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Scott and Dylan's excellent adventure

By Julie Wootton/Staff Writer

nly one senior showed up for an assisted living facility’s popular bingo tournament on a summer night in Reno, Nev.

That’s because two college guys stole the show with their folk music concert, drawing seniors who hadn’t missed bingo in more than three years.

San Luis Obispo natives Scott Conroy, 20, and Dylan Horst, 22, recently returned from a six-week tour playing at senior assisted living facilities across the western portion of the United States.

After performing 55 shows at 47 facilities in 16 different states, the musicians returned to perform their “welcome home” concert at the Wyndham Residence in Arroyo Grande on Aug. 22 for an audience of about 30 residents.

The South County concert, full of jokes and stories, brought many smiles to the audience. Residents tapped their feet and canes, nodded their heads, clapped and sang along with familiar songs. Some rested their eyes.

“It takes you back to the hills of Tennessee,” one resident said after the first song.

Bog Thistle

The two-member group, called Bog Thistle, performs folk music using a banjo, guitar and vocals.

“The main goal is to pump people up through our music,” said Conroy, who grew up in the same San Luis Obispo neighborhood with Horst, and casually started playing music with him in his family’s garage.

Horst said his father, who is a guitar player, exposed him to many different types of music, including folk.

“I realized the power and lure of folk music,” he said. “It is so simple.”

The musicians named their group “Bog Thistle” after the Chorro Creek bog thistle, a plant only found in San Luis Obispo.

Conroy and Horst launched their tour July 1 in San Luis Obispo and ended Aug. 17 in Watsonville.

“It was a lot of shows and a lot of time in the car,” Conroy told the Wyndham residents.

The musicians drove Horst’s 1995 Toyota Corolla across the country, staying in campgrounds and hotels along the way. Staff members at several of the retirement homes also offered them places to stay.

“We packed the car to the brim,” Conroy said.

Tour beginnings

Conroy and Horst said they were first inspired to begin playing for seniors after a planned trip to perform for their friend’s great-grandmother at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Upon arriving at the hospital, however, they were informed she had died that morning.

That afternoon, they played their first concert at a local senior assisted living facility.

Wyndham’s event coordinator said she was originally hesitant to let Conroy and Horst play at the assisted living facility after one of the guys called and sounded “very shy” on the phone.

However, by the end of the day, Devri Pall had changed her mind and called them back.

After the musicians’ first performance at Wyndham, Pall called other area senior facilities and told them, “You have to let these guys come play for you.”

Conroy and Horst have since performed at Wyndham about a dozen times and know many of the residents by name.

“They’re sweethearts,” Pall said. “Some people feel uncomfortable in retirement homes, but not these guys.”

Upon deciding to take their music on the road, the musicians sent 80 packets to senior assisted living facilities across the country with an introductory letter, a letter of recommendation from Pall, several pictures and a demo CD.

The musicians said they were surprised by the number of enthusiastic responses they received from facilities around the country.

On the road

During their tour, Pall posted a map of where Conroy and Horst were traveling so that Wyndham residents could follow their journey across the United States.

One of the most memorable stops was in Sioux Falls, S.D., Conroy told the residents.

He and Horst performed outdoors at the facility while residents came out on their balconies to listen.

“It was the first time we got to turn our amp all the way up to 10,” Conroy said.

Horst said one of his favorite stops was in the Badlands of North Dakota.

Throughout the tour, Conroy and Horst recorded 55 hours of live music from their performances and compiled their own CD.

The musicians were invited by staff members at several facilities to eat in the dining rooms and they were also given food for the road by others.

Conroy and Horst even spent the night in the model room at one of the facilities.

Upon reaching a rural area outside of Twin Falls, Idaho, the musicians asked one rancher if they could spend the night on his land.

After seeing Horst’s California license plate, he said, “That’s fine. Just don’t start any fires,” according to Conroy and Horst’s blog.

Educated musicians

In addition to performing at assisted living facilities, Conroy and Horst are both college students in Santa Cruz.

Conroy transferred this fall from Cuesta College to Cabrillo College, a two-year community college in Santa Cruz, to finish general education requirements and study music performance.

Horst will finish his last year at UC Santa Cruz as an anthropology major.

Conroy said he transferred to Santa Cruz so that he and Horst could continue performing together.

Although Conroy and Horst are gaining more success with their music, they have not forgotten their original audience.

“We’re going to continue playing for seniors as long as we can,” Horst said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To listen to some of Bog Thistle’s music or to read more about their tour, visit their Web site: www.bogthistle.com.