The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

MONTICELLO, NY (May 16, 2011) – Some came by car, some came by bus, some probably even walked, but thousands came to the Monticello Casino and Raceway on Saturday for the 6th Annual ThunderBash, organized by radio station Thunder 102.

And together, those thousands of Thunderheads, as fans of the radio station have dubbed themselves, raised almost $4,000 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the YMCA of Sullivan County.

Headlined by American Idol finalist Bucky Covington, ThunderBash featured both national and local country artists. The evening opened with a presentation of the colors and a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner sung by Liberty High School student Dan Braunstein.

Nashville recording artist David Adam Byrnes (photo right) was one of the country singers who helped Thunder 102 celebrate their 5th birthday last summer. And Saturday night, the 23-year-old singer from Sherwood, Arkansas came back to Thunder Country to open the show, wowing the crowd with, among other songs, his current hit “Sweet Distraction.”

Tommy Steele (photo below) comes from a country music family. His mother, a former Nashville country singer and his father, encouraged young Tommy to work hard so he could earn money to buy his own instruments. Tommy just released his new CD “The Long Haul,” and Thunderheads went wild as he belted out his newest songs.

Even though Cooper Boone (photo below) was on his way to another gig, he stopped by long enough to serenade the crowd.

Sullivan County natives Ken and Barry Somerville have been entertaining their whole lives, not only playing music, but also writing it. They are signed to Nashville’s RPM Music Group. Recently, Somerville has taken 16-year-old Alyssa Startup (photo below with Barry Somerville), a past finalist in the Thunder Country 102 Colgate Country Showdown, under their wing. Together their performance was clearly a crowd-pleasing favorite.

Toward the end of their set, Ken and Barry brought Big John from Iron Cowboy (photo below) onstage to perform Somerville’s song “Tattoo of You,” which Iron Cowboy’s has recorded and used as the title of their debut CD. Living up to their motto “Country Music with Horsepower,” Iron Cowboy entertained their hearts out for the cheering crowd.

Just before the headliner took the stage, the Thunder 102 personalities, Mike Sakell, Paul Ciliberto and Michelle Semerano brought a bunch of their friends from the morning show “Ciliberto and Friends” onto the stage for the celebrated (and coordinated) T-shirt toss. This year, the lucky audience got not one, but two tosses, one from the stage and one from the aisles.

The crowd just about exploded as American Idol finalist Bucky Covington (photo left) ran along the aisle and up onto the stage. The former rock singer from North Carolina who graduated into was he calls Southern Country had the crowd standing on its feet and crowding the aisles, roaring its approval with cheers, whistles and applause.

In addition to the entertainment, tables were set up on the third floor of the Monticello Casino and Raceway showcasing all sorts of vendors and service organizations. From Edible Arrangements to Catskill Regional Medical Center, and from Cornell Cooperative Extension to the U.S. Army and Marines, from one of the newest Sullivan County businesses – Medicar – to the Sullivan County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and from ShopRite and Achieve Rehabilitation and Nursing Home to Premier Care Physical Therapy, all the tables enjoyed a healthy parade of passers-by and curious visitors.

The Committee for the Families of Iraqi and Afghanistan War Veterans had a stunning painting that will be raffled off 9/9/11 that depicts a collage from September 11, 2001. Call 794-0060 for information on how to buy a raffle ticket.

There were even a couple of beauty queens walking around, graciously posing for photos and signing autographs: Felicia Ramos (left in photo) of Wurtsboro, 2011 Miss Sullivan County International and Annarose Mongiello of Monticello, 2010 Miss Teen Thunder Country.

Tickets to ThunderBash were free and available at many Sullivan County businesses. A voluntary donation at the door resulted in the collection of almost $4,000 for St. Jude’s and the YMCA of Sullivan County, all from the hearts of the biggest fans of country music, Sullivan County’s Thunderhead’s.

To see more photos or to purchase prints from 2011 ThunderBash Takes Monticello by Storm, visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.