Beech Tree News Network

Saturday night May 19, I made my inaugural trip to the new SKYPAC (Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center) in Bowling Green.  I received tickets to see comedian Jon Reep as an early birthday present.  It was definitely a great gift! I hadn’t laughed so hard since seeing Larry The Cable Guy at the Ryman several years ago. 

Comedian Brian Kiley (twitter name @Brianekiley) was the opening act.  He was very funny-a great warm-up act for Jon. He did a lot of jokes about the surrounding area that really rang true and was a home run for the crowd.  After about 30-45 minutes, Brian introduced Jon (@JonReep) to the stage.  You may know Jon as the “That thing got a hemi” guy in the Dodge Ram commercials.  He’s from Hickory, North Carolina-which you can only say with a head-bob as he does.  You may recall that he played Sherriff Gerald Bob on the television show Rodney.  Also, he was the season five winner of Last Comic Standing.

Everyone in the surrounding area, everyone in the south, really, can relate to Jon’s stand-up routine.  He’s very much a good ole country boy who happens to live in the city, or as he calls himself, a Metro Jethro.  That’s actually the name of his DVD/Comedy Central special.  He also has a song by the same name.  Look it up on you-tube. 

He told some great jokes about tubing, and a real side-splitter about his dad trying to fix the swimming pool.  I can’t repeat it, but it had me with tears coming down my face.  His father actually tells it on Jon’s DVD.  Those in attendance even got the chance to meet the comics after the show!

SKYPAC has a 200-seat flexible studio theatre, 1800 seats, includes a children’s art gallery-showcasing some of the best local, national and regional artists.  There will be an outdoor theatre slated to open in the fall of 2012.

I would like to take this time to thank Greg Keightley, development and marketing manager at SKYPAC, as well as the rest of the staff for being so accommodating.

Hello, my name is Andy Sullivan. I received my bachelor’s degree in business from Mid-Continent University in May 2009. I began writing for Beech Tree News in July 2009.  I enjoy playing guitar, the occasional Wii game, writing, and listening to music. I write a sports blog that can be found at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sports-news-and-views.   If you have a comment, feel free to leave it in the space below.