this close to him and not try to see him.”

Throughout the day, fellow stargazers came and went as their schedules allowed. “I wasn’t planning on going at all and was just going to let them do their thing,” Lena said. “Turned out I had an hour to kill, so I decided to go by and see what was going on. That hour turned into a five-hour adventure. I almost left, but then I thought, “I’ve invested so much time here I may as well stay.’ ”

She also sacrificed a good bit of comfort – and her pride. “After the rain and hailstorm, I was soaked. And when I say soaked, I mean I was drenched,” Lena said. “I had on slides, and my socks were soaked, so I took them off, wringed them out, and put them in the pocket of my raincoat.”

A crew member later told her that McConaughey happened to look out the restaurant window and saw the whole thing. “He sees me out there wringing out my dadgum socks,” she said and laughed. “Could I have had a more Alabamian moment than that right there?”

Wet feet aside, Lena said she enjoyed watching everything unfold. “It was actually pretty neat to see how films are made,” she said. “The crew was going in and out and they all had walkie talkies. They were all labeled – one said ‘props.’ You could see all the different jobs because of the walkie talkies.”

Although the wait was long, the crowd was finally rewarded with a Matthew sighting and a little interaction. After filming, the actor went to the trailers parked across the street at First Baptist Church at Pell City. He emerged late afternoon and waved to the onlookers before driving off in a Lincoln Aviator and driving away, a chorus of squeals following him.

“When he was filming, he was very focused,” Lena said. “He came outside and went to the trailers, but he never waved or looked up or anything. When he was leaving, he was a little more friendly and talkative, and he interacted a little with the crowd.”

Although he didn’t sign autographs, the actor rolled down his window before leaving. “Can I get a ‘Roll Tide,’ Matthew?” someone shouted. “Not a chance,” the actor said with a grin. McConaughey, a graduate of the University of Texas and a huge Longhorns fan, flashed the “Hook ‘em Horns” sign at the crowd as he drove past.

It was a bittersweet moment for Sundi. “One of my favorite actors of all time is right here. He drove right in front of us, and I got so excited I forgot my camera was on zoom, so I missed the picture,” she said.

Likeability factor

Although the lure of Hollywood is strong, it seems that Matthew Mania was fueled in part because so many people like the man behind the persona. McConaughey was named Philanthropist of the Year by The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 in part for his efforts in organizing the We’re Texas concert that raised $7.7 million for victims of Winter Storm Uri.

He was also recognized for the impact of the just keep livin’ Foundation, which he and his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, started in 2008 to provide after-school fitness and wellness program in inner city high schools.

“I’m a big fan,” Kathy said. “I just love him, and I love his way. He seems like a kind person.”

Sundi agreed. “He’s always been one of my favorite actors and it’s not just because he’s good-looking,” she said of the star, who was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2005. After hearing some podcasts he’s been on and listening to part of his audio books, she’s become a bigger fan. “He’s down to earth and very spiritual. He just seems like a cool guy,” she said.

Lena, who said she was a fan long before McConaughey came to town, said she hoped his experience in Pell City was a good one. “It was an experience I wouldn’t have gotten to have anywhere else,” she said. “Hopefully we didn’t annoy the man too much.”

Lyrics for Life

Horse Pens’ Songwriter Festival inspiring music on the mountain

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Richard Rybka

There is no doubt that music is a powerful tool, touching our heart strings and transporting us through time and space. The words to certain songs speak to our hearts when, oftentimes, nothing else will. Alabama-raised songwriter Mutt Cooper explains, “I always hope the words connect to the audience and that we’re all in the same emotional space at the same time.”

Cooper, who now lives in Georgia, started playing the guitar and writing music when he was just 10 years old. He now works as an occupational therapist, specializing in traumatic brain injury.

A navy veteran himself, he works with veterans at Martin Army Hospital in Fort Benning. He uses his songwriting skills to address the pain and emotional scars of the wounded, whether they’re military, children or just ordinary people navigating daily life. His song, Tom, has received a lot of attention from Vietnam veterans groups because of its powerful, relatable lyrics.

