Ryan Oyer makes post-Thanksgiving plans - Nov. 30

photo Ryan Oyer will host a post-Thanksgiving showcase of local music at Barking Legs Theater on Saturday.

IF YOU GO* What: ArtFront presents Ryan Oyer's After Thanksgiving Local Music Extravaganza. By Order of the Queen opening.* When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.* Where: Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave.* Admission: $10 in advance, $12 at the door.* Phone: 423-624-5347.* Website: www.barkinglegs.org.

Assuming people survive a starch-induced Thanksgiving coma and the Black Friday shopping gauntlet, local singer/songwriter Ryan Oyer is hoping a little music will revive their holiday pep this weekend.

On Saturday, Nov. 30, he will host and perform in the After Thanksgiving Local Music Extravaganza at Barking Legs Theater. The showcase will feature more than a half-dozen local musicians, including Gabriel Newell, Tiffany Taylor, violinist Jessica Nunn and this year's Road to Nightfall battle of the bands winner Amber Fults. Teenage duo By Order of the Queen will open the evening, which will feature short sets by each artist as well as occasional collaborations, both rehearsed and impromptu.

Much like local tribute supergroup The Communicators does, Oyer hopes the showcase will help these artists' songs reach new ears.

"I think somebody who hasn't heard Gabriel before will be blown away, and so will fans of mine who haven't heard [Dan] 'Danimal' [Pinson]," he says. "It's a good way for all of us to share our audiences to let them know about other people who are playing in this town."

Although there likely will be a few covers thrown into the mix, the emphasis of the evening will be on original music, says Oyer, whose hook-filled Brit-pop song "Rabbit Hole" generated a lot of buzz on the local scene in 2010. He says he plans to premiere material from his upcoming album and EP during his set, which will wrap up the evening.

About a month ago, Oyer and Pinson - partners in soon-to-be-defunct songwriting ensemble Woodford Sessions - put out a call to local musicians with whom they frequently collaborate. The enthusiastic response they received, he says, created the kind of problem most event producers would love to have: too much of a good thing.

"The hardest thing for me was that there's so much talent in this town," Oyer says, laughing. "The way I look at it is that, if it goes over well and people like it, I'll do something like this again with other artists.

"It could become a thing."

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @Phillips CTFP.

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