Guest musicians to perform Thursday at Jackson Municipal Band concert

Special guest musicians Doug Rees and "Hurricane" Ruth LaMaster will take the stage following the regular performance of the Jackson Municipal Band, at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Nick Leist Memorial Band Shell, 850 Symphony Lane in Jackson.

Thursday's performance will mark the second time LaMaster and Rees have ever teamed up on stage.

LaMaster will begin on vocals with Rees accompanying on guitar. Later, LaMaster said she plans to yield the microphone to Rees's vocals.

LaMaster hails from Beardstown, Illinois, and resides in the St. Louis area. Rees is a Jackson native.

Although Rees and LaMaster are not formally in the same band, Rees said they plan to conduct much of Thursday's performance as though they were.

Jackson native Doug Rees will be performing Thursday with Hurricane Ruth at the Nick Leist Memorial Band Shell in Jackson.Courtesy Doug Rees

"Doug is a good man, a great musician and human being. I'm very happy to be performing with him and also to be his friend," LaMaster said.

"This will be more [Ruth's] show. I may do two or three songs within there, but my main job, as I see it, is to accompany her," Rees added. "We haven't worked that much together, but I can feel a very good 'mojo' between us."

Rees said he was honored to be considered part of the show, because the main thing on his mind is learning LaMaster's material.

"Although the songs are not complicated, it's more about understanding somebody's 'feel' about the music [rather] than the music itself. You're not just playing songs, you're getting a feel of the [other] artist," Rees explained.

LaMaster added Thursday's attendees can look forward to an eclectic mix. She described what people can expect.

"Basically, all kinds of music, You'll be hearing some of my original music and [Doug Rees] has brought a couple songs to the table for me to sing, like some old Sam Cooke; and I've brought some of my original music to him," LaMaster said, predicting a mixture of classic rock, soul and blues.