He wrote the song about his cousin, who served in Vietnam. The cousin, Tom, came back from Vietnam a changed man, a change so profound that he had to live with Cooper’s family and spent most days playing guitar to help him process the pain. “He died in Vietnam, but he didn’t know. He’s got a lot of scars that don’t show,” the haunting lyrics say.

The lyrics to another of Cooper’s songs address the simpler, but broader, issue of aging. The words to I Knew Him When are easily relatable to anyone who has noticed a wrinkle or a grey hair as birthdays come and go.

Staring in the mirror, it’s easy for me to see.
The same young man who lives inside of me.
Well, it makes no sense, and how can it be?
There’s an old man in the mirror looking back at me.

Cooper recently spent a weekend with more than a dozen other songwriters at the Horse Pens 40 Songwriter Festival on Chandler Mountain. The festival’s organizer, Paul Ensign of C&P Entertainment, has been providing the venue and stage to showcase the talents of local, regional and national touring songwriters for four years. “These guys and gals get up on stage, not just to sing, but to give you the emotion behind the words, the experience that helped to write the song,” explains Ensign.

Texas-based songwriter Thom Shepherd, also a festival participant, agrees. “Everybody’s here to really listen to the lyrics and hear the stories behind the songs.” He and his wife, fellow songwriter, Coley McCabe, have both won awards through the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and have been named Duo of the Year by the Trop Rock Music Association for the past four years. She has played at the Grand Ole Opry four times.

The two met when they were working with different Nashville publishers housed in the same office building. They were married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas in 2015. They tour regularly and enjoy going to songfests to meet new writers and to reconnect with others. They even hold their own songwriter’s festival in Texas called Lonestar Luau. (Editor’s note: You can check them out at Lonestarluau.com.)

“Write for yourself,” says Shepherd. “That’s what a publisher told me years ago. I’d moved to Nashville to perform. Everyone said you’ve got to be able to write, so that’s when I started working on that. I struggled at first, but then I was counseled to write for myself, about things that have had meaning to me. That’s the place that hit songs come from. That’s when I started thinking about things like my love of cars.”

His love of old cars is what made him reminisce about seeing his first car again after selling it to an old friend. He went back to visit the man and saw the car, sat in the driver’s seat and opened the glove compartment. “That’s when I started to imagine. What if this car had been owned by someone else and what if that someone had left a note in the glove compartment,” says Shepherd excitedly. “And what if that owner had been a young man going off to war who left the note to the new owner in case he didn’t come back? And what if the car was a Corvette?”

With that story in mind, he collaborated with songwriter Wood Newton and wrote the 2001 hit single, Riding with Private Malone. The song was recorded by American Country Music artist David Ball. “You always hope one of your songs will touch people’s lives, and this one has,” says Shepherd. “I hear from people who say this was a particular soldier’s song, and he didn’t make it back. It reminds them of that soldier. Others tell me this song is the reason they joined the military.”

Coley McCabe wrote Don’t Open That Door as a response to the loss of her sister, Tracy. The song was later recorded by country star Loretta Lynn. “I wrote it after Tracy passed, never meaning for it to be recorded,” says McCabe. “But it was pitched to Loretta, and she recorded it. I ran into her a few years later and told her I’d written it. It was shortly after her husband had passed. She sang the chorus to me with a tear in her eye. It was sweet!”

Strong family ties also fuel the fire for fellow songwriter Christina Crystal. She has just turned 30 and has been writing songs for 16 years. At the songwriter’s festival, she explained to the audience the background behind several songs she and her husband, songwriter/producer Nick Biebricher, have written and produced, including the very personal Ultra Sound, a ballad about the experience of expecting the birth of their son.

Another of Crystal’s favorites is a playful lyric that she wrote and performed called, Dolly, Would You Pardon Me, a fun, upbeat song with a nod to vocal great Dolly Parton. The song was nominated for best country song of the year in 2019 at the Independent Music Awards.

“Hit songs begin with words that make people feel something,” says Shepherd. Pure joy and fun are a hallmark in his huge hit summertime party song, Redneck Yacht Club. Written by Shepherd and recorded in 2005 by country music’s Craig Morgan, the lyrics are an invitation to “Meet us out at party cove. Come on in, the water’s fine. Just idle on over an’ toss us a line.”

