Business, music mix in Wartrace

The Chamber of Commerce coffees in Wartrace have been offering something unusual lately -- live music.

"At the chamber meeting before last, we had talked about the last mixer at Wet Your Whistle, and at that time Duffy (Jackson) and I played, just some background music," said Joe Peters.

Peters sings and drums with the popular Midnight Special Band, which has played in Wartrace, Shelbyville and Bell Buckle extensively -- but he also owns the recently remodeled Walking Horse Hotel.

"I said it would be nice to do something at the hotel," he said.

So Thursday night at 6, the Walking Horse Hotel will be hosting the Wartrace Chamber of Commerce meeting, and while Duffy Jackson, a renowned jazz musician, won't be able to play this time, Don Jones will.

"He's a kind of a novelty," said Peters. "A left-handed guitar player, he plays a reverse-strung guitar. He plays beautiful chords that don't really exist, like Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney. If I can, I'll break out my snare drum and play a little time with him."

It's not a concert, but just some fun music for a friendly gathering, he added.

"We'll have snacks and finger foods -- more cookies and coffee, things of that nature. We're hoping for a bigger group to come out and support the chamber," said Peters.

Peters has been working on the hotel since 2007, and most of the remodeling is done, except for some work needed on the third story rooms, he said. It is open, and almost all of the rooms are already booked for the Celebration. And even though the restaurant isn't up and running yet, guests will get breakfast.

"We are in the process of working on a number of things in association with the restaurant," Peters said. "We're going back to Southern cooking, good old country food."

He said he hopes to have the restaurant up and going soon, but doesn't have a definite opening date yet.

"We want to make sure everything is just right," he said. "We want to meet the expectations."

Peters is also working out a music schedule for the year.

"Besides Midnight Special, I want to bring in great artists of all different styles to play while making sure folks are having a good time."

If you go

The Wartrace Chamber of Commerce mixer will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Walking Horse Hotel. There will be live music and refreshments and everyone is invited.