The Happy Ones

 Man, did we ever need this.

It had been a year since Kim and I had seen live music in a venue. Thank you, Covid. You were driving us nuts.

But on Saturday, The Happy Ones showed up at Junius Lindsay Vineyards in Welcome. We knew they were scheduled to be there, so we patiently marked time for a week or so until Saturday arrived.

We'd heard The Happy Ones before and really liked them. They are the acoustic duo of Brad Ratledge and Amanda Barnette, based in Mocksville, and they pretty much do the vineyard-pub-street festival circuit. In fact, you could almost consider them a Davidson County band what with fairly regular appearances on the Square in Lexington, or Sophie's, or Childress Vineyard, or Old Homeplace Vineyards, or JLV. You get the point. 

Amanda and Brad brighten our day.

So when Saturday showed up, so did we, along with our friends Mark and Karla Loper.

It was exactly what we needed.

"We've been doing this for what, five or six years now," Brad told me after their nonstop two-hour set. "When we first started, we did mostly rock. Now we've branched off into other genres. It just kind of evolved that way for us."

Their catalogue runs the gamut, from Eagles to CCR to Willie Nelson to Dolly Parton (or BeeGees, if you want to consider "Islands in the Stream" a Brothers Gibb tune).

They're very accommodating with requests. I wanted to hear "Drops of Jupiter" by Train, and Kim wanted to hear "Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter. Karla requested "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. Somebody else in the audience even asked for "You Are My Sunshine," which dates back to 1939. Guess what? The Happy Ones were happy to oblige. We about gave them a secondary set list with our requests. I can't believe the depth of their catalogue.

According to Amanda, Brad has been playing the guitar since he was 8 years old – or nearly 40 years. It shows. His fingers fly effortlessly across the strings and frets of his guitar and by the smile on his face, he clearly loves what he does.

And when he's not playing guitar, he's a mechanic for the Davie County School System. You kind of wonder if he whistles while he works.

"I met Brad at church," said Amanda, who is a dental hygienist in Mocksville. "He's a worship leader where we go to church. He was thinking of getting a band together. He knew I sang and one day he asked me if I wanted to join. So I did."

Amanda provides percussion with the cajón, or percussion box. I've never seen this instrument in any other band and it kind of makes the duo unique in this regard. It gives The Happy Ones a distinctive beat of their own.

But how do they sound?

This is the best part. To me, their voices blend naturally like honey and milk in a fruit smoothie. If an arrangement calls for an echoing harmony from Amanda, it's there. If a tune needs a supporting lift, Brad provides it. Together, they caress your ears. And both are strong lead vocalists.

Saturday turned out to be one of the best days we've had in a while, what with the weather, wine and camaraderie. We were starved for live music and mellow entertainment. Afterwards, as he was loading up his vehicle, I told Brad, "You know, today you've made us the happy ones."