If you’re out on this lake this summer, you’re sure to hear it. The power of music is fueled by powerful lyrics.

Features

Real-Axe-Ing

Sport finds new home in Pell City

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free

He sights his target at the end of the alley, some 12 feet away. Picking up the axe, he loosens his grip slightly to allow a perfectly timed release. Keeping his eye on the prize, he pulls the axe back, steps quickly forward and releases his throw. The resulting sound of axe blade meeting wood brings a smile to the thrower. This is the sport of axe throwing, and that thrower could be you.

Brand new to Pell City, Logan Martin Axe Throwing may be the new perfect date night activity for your next Saturday night. Or it may be a great option for your next birthday party or group event. They even offer discounts for groups of thirty or more.

Axe throwing is nothing new, but really gained recognition as a sport due to competitions involving logging camps. By the mid-1900s, logger sports were gaining in popularity as loggers looked for ways to entertain themselves while living in camps for months at a time.

Less than a century later, the urban version of the sport of axe throwing is becoming wildly popular around the world. There are even international leagues like the World Axe Throwing League and the International Axe Throwing Federation for competition level players.

“We’re not part of any league; it’s just for fun for groups, date nights and for families. The reason I wanted to open a place here is that my wife and friends and I had to drive to Trussville, Birmingham or Gadsden to enjoy the sport,” explains owner Zayne Ferguson. “Especially now, with the price of gas, it’s nice not to have to drive far. My brother and I always threw hatchets at trees growing up. It’s a lot of fun!”

Ferguson shows just how easy it is to hit the target.

His new venture shares the space with the CrossFit gym he opened in 2020. A competitive powerlifter for five years, he left his job at a local paint store to open a gym in a storefront on U.S. 231.

“Fitness is my passion,” he says, “especially CrossFit.” So, he got certified as a coach and called his business CrossFit231. He quickly outgrew that space and rented the current 8,000-square-foot warehouse building on Cogswell Avenue. He moved into the space in July and quickly realized he had room to start his own axe throwing business inside the gym.

“I was at a birthday party at an axe throwing business in Birmingham. I did the math and calculated startup and operations costs,” Zayne explains. “Then I went to work making it happen.” He admits he probably works more now, but enjoys it much more.

Zayne grew up in St. Clair County, graduated from Pell City High School, played football for a Mississippi college, then returned to his hometown. He and his wife, Irish, enjoy living in the Pell City area.

His extended family has a sawmill in Cook Springs, which is a big help in getting the wood for the targets. They have to be replaced every week or two as the wood wears out from the repetitive strikes of the axe blades. He says using poplar or pine is best.

As expected, the targets have the usual rings and bullseye, but there’s also something perhaps unexpected to the new thrower. At the top of the targets are two blue dots. A strike between those two dots, referred to as “the clutch,” represents extra skill and comes with extra points.

The axes here are a much lighter version than typical throwing axes. Whereas competition axes weigh over two pounds and have long, wooden handles, those at Logan Martin Axe Throwing are under a pound and are made of high-carbon steel. This allows the thrower to easily utilize a one-handed throw style.

“I did extensive research on this,” adds Zayne. “Most places use axes that have a rubber grip, which can make it harder to release right. I purchased lighter, more throwing-sized axes.”

While people are waiting for their turn in the throwing stalls, they can enjoy a quick game of cornhole or giant Jenga. “We want it to feel like we’re just hanging in the backyard having fun,” Zayne says. “That’s what I always shoot for.”

To add even more to the atmosphere, they’re scheduling live music as often as they can. Local food trucks will be set up outside the rollup doors to enable patrons to enjoy a full evening of entertainment.

Every group will receive safety training from one of the coaches or “Axe Masters,” as they are called here. Closed-toe shoes are a must and the minimum age to throw is 10 years old.

Logan Martin Axe Throwing just opened a month ago and are already booking weeks out. They are open Saturdays from 1 to 11 p.m. and additional times for group reservations.

Online pre-booking is highly recommended. Individual throwers pay $25 plus tax for an hour. l

Editor’s note: You can book your axe throwing experience at loganmartinaxe.com.

Rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

American Idol’s Gressett returns to Pell City, prepares for next act

Story by Loyd McIntosh
Photos by Richard Rybka

Backstage at the Pell City Center for Education and Performing Arts building on the campus of Pell City High School, Tristen Gressett is just 20 minutes away from taking the stage. In his first appearance since his meteoric rise and frankly, stunning elimination from American Idol, the 17-year-old is launching his solo career.

And he’s doing it from the very stage he has performed on dozens of times in high school theatre productions, choral presentations and events where he was part of an ensemble. On this night, not only is Gressett the featured performer, he’s the only performer – no band, no side musicians, no background singers. Just him, an acoustic guitar (augmented with a few electric effects) and a collection of classic rock songs and some original tunes. All eyes and ears will be focused on him this evening, a reality that is only just beginning to sink in.

“It really kind of hit me today when I was getting set up that I finally have my own show where I’m getting to perform for all these people,” says Gressett. Under the management of his mother, Gressett has been performing in restaurants and bars for much of his teenage years. He comes across like a grizzled vet of honky-tonks and smoke-filled juke joints, building a dedicated group of 10-12 fans who have followed him from gig to gig. “But the rest,” Gressett says, “they’re there to drink, they’re there to eat. They couldn’t care less about the entertainment. Know what I mean?”

In the dressing room, Gressett is wired – an absolute bundle of kinetic energy. Practically unable to sit down for more than five seconds, Gressett spends the last 15 minutes before the show laughing with his girlfriend Leah Love, joking with friends and well-wishers, and even cutting up and snapping a selfie or two with yours truly.

On display is Gressett’s ants-in-the-pants exuberance that practically exploded onto the screen and had the American Idol judges – Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie – a little unnerved. “We might have to sit on top of you, man,” Richie famously said following Gressett’s rendition of Billy Joel’s Piano Man.

One could easily interpret Gressett’s animation as nervousness, and who could blame them? He has a lot riding on this homecoming. Gressett, however, says “no way!” He’s more than ready to take this next step, launching his post-American Idol career from his hometown. “All my life, I’ve always wanted to be able to perform with everybody there watching for me,” he says. “So yeah, I feel like I’m one step closer to making that dream come true.”

It may be a cliché to say someone is “born” for something. Gressett’s mother and biggest fan, Missie Gressett, says, in her son’s case, it’s pretty much the truth. “He kind of came out performing,” she says. “He has always loved being on the stage. Always.” She played music constantly for Tristen in utero, playing Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven through listening devices placed on her stomach, which, at least in part, may account for Tristen’s abilities but also his wide range of musical interests. “He still listens to classical music all these years later, and he plays it on the piano,” his mother says.

“When we were out in Hollywood, we actually went to the Hollywood Bowl and saw Two Cellos, so that was an amazing experience,” adds Ms. Gressett, who has become quite famous in her own right having been featured often during her son’s run on American Idol.

A single mother with a vibrant, creative mind of her own – the homemade Halloween costumes she used to send Tristen to school at Eden Elementary, for instance, are legendary. She has poured much of her energy and passion into helping her only child achieve his dreams. “I am the proudest mama in the world,” she says as she works the merchandise table selling T-shirts and CDs. “We just have a special bond because it’s always just been us, and I’ve always been mama and daddy.”

The American Idol Experience

Gressett auditioned for American Idol along with more than 120,000 hopefuls, all vying for a coveted golden ticket to Los Angeles. Auditioning in Nashville, Gressett’s time in front of the judges is well documented – his aforementioned hyperactivity, the tearing up while chatting with fellow Alabamian Lionel Richie, his rendition of Piano Man and his thoughtful promotions of Pell City, just to name a few of the highlights.

Gressett seemed to devour the screen during his audition, but, he says, so much more goes into those moments than what viewers see months later. “What you’re seeing on television is what an editor sat down and was like, ‘OK, how can we turn this three-hour moment into two minutes?’ My audition on television, was about, what, 15 minutes? It actually happened over a span of three days.”

Despite some initial hesitancy among the judges, Gressett earned his golden ticket and was whisked off to La La Land – Hollywood. There, he experienced the intensity of the show’s weekly production schedule of “a ton of interviews,” walking around Los Angeles shooting b-roll footage, practicing and generally trying to survive the insanity week to week.

