Ten Dollar Pony to perform at Dangberg Historic Park

Blues and folk music by an area four-piece band will fill Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Sunday, Aug. 28.

Ten Dollar Pony, whose style varies between Americana, folk rock, country rock, blues, and even a little Latin, is the next band to perform live at the historic site, located at 1450 Highway 88 in Minden, about a quarter of a mile north of the Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital.

The core of the band is Larry Nair on vocals, guitar, dobro, banjitar and mandolin; and Liza Beth Oliveto on vocals, guitar, and mandolin.

Singer-songwriter Nair has been performing for the last 12 years all over western Nevada, and, on occasion, as far afield as Colorado, Minnesota and North Carolina. He’s recorded three CDs, two with his rock band Playa Papaya, and another with Oliveto. His influences include James Taylor, John Hiatt, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Griffith, Robert Earl Keene, Homer Simpson, Farley Mowat, Paulo Coelho, Ray Bradbury, and Google.

Liza Beth Oliveto has sung in various groups around the Reno/Tahoe area, including local favorite Playa Papaya. She takes co-writing credits on many of Nair’s songs. Her influences include Jewel, Brandi Carlisle, The Bodeans, Lowen & Navarro, Casey Chambers, Alice Peacock, and Caesar Milan.

Although the two have performed and written together since 2001, Ten Dollar Pony was formed in 2007 when Nair and Oliveto realized the duo format was the perfect vehicle for the lyrical and vocally driven music in which they were most interested. The two had previously collaborated on Playa Papaya’s CD “Dogs and Liars” as well as their first duo project, “Promised Land.” They’ve been featured in Hermitfest and also at Smith Valley’s exclusive Burning Girl Festival.

Rounding out the group are drummer Don Piletic and bassist Tom Patton. Piletic is skilled in laying down the energetic beat for bands from punk to rockabilly to prog, while Tom has wandered through the musical fields of classic rock, bluegrass, and a stint with a philharmonic orchestra.

The concert is sponsored by SoaringNV, Douglas County, The Record-Courier, Bently Enterprises, Carson Valley Accounting, Dr. James the Dentist, Internovations Website Design, Joe Benigno’s Tree Service, NV Energy, Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, Full Circle Soils & Compost, Allied Sanitation, A.B.E. Printing and Copy Center, Carson Valley Sertoma, Cowboy’s Café, and the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation.

The concert is also funded in part by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

The music begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for ages 16 and younger.

Tickets are available in Gardnerville at Battle Born Wine, in Minden at 88 Cups & More, and can also be purchased at dangberg.eventbrite.com. Unless sold out, tickets will also be available at the gate.

Visitors are invited to bring their own seating for the outdoor concert. Dogs aren’t permitted.

For more information, go to dangberghomeranch.org.