Through a tilt-shift lens, Pea Green Saturday Night emcees Dean Rickman, left, and Len Willey preform their comedy show inside the Pea Green Community Hall during the Pea Green Saturday Night series on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023.
Attendees show up early as the Pea Green Community House fills up quickly, and everyone knows to bring a potluck dish. Onstage before the show is a microphone bearing the letters KPEA, call letters are for a fictional radio station that emcees Dean Rickman and Len Willey — musicians and “sophisticated hillbillies” known as the Pea Green Brothers — have created as part of their act.
For now, the show’s format will remain the same as it has been for the past 16 years: an opening band, followed by refreshments and a potluck, a short comedy routine and more music. The shows, held January through April, usually sell out. Doors open at the Pea Green Community House an hour before the 7 p.m. showtime. Cost of admission is $15.
LEFT: A corn combine sits in a field of dry corn stalks near Pea Green on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. RIGHT: A patron of the Saturday night series walks into the Pea Green Community Hall on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 During the winters of 2021 and 2022, in the thick of the pandemic, the Brothers had to make the difficult decision to postpone the series due to public safety.
Both men are thrilled to have the show finally return and look forward to many more years of delivering rarely-heard music. For Rickman, the show’s growth and authenticity is comparable with fixing farm equipment. For example, an engine can’t run for very long with cheap parts.