Despite the show’s competition format, Gressett says he never viewed the other contestants as rivals. “These were all people with the same goals, and it was awesome being around all those people who have such a strong connection because they’re all fighting for the same thing,” Gressett says. “It just never felt like a competition to me.”

For much of Gressett’s American Idol run, he appeared to be the lead dog, leaving the pack behind. But Gressett was eliminated after the Top 11 show in late April after performing a rousing rendition of the Rolling Stones’ classic, You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

His ouster was not without controversy. Many viewers on streaming services such as Hulu and Xfinity claim technical issues caused Gressett’s performance to go missing from the broadcast. In the days that followed, several online petitions were begun to get Gressett back on the show due to the error. In the end, the results stood, and Gressett’s run came to an early end – fairly or unfairly.

American Idol tends to reward screechy divas and clean-cut young men rather than long-haired, bearded, bluesy rockers like Gressett – Alabamian Bo Bice being a notable exception – a viewpoint shared by none other than Katy Perry. “He’s a rock ‘n’ roller, and it’s really challenging for that genre sometimes to get really far because it’s not about who’s the best singer – you have to check a little bit of a lot of boxes,” said Perry in a press statement following Gressett’s final episode. “But I think that he definitely poured a lot of sauce on his performance tonight and you got to strike a balance. I wish him the best. I’m gonna be seeing him on stage. I’m gonna go to his concerts for sure.”

“Somebody like me is going to have to fight a little harder,” adds Gressett, “and I fought as hard as I could. But I’m happy to make it as far as I did because over 122,000 people auditioned to be on the show. Just to be able to say ‘hey I placed 11th’ makes me feel a lot better about my journey ending when it did. I’m just happy to be able to pursue music on my own now with a stronger head on my shoulders and with the knowledge that I learned from the show.”

It’s Show Time!

With the crowd at near capacity, Gressett hits the stage shortly after 7 p.m. and immediately launches into his version of Piano Man followed by an eclectic mix of well-known classics, Neil Young’s Heart of Gold, Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Good – showing off his considerable guitar soloing skills in the process – and a version of the Beatles’ With A Little Help From My Friends.

The fifth song of the set was an original, titled The Road. Throughout the night, Gressett included a handful of accomplished original songs included on a six-song EP released in 2021 titled Act I: The Poet.

Gressett’s songwriting isn’t nearly celebrated as much as his skills as a singer and performer, although it’s clear that he puts much time and effort into his writing. “Sometimes it starts with the guitar and sometimes it starts with a phrase, and then I think, ‘How do I turn this into a song?’ I also use a lot of my personal experiences that I go through and stories of people that I know and love,” he explains.

A standout tune is one simply titled, Tiffany. It tells the story of a young and awkwardly inexperienced young man who finds himself attracted to a girl named Tiffany, who, though only a few years older, has a few more cynical miles under her belt than her would-be suitor. After finishing the song, Gressett said that it was one of his more humorous, jokey songs.

On the contrary,Tiffany displays a maturity in its wordsmithing.

In all, Gressett performed for around two hours, the crowd seemingly in the palm of his hand the entire night, even during a few moments that didn’t go as planned. For instance, Gressett managed his way around a pesky guitar cable that shorted out a handful of times during the night and handled a few of the rowdier fans with the humor and finesse of a seasoned pro.

One moment that particularly showed Gressett’s grace under fire occurred when he realized he left his capo (guitar geeks will know what this is) in the dressing room, leaving him unable to play his next song in the right key. Gressett walked backstage while mumbling in a high-pitch, faux-female voice, “You mean to tell me I paid $20 just so I can watch this kid look for his stuff?” to wild laughter before returning on stage to start the next song.

The show was a triumphant homecoming for Gressett, who waves his Pell City flag high and proud. While much of his talent and stage presence is natural, he says there have many people along the way who have helped him to become the person he is today.

“In eighth grade, my drama teacher, Mrs. Nixon, really encouraged me to hone in on my performance in theater. I’ve always been kind of crazy, but she got me to hone in and use it as a way of expressing myself,” says Gressett. “Mrs. Kaler at the high school has been one of my biggest supporters. She’s such a great person in general, but she has done so much when it came to getting people to vote for me. She’s been such a huge part of this for me.

