Amy gets around

Amy in Delilah, in the center with boots

So I'm sitting in the audience at the Victory Hall Theatre in Spring City watching the story of the Clarion colony, a story of Jewish families who came to Utah for a better life and tried for just under three years to make it work in Utah's desert climate.
I'm trying to figure out why the one girl in the chorus of seven looks familiar?
And why does the accordion player look like someone I should know?
I know why Marvin Payne strikes a familiar note.
He's been around nearly as long as Marc and I, living in Alpine trying to eke out a living making music.

Marvin Payne

He's up there singing the songs whilst his talented son, Sam, comes in and out of the band with catchy tunes and funny lyrics.
I figured out that I did a feature story on Janet Todd, the accordion player, when she played for the annual Swiss Days Festival in Midway.
But this girl seemed a little out of place in a calico skit and a homespun, woolish shawl.
Her face was pretty and her eyes were a really nice blue.
She looked kind of like Amy Whitcomb who sang this season with the all-female group "Delilah" on NBC's the sing-off show, a group brought back and put together from earlier seasons, handpicked for their talents.
I covered the shows for the Deseret News and followed Vocal Point and Delilah because they had Mormon vocalists and because they were really fun to watch.
Amy was the lead singer in Delilah with a powerful voice and a gift for showmanship.
I interviewed her just after they came in as the "almost" winners.
I knew she had a lot of engagements and offers to perform in exotic places like China and New York City.

Amy wondering about the trip

She clearly is headed for big things.
So why would she be on a tiny stage in a small Utah town singing about drought and hailstorms?
How would Clive Romney — the force behind Story Road Utah — get her to sign on for such a simple gig?

Amy as a Jewish daughter

"I took a class from Clive at BYU," Amy told me later. "I owed him one."
So it really was Amy.
She was happy to be there and she did well.
But I doubt very many people in the audience realized who they were seeing sing.