Roxy holds annual W.C. Handy’s Evening at the Roxy Great Pretenders Show
News, Russellville, Top News Stories FRONT PAGE, Z - News Main, Z - TOP HOME
 By  María Camp Published 
4:12 pm Thursday, July 18, 2024

Roxy holds annual W.C. Handy’s Evening at the Roxy Great Pretenders Show

Downtown Russellville’s Historic Roxy Theatre held its annual Great Pretenders show July 1. Chase Sparks gave the welcome, introduced the emcee and was the stage manager, Katernia Cole Coffey.

Performers

  • Gunner Lane sang “The Goodness of God” by Cece Winans.
  • Keylee Mayfield sang “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong.
  • Dana Hill sang “Girls Night Out” by The Judds.
  • Buford Parker sang “I Can See You With My Eyes Closed” by Ray Price.
  • Ariel Cothrum sang “They Just Keep Moving the Line” from “Smash.”
  • Angela Townsel sang “Landslide” by Stevie Nix.
  • Caroline Sparks sang “Something’s Got a Hold On Me” by Etta James.
  • Sydney Medley sang “Last Dance” by Donna Summer.
  • Bruce Hamilton sang “And I am Telling You That I Am Not Going” from “Dream Girl.”
  • Lily Cate Pace sang “At Last” by Etta James.

About the Performers

Gunner Lane is pursuing his dream in the radio business. He has a business called “Main Street Media”. He graduated from Tharptown High School and attended Northwest Shoals Community College. He works at Axis Sound & Lighting Equipment. He has been in several productions at the Roxy.

Keylee Mayfield is 11 years old and an upcoming sixth grader at Russellville Middle School. She enjoys singing, softball, volleyball, going to church and partaking in the Roxy shows, including the Christmas Spectacular and Salute to Broadway. She takes voice lessons at Love to Sing Studio with Tara Greenhill and baton twirling at Studio X-treme with Heather Davis.

Dana Hill  grew up in Belgreen. She has always enjoyed singing as a hobby. She has performed at local festivals and events, talent shows and in several contest, winning at the North Alabama State Fair twice. She entertained American troops and families in Europe as part of a DOD/USO Entertainment group in 1998.

She teaches second grade at Belgreen and still enjoys singing at local events and in her church choir.

Buford Parker is known in the community and the surrounding area for his Ray Price performances. He has participated in many shows at the Roxy. He is the publisher and editor of The Source Historical Magazine.

Ariel Cothrum is 10 years old and the daughter of Erica and Brandon Cothrum. She loves to sing and enjoys performing in musicals at the Roxy. When not on the stage, she can be found at home watching “Stranger Things.”

Angela Townsel has performed at the Roxy a number of times. She also sings at her church regularly. Her full-time job is at the Franklin County Courthouse in the Probate Office.

Caroline Sparks is the daughter of Philip and Andrea Sparks. She is pursuing a degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography at Northwest Shoals Community College and will graduate in December. She has been singing for as long as she can remember and loves playing any instrument she can, as well as writing her own songs.

Sydney Medley attends the University of North Alabama where she is majoring in Elementary Education. She works as a kindergarten aide at Russellville West Elementary and for the RES Afterschool Program. She owns an online menswear store called Kyle and Company Menswear. She is a graduate of Russellville High School where she was active in a number of organizations and was crowned Miss RHS 2020. She was third runner-up to Miss UNA, a preliminary for the Miss Alabama Pageant. She has performed at the Roxy and other community events.

Bruce Hamilton is a graduate of Russellville High School. He resides in Russellville and is a freelance interior decorator and landscaper.

Lily Cate Pace will begin her sophomore year at Russellville High School this year. She is a cheerleader and a member of the RHS Varsity tennis team, as well as a member of the Christian Students United, the Student Praise Band at Tharptown Baptist Church and is a Peer Helper. Her parents are Brian and Jennifer Pace and Jenny and Jeremy Reed.

Also on Franklin County Times
Cameras give law enforcement a leg up
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Police Chief Chris Hargett was at a conference in 2020 and while passing by some of the vendors there, he noticed one promoting a camer...
Defense project has public, vets ‘excited’
Main, News, Z - News Main
By Brady Petree and Addi Broadfoot 
March 25, 2026
BARTON— The queue of people clamoring to get into the Hadrian facility on Friday was lined down the sidewalk as members of the public and military vet...
Flanagan enjoys romance book cover modeling
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
March 25, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — What started as a few comedy videos on TikTok has grown into a career that has taken Andrew Flanagan from a welding job to romance nov...
Still waiting for rural ambulance answers
Columnists, Opinion
March 25, 2026
Rural Alabama has been waiting decades for access to affordable health services — and despite the empty promises of a bill funneling millions of dolla...
GFWC focuses on Alzheimer’s
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
March 25, 2026
The GFWC Book Lovers Study Club focused on Alzheimer’s awareness during its March meeting at Russellville First Baptist Church. Alzheimer’s disease gr...
Pitching is key focus for Patriots
College Sports, Sports
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
The 2024-25 collegiate baseball season was a solid one for the Northwest Shoals Community College Patriots and head coach David Langston knows what it...
Patriots build on strengths for fourth season
College Sports, Sports
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
The softball program at Northwest-Shoals Community College continues to grow as it enters its fourth season since being relaunched. Head coach Angel B...
RHS boys soccer aiming for state run
B: Spring Sports, High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The boys soccer team is off to a strong start this season and is aiming for a deep playoff run. Coach Larsen Plyler said the team has t...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *