John Pickle will bring his audience-friendly music to RiverFront Live on June 14. (Submitted photo)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

When John Pickle steps before the RiverFront Live audience in The District in downtown Port Clinton on June 14, his performance will be all about connection. His unique guitar and harmonica concert won’t be a sterile performance from the stage. Instead, his music is the outstretched hand that links musician and listener so uniquely that Pickle allows the audience to choose the songs he plays.

“I’m very, very audience-oriented. I don’t have a list of songs to play. That’s not the window for me,” he said. “I have songbooks with 200 to 300 songs that I hand out to the audience. They pick what I play.”

Pickle has been connecting with audiences his whole life. He began playing guitar when he was about nine years old, and by the time he was 12, he had formed the band “Shenanigans” with three friends. The group played at festivals around Toledo.

“We were four little kids. I played banjo, and the others played guitar, bass and washboard,” Pickle said. “We never got hired. We played and put a basket out and got pretty popular around Toledo.”

Eventually, the band members grew up and got too busy to play together. Pickle played solo for a while, but when he got married, he put music behind him. He thought it was a forever decision.

“I got married, and I thought my music career was over with,” Pickle said. “I put my guitar in the closet and started my real job.”

Several years went by, but the desire to step back onto the stage never left.

“It was driving me nuts. I had this talent and wasn’t using it,” Pickle said. “My wife had a friend who was an activity director at a nursing facility, and she suggested I play there.”

That was 1996, the year Pickle made his reentry into entertaining.

“I played at the nursing facility. I was so nervous, but the people just loved it. Word spread, and I started playing all over the place at nursing facilities and senior centers,” he said.

Word about Pickle’s concerts spread into the night scene, too, and today he performs at wineries, clubs and bars several nights a week.

“I play at wineries all over this area,” he said. “I love the clientele at wineries. They really love my show.”

Pickle is a fulltime musician now, playing over 300 gigs each year, yet he still spends his days playing at nursing facilities, bringing the joy of his music to people who rarely walk out the facility doors.

“I just have fun with people. That is my calling. It’s what God put me on this earth to do,” he said. “I’m having a blast here on earth, helping people smile and have a good time.”

Pickles’ concert is the second of the summer series of RiverFront Live concerts held every Friday night at 6 p.m. in The District in downtown Port Clinton. The concerts are free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to purchase dinner at one of Port Clinton’s many restaurants to enjoy during the concert.