Nick Lynch to Perform at Rockin' Horse Saloon on Valentine's Day

Pull up your Double H Boots and mosey on down to the new Rockin Horse Saloon in Oak Forest, with your Valentine on Saturday night. Nick Lynch and the boys are in town to party!

“I’m pretty sure that the crowd at Rockin Horse can expect us to come in there with our usual brand of rockin’ country,” said Nick Lynch. “ It’ll be our first time in, so we’ll have some special stuff for them,” he added.

With Nick are home-grown boys from Oak Forest, Keith Homel on drums and Pat Lyons on electric guitar.

Right now, Pat has a project called Safe Haven and was a finalist for Rolling Stone Magazines, “Next Young Gun,” which is a competition for guitar players.

One of Pat’s mentors, Mark Cihlar brought him to the corner of 159th & Laramie when he was in high school.

“We actually used to play together on Wednesdays at this venue when I was in high school, and it was called the Wild Olive back then,” said Lyons.

Lyons still keeps his roots in the south suburbs.

“I teach at House of Music on Monday and Tuesday nights in Orland Hills and Wednesday and Thursday nights at Down Home Guitars in Frankfort (which is one of the coolest guitar shops that I have ever been to) so stop on by for a lesson,” he added.

Lead singer and founder, Nick Lynch was on American Idol in 2008 and Rockin New Years Eve on ABC in 2013. Combined, the group’s talent is exploding on the country music scene.

“The great thing about most of the clubs we play at is that there’s no lack of enthusiasm when we play,” said Lynch. “We’ve been playing Toby Keith’s in Rosemont for a few years now and that room literally supplies us with that rock star vibe that makes you feel great about what you’re doing! Rooms like Bub City, Skooters Roadhouse in Shorewood, and Old Crow Smokehouse in Wrigleyville are rooms we frequent around the area. They are just the kind of rooms that we can capitalize on with our brand of country rock,” Lynch added.

“Most of all, we enjoy receptive crowds that love to sing along with us.”

Rockin Horse Saloon is ready to host this talented band, as general manager Bob Potokar explains. “We’ve had Hoosier Highway, Rock Star Rodeo and now Nick Lynch. We know he’s going to rock it on Saturday.”

Drummer Keith Homel thanks his hometown for where he is today.

“I learned how to play drums in Oak Forest, and I owe a lot to Jerry Engleberg who was the band director at Oak Forest High School,” said Homel. ”He taught me that listening while playing is extremely important, and playing with dynamics really adds to the energy of the performance. I use his lessons to this day at every show.”

Months of remodeling the venue from a teen club to a saloon has been rewarding. Old barn wood on the walls puts you in the mood for some country line dancing.

Every Saturday night, live country bands take over the venue. The crowds have even surprised the owners.

“All I can say is get here early,” Potokar says. “If you’re not here by 8:30, you won’t be in the main room.” A country DJ will be at the saloon, Nick Lynch goes on at 9:30 p.m.

“Coming back to Oak Forest to play at The Rockin’ Horse Saloon will be a lot of fun,” said Homel. “Oak Forest people love to party and have a good time, we’ll bring that party to them!”

Rockin Horse Saloon is located at 5200 W. 159th Street in Oak Forest. Phone number is 708-687-4100. For additional information on Nick Lynch, visit the website.