Rick Rayburn started performing at Rennels Pavilion in Morton Park Sunday without any problems until the soundcheck at the main stage started drowning out his performance.

This did not stop him from entertaining his audience of children, though.

Rick Rayburn, a musician and songwriter, began playing music by practicing Beatles’ songs on a ukelele at a young age.

“I started with the ukelele when I was in grade school, I stole my brother’s dollar ukelele he got for Christmas, I learned a few chords and then my uncle gave me an old ukelele he had up in his attic,” Rayburn said. “When I was in grade school I would run home during the noon hour, practice a couple of Beatles’ songs on it and then run back to school.”

Rayburn then tried leading into a song of his, “Are We There Yet,” but gave up quickly and stood there for a few minutes waiting as one of the event staff members to tried to rectify the situation.

He then had the children clap along with the music coming from the main stage hoping the sound check would be completed shortly.

He then started a “repeat after me game” about hunting a bear, in which the children acted as though they were going through a forest and hunting a bear.

Finally after the “repeat after me game” the sound check came to an end and Rayburn picked up where he left off with his act, by teaching the crowd his “Are We There Yet” song.

He continued on after that with his original childrens songs. He kept the crowd involved by asking them questions, having them act out actions, using props and having them clap along with the music.

Rayburn said he enjoys playing music for children.

“It’s like being a rock star back in the 70s, you get a bunch of kids up rocking and rolling, jumping and jiving and having fun,” he said.

Rayburn said after learning the ukelele he progressed on to a guitar and had his own band from eighth-grade until 1988, when he started performing solo.

Rayburn said he learned how to play music on his own and that it is similar to the way a music teacher would teach a student music. He said he started by learning the chords and melody, then progressing on from that starting point.

He said other than children’s music he does acoustic music geared towards adults.

Marcus Smith can be reached at 581-7942 or masmith6@eiu.edu.

Rick Rayburn performs a concert for the children at Red, White & Blue Days Sunday afternoon at the Rennels Pavilion at Morton Park. (Audrey Sawyer

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