Greenville Woman Has Seen Marty Perform Over 30 Times

"It was wonderful. The crowd was really receptive to Marty. He put on a good show," said Meister. She is a member of his fan club which is based in Tinley Park, Illinois. The cost is $15 per year. "You get about four newsletters a year, photographs and information on Marty and his band," she said.

Meister has been a fan for five years and has seen him in concert over 30 times. "I've gone to Opryland seen him perform five times in one weekend." She said everyone was surprised by the $10 cost to see Stuart in concert. "Normally his tickets are around $25. It's not the same show. He does different songs and sometimes he plays the mandolin."

Before coming to Central City, the performer was at the Washington County Fair in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The day after the Homecoming concert, he was scheduled to be in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania for another fair.

"When you go to his concerts, you meet other fans and I've made a lot of friends through Marty," said Meister. Her most prized possession is a T-shirt that Marty signed before his performance Saturday night. He wrote "To the Kentucky girl, Love Marty."

Other fan reactions to the concert follow:

"I loved the concert and I love Marty," said Ruth Schmitt, 32, of Evansville, Indiana. However, she didn't like being told to sit down in her front row seat by police during the concert.

Tracie Reaves, 28, of Ft. Thomas has similar comments about Stuart. "Marty just gets better every time I see him." She should know as this is the ninth time she has seen Stuart since May.

Susan Remmy, 33, of Cincinnati, Ohio had hoped Don Everly would perform. "I wish Don had sang. That would have been great if he had just done two or three songs."

Seventy-year-old Dorothy Whitfield of Luzerne was attending her first Homecoming concert. "It was good. I wanted to see Marty Stuart. I thought he was good," she said with a smile. "I watch him all the time on CMT."

Another first-timer was Mary Alice Tilford, 33, of Clarksville, Tennessee. "It blew me away. He's excellent. He's very intense. I would have paid $500 to see him perform." She has seen Stuart six times in concert and this was, by far, the cheapest ticket price she has paid. Her advance ticket was only $10. "The security was excellent. When people up front were standing, the police would get them to sit down. It's nice that we didn't have to pay to park. Everybody was extremely nice and helpful," she added.

Mike Gray, 45, of Owensboro attended his eighth consecutive Homecoming concert along with his wife, son and friends. "We couldn't miss it. Marty did a great job, but I wanted John Prine and the Everly Brothers to come back. The price is right. It's the best deal in town."

Fans also enjoyed the two 10 by 14 foot wide video screens that showed the performers.

Franklin Cope, 23, a Job Corps student who helped put up the concert stage, was also impressed. "It was a blast. Everybody enjoyed it. Marty was excellent. He puts on a marvelous show. Kentucky Thunder and Brian O'Neal were really good. I hope all three acts are back next year."

Central City native Mary Lee Kelly, 40, of Elizabethtown was attending her fourth concert. "It was pretty good. Marty was very entertaining. But they need to have music playing in between acts. I would like to see John Prine back here next year.

Another city native, Ronnie McRoy, 47, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona has only missed one concert. "I thought it was terrific. The people that were here were good. It always runs smoothly. I'm disappointed John Prine and the Everlys haven't been here the last two years."

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