Trenton Tunes: A Live Music Extravaganza Kicks Off During 2024's Alumni Weekend

If you are a live music fan, you are in for a treat later this month as no less than four Trenton
venues will have performers taking the stage.

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LEADERSHIP NORTHWEST MUSIC JAM – SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024

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The Leadership Northwest Music Jam kicks off the trio of performances with a concert at the
Black Silo Winery on August 31.

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The concert, a fundraiser for the Leadership Northwest Missouri Program, will feature the vocal
talents of Jordan Rainer, a country singer who made the finals as a member of “Team Reba” on
the 24th season of The Voice this past season. She will be joined on stage by Trenton resident
Makayla Mejia, who will open the show with a short musical set showcasing both her vocal and
instrumental talents.

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This is the fourth year for the event, organized for the purpose of supporting the Leadership
Northwest Missouri program, which provides training and networking opportunities for leaders in
the 19-county northwest Missouri region. At the program’s conclusion, participants are
challenged to use the skills they learned and develop a “class project” to benefit the leadership
program. It was the 2021 class that came up with the idea of a concert and class member and
Trenton resident Shane Lynch was asked to spearhead the effort. Lynch, who is physician clinic
manager at Wright Memorial Hospital, spent several years in Nashville working in the music
industry, making him the logical choice to help organize the event.

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“As we were talking about what we were going to do, the conversation kept coming back to
doing something with music,” he said. “With my Nashville connections and having the perfect
venue in Trenton with Black Silo, we decided to see if this would work.”

The first year – in 2021 – Nashville singer Sunny Sweeney was the featured performer. Her
opening act was Trenton resident Salem Croy, a vocalist/songwriter whose set included several
original songs. Croy’s reception from the audience led to the group deciding to continue using
local musicians to open for the featured performers at future concerts.

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“A lot of people knew Salem’s talents and came to our concert to hear her, then stayed for the
rest of the show,” Lynch said. “After that, we always made sure to have a local opening act.”
After using his Nashville connections for the first three concerts, Lynch and the committee
decided to take a different approach and look for someone with a connection to one of
television’s many talent competitions.

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“We just thought going another way and getting someone that the audience would know from a
show like “The Voice” might be a good idea,” Lynch said. “Having heard and seen Jordan on
'The Voice' and how far she went in the competition, I thought it might be fun to see if she
would be available.”

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As he didn’t have a direct connection to Rainer, Lynch sent an e-mail to her manager. And after
a few messages back and forth, Rainer was booked.

As for Makayla being part of the show, Lynch was able to make that happen after a talk with her
mother, Erica Zang, who is also a personal friend.

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“I had seen (Makayla’s) videos and thought she would be a great opener for the show,” he said.
“I asked her if she would be interested and she was very excited to do it.”

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The date of this year’s show coincides with the Trenton High School alumni activities, a move
the group made last year in an effort to provide another venue for alumni to attend while in
Trenton as well as a way to draw in a larger audience. It was a move that Lynch feels was a
good one as the 2023 show drew its biggest audience to date.

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Beginning this year, proceeds from the concert are being used to provide $500 scholarships to
two graduating seniors in the 19-county Leadership Northwest area. Lynch noted that one of the
scholarships will always be awarded to a Grundy County student while the second can go to a
recipient in any of the other 18 counties.

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“We felt that since our community has been so supportive of this effort, one of the students
selected for a scholarship should come from this area,” Lynch said.

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In addition to an evening of music, concertgoers will be able to enjoy food, wine and other
beverages from Black Silo as well as food vendors who will be onsite, including Roll'n Blue
BBQ and Champ's Tasty Treats, a food truck operated by 2019 Leadership Northwest graduate
Chip Holman.

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Tickets for this year’s Music Jam, which gets under way at 6:30 pm, are on sale through
Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com. There are also links to tickets on the Leadership Northwest
Missouri website, www.leadershipnorthwestmissouri.org. The cost is $25 if purchased before
the event. Tickets at the door will be $30.

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OTHER ALUMNI WEEKEND LIVE MUSIC

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In addition to the Music Jam, the 2024 Trenton High School Alumni Weekend schedule also
features live music at three other local venues.

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Free music will be a feature of the Trenton Alumni Weekend Car and Cycle Show Friday Night
Cruise on Aug. 30. The public event, which is sponsored by the Trenton Mo Cruise Night and
THS Alumni Weekend Car and Cycle Show, takes place at the People’s Co-Op/Mr. Tire parking
lot at 1736 E. Ninth St. Activities get under way at 6 pm and include music throughout the
evening by the Katatonic Rockabilly Trio, whose repertoire includes the best selections from the
50s and 60s. There will be food available from the Roll'n Blue BBQ food truck. Got a classic
vehicle you’d like to show off? Bring that along as well and participate in the car cruise that will
also be a part of this special event.

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Chumbley’s Bar and Grill, at 201 W. Eighth Street in downtown Trenton, will have live music
following the Leadership Northwest Music Jam on Saturday night, Aug. 31. Villains Dance, a
self-described 80s arena (cover) band, will take to the stage around 8 pm. You can check out
more about the band at the website, www.villiansdance.rock. There will be a $10 cover charge.
The bar will have its full drink menu available as well as a full food menu until 9 pm, after which
time appetizers will be available until around midnight.

On Sunday, Sept. 1, The Paseo brings its music to Java and Hooch, located at 2811 E. 10 th St.
The Kansas City-based band features THS alum Craig Johnson and his bandmates offering a
variety of music, including rock, funk, soul, jazz and blues. More about the band at its website,
www.paseoband.com. Java and Hooch has an outdoor area perfect for listening and dancing,
so bring your lawn chair. There will be a cover charge. A full drink menu and a food special will
be available throughout the evening.

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Blog written and submitted by Diane Lowrey.