Family, Friends and Fans Join For One More “Tailgate Tuesday” At Dan McGuinness
About a year and a half ago the music community lost a great musician and wonderful man, Tony Lopacinski. On Tuesday, his friends and family gathered to celebrate his life and music in a very special performance at Dan McGuinness Irish Pub.
Tony was a multi-talented singer/songwriter/instrumentalist who penned hits such as “We Weren’t Crazy” by Josh Gracin, eventually becoming his bandleader. He also toured with Train as their guitarist, as well as playing with Shelly Fairchild, Julie Roberts and others. At the time of his passing, he was concentrating on his band Tailgate South. He passed away in June of 2011 after a 15-month battle with cancer.
Tuesday saw the patio at Dan McGuinness full, as Tony’s friends and former collaborators took the stage to sing his music. Among the artists were Nashville songwriting standouts Mike Willis and Devin Belle, and former Tailgate South partner Mickey Kelley.
In addition to a night of music, there were also CDs available composed of songs that Tony never had the chance to finish. The aforementioned artists, along with many others came together to complete his work on the album entitled A Candle To You.
Tony with his wife Sarah and their children
Proceeds from the evening went directly to the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital as well as to the doctor who treated Tony, upon the request of Sarah, Tony’s wife.
Although the mood of the evening sounds somber, it truly was a celebration. The music was tremendous, often consisting of four and five-part harmonies. Most were songs the artists wrote with Tony, including a few Tailgate South favorites; several were songs from A Candle To You; and others were simply songs by the artists themselves that Tony loved. Sarah Lopacinski even took the stage at one point to give thanks to everyone who was involved in her husband’s life and music. Dry eyes were hard to come by.
A personal backstory: My mother and I first visited Nashville several years ago, and accidentally stumbled upon a band playing at Dan McGuinness on a Tuesday night. It turned out that band was Tailgate South at their monthly “Tailgate Tuesday” event. I immediately bought their album and absolutely wore it out until I actually moved here a year later and looked them up.
Mickey, Tony and I quickly became friendly, and I went to see them live any chance I could. I even got several friends hooked on their music. Shortly after moving here, I found out Tony had been diagnosed with cancer, and what seemed like far too soon after that… Tony was gone.
This week, although it had been almost a year and a half since we lost Tony, I was so happy to say that I was once again at a “Tailgate Tuesday” at Dan McGuinness.
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