Robert Moore skipped football practice the summer of his junior year and picked up a dust-covered Yamaha, nylon-stringed guitar he found in his mother’s room.
The Birmingham, Alabama, native traded in his football jersey for that guitar and has continued his musical dream ever since.
“It’s basically my way of life. Everybody has a skill set and that just happens to be mine,” Moore said. “You only want to do what the Lord wants you to do. Being on stage is that plan for me and I get to make my living playing music.”
He met his wife, Amy Moore, through the music industry. After meeting, they played in other bands together until creating the cover band they are today: Style.
Style kicks off this year’s Sounds of Summer concert series with a 2-hour set list Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Columbus Riverwalk. Though the band usually performs for wedding and corporate venues, this is the second year in a row they will perform at Sounds of Summer.
Amy, Lowndes County native and lead singer of Style, and Robert, guitar player and vocals, both live in Columbus where they orchestrate the band’s business and act as their own booking agents. Music has proven to be both their passion and life’s work, they said.
Bass player Mike Yates, of Kosciusko, and drummer Bill Wilkins, of Meridian, have been playing with Style since its inception in 2016.
Wilkins received his first drum set when he was 5 years old. He currently works as a marketing associate for Sysco on weekdays and travels with the band for shows.
Yates, surrounded by family musicians, started playing music when he was 14. Performing in Style is his second job on weekends. Throughout the week, he directs the Holmes Community College show choir and teaches music theory and audio engineering.
“I enjoy seeing the people have fun that we’re in front of. I enjoy seeing the smile on their faces,” Yates said. “That’s what’s cool about the Sounds of Summer, seeing all the families come out and bring their kids and just have a good time and enjoy the music.”
The band members are ecstatic to come back and play music for the community, they said.
“I love to see the people who are working hard during the week,” Robert said. “They finally get to come somewhere and relax and have a good time.”
Anyone attending Thursday night’s event can expect to hear songs they know and love. The band will highlight hit songs from many popular genres.
“We are all pretty versatile,” Amy said. “What we really love is to see people having fun. We play anything from oldies to classics, to current top 40 hits, to country, rock, rap. It’s just a good variety.”
Style travels all over Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, but Amy’s favorite venue is whenever her crowd consists of the people who watched her grow up.
“A lot of these people that will be watching me Thursday night, they watched some really bad talent shows before, so it’s an honor that they still come out and support me, and that I get to show them kind of what I’ve done with my career,” Amy said. “No offense to any of my other shows, but nothing holds a candle to a hometown show.”
Since moving to Columbus, Robert has immersed himself in the community and has looked forward to this year’s performance.
“It’s a chance to see some familiar faces, eating snow cones and hotdogs and sharing a fun evening together,” he said.
Throughout their journey, Amy and Robert have continued to credit their faith for their current and future successes in the music industry.
“I love to take the talent the Lord has blessed me with and use it to glorify him,” Amy said. “In this case, it’s just a night a fun for the whole family.”
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