SR 65 — Commending The Birchmere.

SESSION INTRODUCEDENROLLED 22107536D SENATE RESOLUTION NO.

65 IE Offered March 10, 2022 N Commending The Birchmere.

TN ––––––––––R Patrons––Ebbin,Agreed Barker,to Boysko,by Favola,the McPike,Senate, SaslawMarch 11, 2022 WHEREAS, for more than 55 years, The Birchmere, owned by Gary Oelze and Surovellnow Rlocated ––––––––––in O Alexandria, has delighted audiences as one of the premier music and comedy clubs in theinthe L Commonwealth and the United States;

and DL WHEREAS, Gary Oelze, a Kentucky native, former musician, United States Air Force veteran, and successful restaurateur, cofounded The Birchmere with the late William Hooper in 1966;

the origCnaloriginaE location was near the Pentagon and primarily served government workers and members of the military;

andWHEREAS, Gary Oelze began booking bluegrass and folkD musicians on Wednesday and Saturday E nights, and the performances were so well received by the community that The Birchmere became aDa full-time music venue by 1975;

and WHEREAS, The Birchmere moved to a new location in Alexandria in 1981 and settled in its current locationmusical ongenres, Mountincluding Vernoncountry, Avenuerock, insoul, Alexandriajazz, inand 1996;rhythm and blues, and also features comedy programs;

the club offers shows from an array of musical genres, including country, rock, soul, jazz, and rhythmS andWHEREAS, blues, and also features comedy proWHEREAS, over the years, The Birchmere has hosted more than 14,000 performances and thousands 6 of bands and musical artists, with big names like Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Arlo Guthrie,E Pete Seeger, Keiko Matsui, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Mary Chapin CarpentSr, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Shawn Colvin, Sir George Martin, and John Waters;

andandpin 6Carpenter,R WHEREAS, Grammy Award-winning country artist Vince Gill got his start playing at The Birchmere when he was 17 years old, and the legendary Ray Charles performed his final live show at The BirWHEREAS, in 2021, The Birchmere commemorated its 55th anniversary with the release of an illustrated history book, All Roads Lead to the Birchmere:

now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That The Birchmere hereby be commended on the occasion of its 55th anniversary;

and, be ititia, That The Birchmere hereby be commended on the occasion RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Gary Oelze, owner of The Birchmere, as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for the venue's contributions to cultural life in Northern Virginia.