Lake County resident Dave Hooper was the featured performer at Tuscan Village's Aug. 24 concert. Photo by Joanne Bateni.

LOWER LAKE – Everyone arrived at 5:30 p.m. for the concert on Aug. 24 but, due to the heat, Dave Hooper decided to start at 6:30 p.m.

So the resourceful patrons walked up the path to the Terrill Cellars Winery and enjoyed a sampling of the locally made wines. Two reds; a Cab and a Syrah, were offered, in addition to a Chardonnay and a Blush. After enjoying the wine, everyone marched back to the vineyard where Dave was tuning up.

Dave is a prolific songwriter with many CDs to his credit and he had all of them available for sale. He is also a fiction writer who has just completed a novel about Santa Catalina Island in the 60s and is currently in search of a publisher.

He sang mostly his original tunes which were well known to his fans who often sang the lyrics along with Dave.

Dave spends his winters in Austin, Texas, and mentioned that a springtime in Texas is like a summer in Lake County. He sang a few songs about Texas and California from two of his CDs.

A fan requested "Ring of Fire," a Johnny Cash tune written by June Carter, which Dave performed quite well. Then he sang an old Elvis song which never became a big hit, "I Got a Mess of Blues" which sounded almost as good as the King.

Dave Hooper is from Lake County and plays at various venues around the Lake so if you missed this performance or want to see him again just keep looking and you'll find him playing in a pub somewhere.

Next Friday, Aug. 31, the duo from Hidden Valley, Connie Miller and Bill Barrows, will be doing vocal harmonies along with Bill's guitar strumming. Come early for wine tasting.

David Neft encores with his keyboard on Sept. 14 in case you missed his first concert or want to see him again. Dave has a loyal following so this may be a crowded event.

Call 2 Goombas at 994-DELI (3354) for more details or to get on their calendar.

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