Playing on July 4th in Staunton part of Jack and Davis Reid's family legacy
STAUNTON — After performing on the main stage Tuesday night as part of Happy Birthday America festivities, Jack and Davis Reid headed straight to their merchandise table to talk with fans for nearly a half-hour. The two teenagers signed shirts, posed for photos with fans and just talked with everyone in line who waited to meet them.
They seemed at home in the spotlight, which isn't a surprise.
The lineage, for those unaware, is that Jack is the son of Wil Reid while Davis is Langdon Reid's son. Wil and Langdon are the duo behind Wilson Fairchild and are sons of Harold and Don Reid, respectively, of the Statler Brothers. So Jack and Davis are third generation musicians, growing up in Staunton.
Neither are old enough to remember their grandfathers as part of the Statlers — the country music legends retired from performing in 2002 — nor the big deal that was Happy Birthday U.S.A., a free concert in Staunton on the Fourth of July that not only featured the Statlers but typically another country music star performing at Staunton's baseball stadium. That ended in 1994 after 25 years, but Wilson Fairchild brought it back in 2017.
Jack and Davis have enjoyed being part of the revived concert to celebrate the summer holiday.
"It's as exciting as Christmas morning for a 3-year-old," Jack Reid said. "Last night I was in bed and I thought, 'You've got to perform tomorrow. You've got to go to sleep.' Then I remembered I was going to the parade and I might have got two-and-a-half hours sleep. Maybe."
The crowds may not be quite as large as they were in the days Reba McEntire and Charley Pride were at the heights of their careers and performing with the Statlers in Staunton to crowds approaching 100,000 people, but there is undoubtedly still an excitement in town for the Fourth that was missing for just over two decades until Wilson Fairchild brought the event back to life.
Even the chair dash has returned with families lining up this year at Moxie Stadium hours before gates opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday to set up lawn chairs for the evening concert. The first person through the gates this year was 14-year-old Andrew Shaner, who along with his dad Fred, arrived at 4 a.m. to be first in line. Shaner pulled a wagon behind him with chairs for his family.
He didn't have to be convinced to get up early to get in line either. Actually, he didn't even have to get up.
"I didn't go to bed," the younger Shaner said. Then, looking toward his dad, he whispered, "But don't tell him that."
The chair dash got Tuesday's events started and was followed by a 5K around Gypsy Hill Park. Noelle Naito of Elkridge, Maryland, is in Staunton as part of the Heifetz Institute's summer program. She's here for six weeks, the fourth summer she's made the trip to Staunton.
Tuesday was the 21-year-old's very first race and she did well, winning her age group with a time of 22:33.
"I just wanted to see how it goes," said Naito, who has run Gypsy Hill Park several times during her trips to the area. "I wanted to give it a shot and see what happened, and just have fun."
Following the Firecracker 5K was the annual Fourth of July parade. The major excitement in the parade this year was when one of the entries, Brian Fridley's 1965 Ford Mustang, caught on fire. No one was injured.
After the parade, there was music at both the park bandstand and the main stage at the baseball field. Jack and Davis Reid Music took the main stage at 6 p.m.
Jack has been fascinated with music since he was very young, watching his dad perform all around the country and seeing YouTube clips of his grandfather singing with the Statlers. Jack started learning guitar from his dad when he was 6.
"I was singing when I came out of the womb, I think," he said.
It took Davis longer to get that interest in music, although not for lack of trying on his cousin's part.
"I remember trying to make him a deal when we were real little," Jack said. "We had a school talent show and I offered to pay him if he came up on stage with me because I didn't want to do it by myself. I didn't get him to do it then but now he's turned into a heck of a piano player."
Davis was self-taught on the piano. He heard Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" when he was 13 and loved the piano. He remembers watching the video and teaching himself how to play. late at night. Then his dad jumped in and helped him perfect his craft.
The two are performing close to 90 shows this year, playing several times a weekend, usually starting on Thursdays. You can keep up with their schedule on their Facebook page at Jack and Davis Reid Music.
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Playing on July 4th in Staunton part of Jack and Davis Reid's family legacy