“And, of course, Eden Elementary. That’s my home place over there. I love Eden. I went and sang for the kids over there recently and, man, that was such a full-circle moment for me,” Gressett add. “That was so awesome.”

What’s Up Next?

With his American Idol experience and high school graduation behind him, Gressett is focused on kick-starting his music career in a big way. Eventually, he plans to relocate to Los Angeles, but, until then, his schedule is full of appearances throughout the summer.

He performed at the Creek Bank Festival in Leeds, the Block Party in Pell City, and he opened for American Idol winner and Birmingham native Taylor Hicks at the Jazz Fest in Alexander City.

Later in June, he opened for Jefferson Starship at the Helen Keller Festival in Tuscumbia, and on July 1, Gressett performed in Canada, his first time traveling outside the U.S., at the Grand Falls Potato Festival in Grand Falls, New Brunswick. l

Features

SPOTLIGHT

CEPA program shining brightly throughout county

Story by Eryn Ellard
Submitted Photos

When Spotlight took center stage five years ago at Pell City Center for Education and Performing Arts, it was simply an idea to nurture and grow love of theatre – in all its forms – among young people. Today, it is as its name implies – illuminating.

It casts its light on acting, set design, writing, podcasts, short film, directing, sound, lights, music and all that goes into a production as part of Spotlight’s successful script.

In addition to CEPA’s community theatre troupe, younger versions are now flourishing through Spotlight Clubs at Pell City, St. Clair County, Moody and Victory Christian high schools. A kids drama program has evolved, and the awards ceremony for all of it held each year is now an event tantamount to the Oscars.

Born in 2015 in a collaboration with Jefferson State Community College, the CEPA program was gaining popularity for those interested in performing arts but was shuttered as a result of the COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020.

Shelby Duke, Spotlight program coordinator, said that the program had to get creative in order to keep the program’s momentum moving forward. “In 2020, when the pandemic hit, we began using digital means to keep people involved in Spotlight since we could not be in the theatre for a few months,” Duke said.

In September of 2020, Duke said, the program began cultivating a digital media platform and expanding into a podcast in Spotlight Studio called The Black Box. “In October of 2020, we released our first podcast and asked our clubs to write podcasts as well,” Duke noted. “We had several podcast scripts submitted, and we made a season out of it.”

Spotlight Studio is also a place where people can find videos of the various clubs involved with the program, short films and other projects within it. Building on its successes, the program is in the midst of transforming another podcast into a short film.

Perhaps one of the most creative outlets within the program, The Black Box Podcast, is a dramatic audio theatre experience where club members write their own scripts for the podcast and record them. Subjects last year included a wide variety of subjects from comedy pieces about Christmas to more serious subject matters.

Miss Christmas Business developed by the St. Clair County High School club debuted at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham in 2021.

“We are planning on releasing a podcast this month, Project SEM;COLON written by Pell City High School student Anna Claire Hawthorn. Project SEM;COLON is a podcast and future short film that shines light on suicide awareness,” Duke said. “Anna Claire and other PCHS students have worked so hard on this project, and I am extremely proud of them.”

A catalyst for all, regardless of age and performing arts experience, “this program brings people together who have an interest in theatre,” Duke said. “It has become a community of people who share that love or want to see what things are all about. It is open to anyone who wants to give theatre a try – on and off the stage.”

In addition to the program’s new digital platforms, Spotlight is still home to plays and musicals upon which it built its reputation. It also hosts a Summer Drama Camp for Spotlight Kids Club.

Now in its fifth year, Spotlight annually shines the light on its own through the Spotlight Awards, a way to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of the program and its members over the year. “We have categories for everything from actors awards to the best in crew awards,” Duke said. “It is also a way for us to get donations that go to the Spotlight program as well. We have food and entertainment to continue to build the Spotlight Award community and celebrate our wonderful talent.”

Another face also joined the Spotlight team this year, Nicholas Fason, who will be serving as Spotlight Studio coordinator and will be overseeing digital productions like podcasts and Spotlight Films.

