To raise money for the United Way, Jeremy Slocum, coordinator of external events for the Student Association, has organized an evening of piano playing at Rick’s tonight. In “Dueling Pianos,” pianists Danny Childress and Robert Nighthawk will set up to play at opposite sides of the room and try “ousting” each other, as owner of Rick’s CafZ, Rick Welch, said.
“Dueling Pianos” begins around 9 p.m. and costs $5 admission, which will go to benefit the United Way, and tips for the pianists are also accepted. A pianist himself, Rick Welch said that those at Rick’s CafZ “are very excited about them (the pianists) coming. It is something very different and very cool-right up my alley.”
MSU’s campus-wide goal for the United Way is to raise $3,000. The United Way, the nation’s leading community help provider, is an organization that “brings communities together to focus on the most important needs in the community,” according to the United Way Web site.
Childress and Nighthawk are from Memphis, Tenn., and they perform nightly at Silky O’ Sullivan’s on Beale Street. Silky’s has featured dueling pianos for over 30 years.
After the MSU football game against the University of Memphis, Slocum went to Silky’s and began to talk to the piano players to get them to play a charity show in Starkville. The atmosphere is one of fun, with the dueling pianists taking requests as their play list for the night.
“They will play songs like ‘Dixie’ and the Mississippi State fight song to get the crowd excited,” Slocum said. “They are certainly crowd pleasers.”
For piano players like Childress, playing by request is his job every night.
“I’ve worked on and off at Silky’s for 12 years,” Childress said. He has played the piano for over 25 years.
“My dad was into music, and playing the piano was just something that I always wanted to do,” Childress said.
Playing the piano is Childress’ living, playing five nights a week for three to four hours at Silky’s and currently working on two albums.
“I am just now coming out with a record, and hopefully it should be out by Christmastime,” Childress said.
The dueling pianists do not travel often, and Childress said that a college-aged crowd would be a little different but very exciting.
“I definitely think it will be fun,” Childress said.
For more information on the United Way, visit www.unitedway.com.