Rosey Colored Glasses

Harmonica player Pete McMahon took center stage to sing “Deep Down
Inside,” a track off Dean’s 1995 album I Don’t Want To Leave You (Z-K
Records) as the make-shift band wound its way through a number of
Dean’s more popular songs. The band was laughing and joking throughout
the set, creating an infectious atmosphere that spread quickly
throughout the crowd. Many members of the assembled throng were wearing
Roosevelt Dean t-shirts and memorabilia.

Fiddle player Pete Daniels and WAER-FM deejay and gifted harmonica
player Tom Townsley entered the stage for a phenomenal rendition of
“Don’t Leave Me,” a duet between Kelly and Dean’s longtime guitarist,
Todd Fitzsimmons, which featured weeping solos from Daniels and
Townsley. Everybody returned for the set-closer “Touch Somebody’s
Hand.” The song featured nineteen musicians on stage, including six
guitarists and three harmonica players, and was punctuated at its
height by Kelly’s yell of “everybody solo!” which unleashed
good-spirited chaos and epitomized the loose nature and enjoyable
atmosphere of the tribute.