Taking a step back from theatrical performances, the Bonnie Kate Theater will be flowing with music over the weekend.
Local recording artist Daniel Couper, stage name daniel couper, is set to perform Saturday, July 29, during his EP release party. The event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. with a $10 cost for tickets. Beth Snapp will also serve as the special guest musician for the event, which is expected to last two hours with two brief intermissions.
When it came to selecting a site to unveil the new album, couper said it came down to knowing Marcia Ross and the historical significance of the venue.
“Honestly, the reason the opportunity popped into my in head the first place was because I know Marcia personally,” couper said Wednesday. “We’ve worked together on a couple of projects already. I helped out with a couple of things over the summer, like the Covered Bridge Celebration, we did some performances with kids … and that’s when she suggested it. I was looking for a place to debut the EP so everything really just fell into place. There’s a lot of history here at the Bonnie Kate. To see it moving again, it’s great to be part of it.”
Saturday’s event will feature a bevy of artists working with couper, including Bets Couper, James West, Daniel Mermilliod, Millicent Runnels, Valerie Couper, Colin Jeffress, Jason Hardy, Michelle Couper, Justin Shot, Katherine Siglin, Eric Anderson, Nathaniel Couper and Andrew Hicks.
Ross, the program coordinator at the Bonnie Kate, added it is nice to see the facility grow with different events for the public to participate in.
“I think this is a natural progression,” Ross said. “This is something we’ve been meaning to add. We’re looking for a variety of things to use the stage for, and this is one of them. I’m excited to have this event underway. Daniel is such a talented artist, and we’re looking forward to this event to be a start off point for other activities.”
Seeing the downtown come to life is another reason for debuting the music at the Bonnie Kate, couper added.
“Jiggy Ray’s is really putting Elizabethton on the map,” he said. “A lot of artists from the Johnson City and Kingsport area are starting to recognize Elizabethton is a great place to make music.”
Attendees will receive a free copy of couper’s EP during the night.
“I’m a singer/songwriter,” he said. “My work is really acoustic driven but I’ll also play the ukulele or the piano.”
The artist added his music is more of the folk rock genre.
“The motivation for this EP is that every song is a story,” couper added. The artist added this EP is about a re-envisioned version of his first album with stories told through different characters.”
The public can visit https://thekeptcollective.bandcamp.com/album/epilogue-the-bienvenu-stories online to purchase the EP. Visit danielcoupermusic.com to learn more about the artist. Events going on at the Bonnie Kate can be viewed on the Bonnie Kate Theater Restoration Project Facebook page.