“The Guys” Take Center Stage for Full Moon Concert in Tonkawa

  The Guys will headline the Full Moon Concert on Thursday, August 11, in Tonkawa Centennial Park, 301 East Grand, Tonkawa.

The musically eclectic band features Brandon Haynes (lead-vocals), John Shwayat (bass), Hunter Vogele (drum-set), and Erik Willadsen (guitar). The Guys performs a broad selection of pop-genre covers including pop, rock, and some good ole’ oldies!  The band evolved from Holly & the Guys after Holly Peart’s retirement form the group.

Haynes teaches music and is the vocal director and musical arranger for the Roustabouts at Northern Oklahoma College (NOC), and he is also the director of music and worship arts at First United Methodist Church in Tonkawa. Haynes performs regularly at the TS Fork Restaurant in Tonkawa and recently directed, produced, and participated in two virtual concerts of Cimarron Opera’s annual Festival of Spirituals.  

Vogele (aka Hunter Grant in the music realm) connected with Haynes through church praise-band collaborations and the NOC Roustabouts. In 2019, he co-produced his debut solo album with Haynes entitled Hunter Grant: Pieces and is currently a manager at Lowes in Edmond. Shwayat is a music graduate from NOC and frequently performs bass in the area. Outside of music, Shwayat is a deputy treasurer at the Kay County Treasurers Office. Willadsen is a teller supervisor at Equity Bank, performs guitar with the band, and studies guitar with Joel Levine in Ponca City.

Haynes has also kick-started a fundraising campaign on the PayPal Generosity Network to help fund his very first professional music album. Contributions can be made at www.paypal.com/pools/c/8LFclEbtNm.  

The family-friendly concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Heart in the Park Pavilion and is free to all. Since bench seating in the park is limited, the public is invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Pets on leashes are welcome and restroom facilities are located across the street in the Santa Fe Depot. Throughout the evening, concert goers may walk the world’s only heart-shaped labyrinth, and the evening concludes with the traditional group howl at the full moon.

North Central Oklahoma Arts Council and Heart in the Park Committee of the Tonkawa Historical Society sponsor the free monthly concerts from May to October on the night of the full moon. Next month’s Full Moon Concert scheduled for Saturday, September 10 will feature The Hayes Brothers Band, back by popular demand. In case of inclement weather or for more information, check for Full Moon Concert updates at https://heartinthepark.org/ and on NCOAC Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonkawaArts/.