Augusta at Night shows off stars

NORTH AUGUSTA — In an event that combined music and golf Friday night, Reagan Newsome might have been the perfect embodiment.

Moments after earning raves for her smooth swing inside a golf simulation tent, the 12-year-old from North Augusta beamed when asked about another of her loves.

"I really like Hootie and the Blowfish," she said. It is actually her second time seeing the band, although she was only 11 months old the first time, said her father, Jason.

"It's going to be fun," Reagan said.

Fans of both golf and music came out to test the golf simulators and listen to the band and opening act and music icon Sheryl Crow as part of the inaugural Augusta at Night at SRP Park.

Although it was their first time inside the new ballpark, Jim and Karen Coleman, of Martinez, were already fans.

"There isn't any place you can sit where you don't have a good view," he said.

"Everything was planned well," she said.

Although they might seem to be too young to be fans at 24, both Tori Stanek and Jordan Gunderson are big fans of the headliner.

"Hootie and the Blowfish is my favorite band," Gunderson said, as they waited in line to use a giant free-standing selfie machine to take a snap of themselves.

"I have lyrics (tattooed) on my back," said Stanek, which is "And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be" from the song, "Let Her Cry."

"I just really liked it," she said.

Stewart and Rhea Obermeyer, of Augusta, opted to go the more conventional route, snapping a selfie of themselves with the stage in the background just before the music began. They are both big fans of the band, as well.

"I grew up listening to it in my dad's Jeep," he said. "The '90s was the best era for music of all time."

"It's relaxing," she said.

Crow also is a fan and Friday's concert brought them all back to the beginning of that. She met them in 1995 in Augusta during the Masters Tournament playing an event together.

"We go back a long way,' she told the crowd. "This is the Masters. All I want to do is have a little fun before I die," launching into her hit, "All I Wanna Do."

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