Seeing bands like REO Speedwagon and 38 Special rock on stage in their hometown of Columbus, Peter Olson and Nick Niespodziani grew up dreaming of one day performing in front of thousands at Mill Race Park.
While it wasn’t quite what they’d imagined, the 1996 Columbus East High School grads got their wish over the holiday weekend as their band Yacht Rock Revue headlined the same concert as their heroes before them.
The nationally touring group, known as the “Greatest Show on Surf,” delivered spot-on soft rock covers from the 1970s and ‘80s, while also inserting an original song into its set, during a livestream performance for the 34th Annual Our Hospice of South Central Indiana concert Saturday night.
Instead of delivering their smooth-sailing songs in front of captain-hatted and collar-popped fans in Columbus, the group played from the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia, where the band is based. The 3,600-seat venue, which is located next to Truist Park — the home of the Atlanta Braves — didn’t have an audience.
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Olson estimated that there were 15 people total in the facility, which included the nine on stage.
The show opened in true yacht rock fashion with a cover of the popular 1972 track “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass. The melody tells a romantic story of a woman, working in a harbor town, faithfully waiting for her lover to return from the sea.
Cool renditions of the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes,” and “Somebody’s Baby” by Jackson Browne, followed the opener before Niespodziani took a few seconds to retell a recent visit he and Olson made to Columbus.
Niespodziani said he and Olson spent most of their summer with family in Columbus since their concert schedule was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the musicians weren’t able to take their kids to “staples like Zaharakos and The Commons,” Olson said his family spent a lot of time outdoors admiring the area — including zipping along the People Trail.
Later in the highly-produced show, in another nod to his roots, Niespodziani pointed out to viewers that he was wearing his high school colors and had custom East Olympians Chuck Taylors on for the show.
The group gave first-class renditions of songs by Bill Withers, Steely Dan, Gerry Rafferty, Hall and Oates and Seals & Croft, and more — while mixing in their own original, “Bad Tequila,” from the band’s debut album “Hot Dads in Tight Jeans” — before concluding with a passionate rendition of Toto’s “Rosanna.”
“I thought it was a super fun concert. We made the best of the situation,” Niespodziani said. “I had friends from Columbus texting me, sending me photos of them watching with the show projected out back of their house. I think we did our best to create the vibe that the Our Hospice concert has always had. I remember going to the concert when I was a little kid. It has always been such a community vibe for Columbus, and I think we did a good job of recreating that in a virtual way tonight.”
At the show’s conclusion, five cash prizes were awarded to raffle participants. Kirk Thomas was the big winner in the contest, taking home the $10,000 grand prize.
Leading up to the concert, Our Hospice held multiple fundraising events in hopes of making up for lost funding from its biggest fundraiser of the year. At last year’s event, which featured ‘80s band Survivor, Hospice netted $124,000 with nearly 7,500 in attendance.
Laura Leonard, hospice executive record, said that while the final numbers won’t be released until Tuesday, the community’s support has been overwhelming.
“We are so proud of our community — they came to our help,” Leonard said. “At the fish fry, we had more sales than we’ve ever done before. With all the sales of cookies and raffle tickets….we are just so grateful. The community really pulled through for us. We are going to add everything up, but we are probably doing just as well or better than other years.”
Our Hospice has a special place in Olson’s heart, as he’s seen firsthand how it can change people’s lives.
“My father, Larry Olson, has been an orthopedic surgeon in Columbus (at Southern Indiana Orthopedics) since 1980,” Olson said. “He just retired and was a member of the board for Our Hospice for a number of years. I always thought I was going to be a doctor following in his footsteps.
“I’ve always taken an interest in health care. I worked at the hospital in Bloomington for a number of years before moving to Atlanta. These annual concerts were a part of my youth, and I’ve always been interested in giving back and supporting the community in any way possible. Having moved away from Columbus, and being able to come back and give back kind of brings the cycle full circle.”
While the remainder of this year’s concert schedule, put on by national promoter Live Nation, is still up in the air, Olson said he feels encouraged the group will do another live, online concert after Saturday’s successful show.
While the two could check off the hospice concert as the latest bucket list item, Niespodziani and Olson said they hope to headline this concert in person one day.
Until that day comes, Yacht Rock Revue will stay on course — riding its wave of success wherever it takes them.
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For more photos, go to therepublic.com.
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