DJ VanDyke plays Patsy Cline tribute to packed house

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

The Mesquite Community Theater was without an empty seat on Saturday afternoon, May 4. A large audience came to hear local singer DJ VanDyke pay tribute to Patsy Cline and the Men of Country Music past and present.

VanDyke loved to sing all her life, but only sung professionally for a short time in the 1970’s.
She moved to Mesquite in 2015, and in 2018 she appeared in a local Elvis Tribute show.
At last week’s show, the audience discovered Mesquite’s own “Patsy Cline.”
“I am truly blessed God gave me a voice and at age 79, I can still sing,” VanDyke said. “I will be 80 in September, but let’s not rush it.”

And wow can she sing! Van Dyke was at the top of her game. She entertained the audience for 2 hours, with a 15-minute break. She belted out 22 tunes before performing her signature finale: three patriotic songs.

After performing her Patsy songs, she started singing songs made famous by the men of country music. Between songs she gave little known facts about each of the country singers. VanDyke sang songs from Hank Williams, George Strait, Charlie Pride, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell and more.

VanDyke and Toby Schield, another talented local, did a comical duet of “You’re the reason our kids are ugly” that was originally performed by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. It was a real crowd pleaser. Schield entertained the audience with a few solo songs of his own.

Audience member Dennis DeRoss said, “I am a fan of DJ’s, I attend all her performances. I cannot believe how long she can carry notes at this age. She is a real patriot and we all love her.”