It will be a special night of music and memories when a group of local musicians come together at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 8 p.m. to celebrate the 25-plus year career of the Greenfield-based band the Stone Coyotes and pay special tribute to drummer Doug Tibbles, who passed away in April.

Besides all the music he created with the Stone Coyotes, Tibbles also left an incredible legacy of his work as a visual artist and as a writer for television.

His life with the Stone Coyotes, the band that featured his wife Barbara Keith on vocals and guitar and his sons John Tibbles on bass and Doug Jr. on guitar, reads like something out of rock ’n’ roll novel.

It starts with Barbara Keith, a Franklin County native living in California, making it as a singer-songwriter in the late 1960s. She meets Doug Tibbles, a successful television writer who had penned scripts for shows like The Munsters, Bewitched, and many other hit shows of the day. After they were married, he gave up a job writing for the hit show Happy Days and she returned her advance from a major record label.

They eventually left Los Angeles and show business behind and settled in Greenfield. Barbara grabbed an electric guitar, Doug took up drums, and John played bass. The Stone Coyotes were born. Their first time performing before an audience was in the Cafeteria at Greenfield Community College.

More gigs followed. One day, they played in Los Angeles when the famed writer Elmore Leonard walked in. As soon as he heard the band, he knew he found the inspiration for his new book, “Be Cool.” Their music factored heavily in the novel, so Leonard took them on tour. It brought them national attention, but the Stone Coyotes weren’t chasing rock stardom. They focused on making good, honest rock n’ roll defined by Doug’s spare, forceful drumming, Barbara’s story-telling songwriting, and John’s thundering bass. Through 16 albums, three EPs, and hundreds of shows, including many throughout the valley, it was always about the music.

There was a private celebration of Doug Tibbles’s life at Hope & Olive in Greenfield this past May. On that night, family and friends, including many local musicians, gathered and honored Doug Tibbles’ life by playing Stone Coyotes music and viewing his artwork that graced the walls of the restaurant.

“It was great bringing people together to celebrate Doug’s life, so we said let’s amplify this, let’s do it in a different way to bring even more people together,” said Dawn Barrett in a phone conversation alongside John Tibbles, with whom she is producing the show at the Shea.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Retired police officer, veteran opens firearms training academy in Millers Falls

Valley lawmakers seek shorter license for FirstLight hydropower projects

More than 130 arrested at pro-Palestinian protest at UMass

Baseball: Caleb Thomas pitches Greenfield to first win over Frontier since 2019 (PHOTOS)

Real Estate Transactions: May 10, 2024

As I See It: Between Israel and Palestine: Which side should we be on, and why?

The Shea Theater is the perfect location for such an event because the Stone Coyotes not only played one of their first shows there in 1991, but their final headlining show took place at the venue in 2019. The band even released a digital-only live album, “Live at the Shea Theater,” that includes material from both shows.

John Tibbles and Barrett have enlisted WRSI morning DJ and Drunk Stuntman leader, Steve Sanderson, to serve as the evening’s emcee, and drummer J.J. O’Connell as its music director. In addition, O’Connell will be handling much of the drumming chores for the evening. O’Connell and drummer Don McAuley, who helped with this show but can not attend, were close drumming buddies of Doug Tibbles.

“It’s truly an honor to pay tribute to someone who was a mentor and a good friend, especially over the last four years or so,” said O’Connell. “Doug and I had many chats over that time, discussing all things drumming, as well as life lessons and stories. I definitely miss him and those conversations.”

The list of participating local musicians is an impressive one that includes the Winterpills duo, Matt Hebert, Alison McTavish, Amy Fairchild, the Fawns, The Lisa Bastoni Band, Chris Croteau, Kristian St John, Dave Hayes, Pierre Du Beauport, and others, including members of the Unband, and the Drunk Stuntmen.

“For me, it’s humbling and an honor to have all these talented musicians playing our music,” said John Tibbles. “They were all handpicked as we have shared the stage with them over the years.”

As music director, O’Connell reached out to the musicians and found them all more than happy to participate. “We could have gotten about 50 more,” he said about the enthusiasm he encountered for this project.

In addition to being a drummer, Doug Tibbles was a talented artist who created the artwork that appeared on the band’s album covers and the posters advertising their shows. Doug Tibbles worked in photography, collage, and digital imagery, and some of his work will be on display on the walls of the Shea Theater this night.

Old dolls, skulls, vintage book jackets, and coyotes are some of the images that appear in his work. Barrett was tasked with choosing what pieces, most never seen before, that will be on view.

“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “Doug had different types of compositions. He had beautiful prints ranging from the most crazy and obscure things to the most elegant and stunning. And in his collage work the detail is unreal.”

The night’s format is that each musical guest will play two or three Coyotes songs while photos of Doug Tibbles’ artwork and of the band will be shown in the background. Doug Tibbles Jr., Amy Tibbles, and a family friend, David Bove, are flying in from California to participate in a family segment where they will join John Tibbles and play a selection of tunes.

Barbara Keith will not be performing but will be in the audience enjoying it all. Allison McTavish and Amy Fairchild will have the honor of handling her vocals.

The musicians selected their own songs from the Coyotes’ vast catalog that ranges from country-tinged ballads to full-blasting rockers. “Surprisingly enough, there were very few common choices except for ‘Detroit or Buffalo,’” said O’Connell. “Overall, some of the hits and some deep cuts were picked. Then folks got together on the Facebook group chat I put together for the show, and they settled on personnel to back them.”

“It’s going to be interesting because they picked songs that we never would have picked,” said John Tibbles. “I’ve been looking at the list and some of these songs we hadn’t played in years”

John Tibbles can’t wait to hear these great musicians perform, and neither can we. “This is going to be a fun night, and there will be some surprises,” he said.

So don’t miss out on what promises to be an incredible night of music and an excellent way to pay tribute to Doug Tibbles and this band that meant so much to our local music scene.

Tickets are $17 in advance and $23 day of show. Tickets are available sheatheater.org and at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m and all ages are welcome.

Last week, DSP Shows announced some of the Green River Festival 2024 lineup, which will take place the weekend of June 21-23 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. The three headliners will be CAKE, Gregory Alan Isakov and Fleet Foxes. In addition, DSP Shows has announced an exciting group of up-and-coming artists that includes Joy Oladokun, Dakhabrakha, MdouMoctar, S.G. Goodman, Margo Cilker, Oh He Dead and Lola Kirke.

On Saturday, Nov. 25, there will be a pop-up box office at The Iron Horse, 20 Center St. in Northampton, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that will save you fees on the purchase of early bird Green River Festival 2024 three-day passes. At this sale, there will be no additional fees for tickets purchased with cash and reduced fees for those purchased with credit cards. This is the lowest price you will pay before they increase next week. Passes can also be purchased online (with fees) at greenriverfestival.com. Single-day passes, camping passes, and VIP will go on sale at a later date.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.