Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Bass player Dana Williams and guitarist fimmy Olander from Diamond Rio play Norma lean Rihy. The concert was originally planned for Lamkin Activity Center but was moved to the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center. Photo bv Jason Clarke. Lead singer Marly Roe of Diamond Rio sings Love a Little Stronger Over 1,100 tickets were sold for the concert. Photo bv Jason Clarke. 24 • Entertainment

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Cast mcm- h c r s of The Se- cret Giir- d e n gather to- gether for a group pic- lure. ' h o t o courtesy of The Se- cret Gar- den. The Secret Garden • 23

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A country and bluegrass mix gives Diamond Rio an award- winning sound. By Ruby Dittmer. Classic Country w, Sur- rounded by neon Ughtinif, hack-up Dana Williams entertains an almost- sold-out crowd. Diamond Rio was named Country Music ssaciation ' s Top Vocal Group in 1994. Photo hy Laura Riedcl. ith a rainbow of neon lights and a cloud of fog, Diamond Rio burst onto the stage singing, Mirror, Mirror. A country band with bluegrass and country roots. Diamond Rio first reached the music charts with their hit Meet in the Middle. The band was named Country Music Association ' s Top Vocal Group of the year in 1994. The crowd was hyped as the opening band put everyone in a country mood. Ricochet, from Omaha, Neb., had been together for a year and half, according to band member Eddie Kilgallon. We worked with Diamond Rio for two concerts, but hoped to work with them again, Kilgallon said. Anna McKenney believed Ricochet was an enjoyable opening act. They were pretty good, McKenny said. They were like other bands, but had a different approach to the way they played the songs. After Ricochet performed, the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center went black and Diamond Rio could faintly be seen walking onto the stage. Singing one of their first hits. Diamond Rio entertained a nearly sold-out crowd. The concert, originally scheduled to take place in the more spacious Lamkin Activity Center, was moved into MLPAC because of construction delays and slow ticket sales. I did not think that the concert should have been moved from Lamkin to Mary Linn because of the fact that many people ' s seats got changed for the worse, Angela Roush said. Promoting their new album Love a Little Stronger, Diamond Rio played a new single, Night is Fallen in My Heart. Diamond Rio also sang Norma Jean Riley, a song written by keyboard player, Dan Truman. In high school and college, when a guy liked a girl, he did things to impress her, Truman said. If he had seen her someplace with a dog, he might have bought a puppy, that was where I got the idea for this song. According to Marty Roe, Diamond Rio ' s lead singer, they did not choreograph their stage performance. It was all spontaneous if things happened and it was cool, we ended up doing it for about a year, Roe said. We did not do a lot of choreographing persay; we just tried when we performed to have fun with it. We just let it happen. Members of Diamond Rio said that they enjoyed per- forming in Maryville. It was a blast, Brian Prout, Diamond Rio drummer, said. What a great crowd. It was not often that we got a chance to have come to a place like this. It was a wonderful experience. Most students agreed with the band members. The concert was really fun because people were dancing around and just being wild, Jenni Nicholson said. The highlight of the concert for me was when they sang ' Love a Little Stronger. ' Neon lights and fog lit the stage as they entertained an almost sold-out crowd. With a country beat. Diamond Rio performed the hits that made them famous. Diamond Rio • 25