“I am very excited to be stepping into the Studio coordinator role,” Fason said. “I am very passionate about giving students and community members every opportunity to express themselves.”

Fason will be coordinating between students and community members. “I am honored to be given this opportunity to make sure that we can execute the vision of the students and their creative endeavors,” Fason said.

The potential for the future is not lost on CEPA Executive Director Jeff Thompson, who along with Jefferson State’s Leslie Warren and Nicholas Kin, founded the program five years ago and carefully laid the groundwork.

In an impassioned speech at the Spotlight Awards Ceremony, Thompson discarded his notes, stepped from behind the podium and delivered a dramatic rallying cry for the program.

Five years ago, he said, he, Warren and Kin “had an idea that there would be enough of you out here to show this community that theatre was important, to keep this thing running, to keep more people coming through these doors year after year, doing play after play, growing exponentially, making people realize your art is important. And you’ve done it for five years, letting this community know that what you love is important,” he told the capacity audience of young people.

“And that’s what I love. I love that you love it. I love that you want to do it. I love that it matters to you. I love it that you chose it. I love it when you try hard and succeed, and I love it when you try hard and don’t. I love you, and I appreciate you.”

For five years, he said, “you’ve shown me, you’ve shown this board, you’ve shown everybody in here that we matter, and that’s what I want you to know tonight is that you matter. The things that you love matter. Keep doing them. Keep trying. Keep working. Be better every year. Happy five years, St. Clair County!”

Berritt Haynes

Pell City native building on performance, experience on The Voice

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Graham Hadley
Submitted Photos

Berritt Haynes is no stranger to life-changing news, so when a talent recruiter from television’s The Voice told him to pack his bags and head for Los Angeles last May, it was sort of a “same song, different verse” situation. This time, however, the verse was a whole lot sweeter.

The Pell City native and his family were first stopped in their tracks by unexpected news when Berritt was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart disease at age 8. Eleven years later, the call welcoming the 19-year-old aspiring singer-songwriter to Season 21 of the NBC reality singing competition was much more fun.

“We were all whooping and hollering,” Berritt’s mother, Monica Haynes, said. “It was so loud, Berritt had to go outside to talk to her.”

Although he was eliminated in the Knockout Round of the competition that aired last fall, Berritt said he has no regrets. He earned high praises from the celebrity judges, including country singer Blake Shelton, who was Berritt’s team coach, and he said he grew as a singer, a performer and a person.

“This whole experience has been so amazing!!” Berritt said in a social media post after his elimination. “This is only the beginning, y’all!”

Since then, Berritt has been playing as many gigs as he can, writing music, honing his craft and continuing to dream big. “I’ve gotten a lot more confident, and my voice is stronger than before I went,” he said. “I’m just playing as much as I can and hopefully, something will come of it.”

Heartbreaking news

Berritt, who turns 20 on April 12, was at his 8-year-old checkup when his pediatrician, Dr. Keith Stansell, heard a heart murmur he hadn’t heard before. “A lot of doctors would have said to watch it for a while, but he’d seen Berritt all his life and knew it hadn’t been there before,” Monica said. “We sing his praises all the time.”

Berritt was referred to a cardiologist, who diagnosed him with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. It’s often known as “sudden death disease” because it can cause life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, and it’s the most common cause of heart-related sudden death in young people.

“They kept asking who in our family had died in their early 30s, but there was no one,” said Monica, adding that the disease is usually inherited. Genetic testing revealed that she has it as well, although her case is not as severe as her son’s. Berritt’s youngest sister, 13-year-old Kynlee, carries the gene but so far has not developed the disease. His father, Jeremy, and his sisters, EllaGrace, 14, and 17-year-old Ryleigh, have no heart issues.

“It was devastating,” Monica said. “I had a lot of mama guilt for a long time just knowing I gave that to my kid.”

Berritt’s lifestyle changed immediately after the diagnosis. He loved sports, but he had to quit playing baseball and football. At 14, after passing out on a hunting trip with his grandfather, Berritt had surgery to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placed in his chest. The battery-operated device detects abnormal heart rhythms and will provide an electric shock if necessary to make his heart beat normally.

