TJ Thomas and Kentucky Strait will perform in downtown Port Clinton on July 19. (Submitted photo)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PORT CLINTON – TJ Thomas has come a long way from playing in a polka band when he was 14. He has performed as a successful country musician around the U.S. and Canada, was featured several times on the Grand Ole Opry’s radio program, and has worked with country greats like the Oak Ridge Boys, Tom T. Hall, David Frizzell, Anita Cochran, and Merle Haggard’s son, Marty Haggard.

Thomas and his band, Kentucky Strait, will perform on The District stage in downtown Port Clinton on Saturday, July 19, from 8 to 11 p.m. Thomas plays lead guitar and vocals.

“We play a lot of classic country, like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and George Jones. We also do some Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton,” Thomas said.

If the crowd wants something more, the band can offer that, too.

“We try to have a mix. We can play country all night long, but if they want a little Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top or Motown, we’ll play that, too,” Thomas said.

Thomas is originally from Michigan, but he connected with country musicians in Ohio when he traveled with his grandfather to visit friends. His grandfather was friends with Ray Sleek of the Sleek Brothers band, who hosted big parties every summer.

“When I was 16, we went to one of their parties, and they had us get up and play with them. I got a phone call the next week asking if I was going to come

play again,” Thomas said.

When Thomas was 17 and in his junior year of high school, he joined the Sleek Brothers band and stayed with them for two years. He eventually spent four years with Uptown Country Band. Ray’s son, Jim Sleek, performed with the Sleek Brothers. He is the founder of the still-popular Uptown Country Band, and he is a member of Kentucky Strait, so both men will perform on The District stage on July 19.

After leaving Uptown Country, Thomas set off to play in house bands across Canada. He stayed on the road for 12 years.

“I just wanted to go out on the road. Back in the day, you could make a living doing that. Every bar on the corner had a live band back then,” he said.

Throughout those years, Thomas and Jim kept in contact, and, today, they often perform in each other’s bands.

This will be Thomas’ first performance on The District stage but not his first gig in Port Clinton.

“I’ve been in all the hotspots in Port Clinton,” he said. “I was eating dinner at Ala Carte Café and heard a band playing on the stage and decided I wanted to book that.”

Kentucky Strait will bring an energetic and diverse performance to downtown Port Clinton.

“We’ll do some ballads, like, ‘The Dance,” that I’ll dedicate to the soldiers and anyone who ever wore a uniform to protect us,” Thomas said. “But mostly, we’ll keep it upbeat. We try to do a little bit of everything.”