Three years later, in 2019, 17-year-old Berritt underwent open heart surgery at the end of his junior year of high school. “My family and the Lord are what got me through it,” Berritt said when he shared his testimony a few months later.

Although Berritt had to give up a lot of things he loved, he discovered some new joys, as well. Right after the diagnosis, his parents started him in competitive BB gun shooting events so he could still compete in an outdoor activity. He won a number of awards in competitions all over the South, including a gold medal in the Alabama State Games. In 2013, he was named the ASF Foundation’s Male Athlete of the Year. “My dream is to one day compete in the Olympics,” Berritt said at the time.

Berritt credits family and faith in getting through open heart surgery.

It was music, though, that truly captured his heart. Both of his parents sing in the church choir, and even as a toddler, “Berritt would sit in our laps during practice,” Monica said. “He would sit there and sing his little heart out.”

That’s why they also enrolled him in guitar lessons after he had to give up sports. “We told him, ‘You can still be playing this when you’re 70, but you wouldn’t be playing baseball at 70,’” Monica said. In addition, Berritt started singing and playing with the praise band at his family’s church, Seddon Baptist Church, and he played the alto sax and tenor sax with the Pell City High School Jazz Band.

“I just love music,” said Berritt, who was singing with the praise band again two weeks after his surgery. “I really love singing worship songs.”

In full voice

Following his surgery, Make-a-Wish, a nonprofit that fulfills wishes of kids with critical illnesses, arranged for Berritt to be in the audience during a taping of The Voice and to meet the judges. COVID-19 derailed the plans, though, and Make-a-Wish refurbished Berritt’s pickup truck instead.

Berritt’s mom knew about her son’s dreams, though, so she took matters into her own hands and submitted a video of Berritt singing Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven to The Voice. He had auditioned twice before – once in middle school, once in high school – but the third time was the charm.

The initial call from the talent recruiter came during a family movie night. Monica saw a California number on her screen, thought it was spam, and let it go to voicemail. “Y’all are going to want to pause the movie for this,” she told her family after listening to the message.

When word finally came months later that Berritt had officially made the cut, he packed two suitcases, his guitar and a backpack and headed for Los Angeles. The shows were pre-recorded with audiences of about 150 screaming fans. “Sometimes you can’t hear what you’re doing,” he said.

The first time he took the stage during the “Blind Auditions” and sang Brett Young’s Mercy, Berritt tried not to think about the more than 7 million viewers who would eventually be watching the show’s premiere. “At that point, I was just singing for my coaches,” he said of celebrity judges Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Shelton. “When Blake turned around (to signify he wanted the singer on his team) all those nerves I had went away.”

Although Berritt, who graduated from Pell City in 2020, didn’t get a lot of air time during the show, the judges were quick to praise his talents. “I think you’re just a damn good singer,” Shelton told him following his first performance. In other shows, Clarkson said “his tone was cool” and told Berritt, “I was just captivated by you.”

During the two and a half months he was in Los Angeles, Berritt got to work with a vocal coach for the first time and enjoyed hanging out, singing and playing games with his fellow contestants. He also added a few new pieces to his wardrobe.

“There was nothing they gave me that didn’t fit me tight,” he said with a laugh. Although he got to keep a leather jacket, shirts and a few pair of jeans, he said the best thing he got from the experience was the feedback and encouragement from the coaches.

“Blake always had nothing but good things to say about what I was doing, what I was singing,” Berritt said. “They really build up your confidence. They want you to do good; they want you to be successful.”

Since he’s been home, Berritt has worked some as a substitute teacher to earn some extra money while continuing to do what he loves most – make music. He released a new single, Sidewalks of Birmingham, on all streaming platforms in January, served as grand marshal of the Pell City Christmas Parade and is performing as often as he can. In addition to playing Lakeside Live and other venues, he recently opened for Girl Named Tom, the Season 21 winner, at Iron City in Birmingham.

“The whole experience was amazing,” Berritt said. “With all the stuff I’ve been through, I just didn’t think I’d ever make it that far or amount to anything. It’s been a dream come true.” l

Editor’s Note: Want to keep up with Berritt’s career? Follow him on Instagram @berritt.haynes or on Facebook at Berritt Haynes Music.

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