"It ain’t gonna rain no mo’, no mo’, It ain’t gonna rain no mo’, But how in the world can the old folks tell, It ain’t gonna rain no mo’.”

Well, this lyric really doesn’t have anything to do with upcoming events in beautiful, soggy Milledgeville. But somehow it just seems to be lingering in the canyons of my mind during this mini-monsoon period we appear to be in.

But rain or snow, the show must go on! And the theater program at Georgia College is preparing for its first show of the season.

“The Smiles” opens at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 with shows Oct. 1 through 3, also at 8 p.m., and at 2 p.m. Oct. 4. Written by Pillars Playwriting Award winner Karla Jennings, I’ve been told the play promises to bring a little bit of “CSI” and Law and Order” to Milledgeville — I assume those are TV shows that others have heard about.

Jennings, a former newspaper reporter, says “The Smiles is based on a murder trail I covered as a reporter for the Raleigh News & Observer. The events behind the murder began when a married, closeted music minister brought a young drug addict home to his wife for personal rehabilitation.” By the way, the play is recommended for mature audiences.

Also, on a personal note, the play is being directed by Iona Pendergast. Iona is now on the faculty at Georgia College, but as any long time Milledgeville Players fan may figure, I will always think of her as the lovely Lorraine Sheldon from “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” practically oozing charm and deceitfulness, all the while just waiting to be carried off stage in a mummy sarcophagus. Ah, memories.

For more information, give a call to 445-4226.

Now the day before “The Smiles” kicks in, The GC Music Program presents a guest artist recital featuring Kelly Via on flute and Ellen Foster on harp. This musical interlude takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Max Noah Recital Hall.

I really did not have any details regarding this recital other than the basic GC music calendar, so I went to that dreaded entity known as “the Internet” for some general information regarding these artists. Now information gained from that electronic edifice is often suspect, but I did pick out a few interesting virtual facts.

Kelly Via is adjunct faculty at Mercer University and piccoloist with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and Macon Symphony Orchestra. He also teaches at several other colleges in Georgia and directs the flute choir at Mercer. A flute choir! Now there’s a concept you don’t always hear about.

Ellen Foster is based out of the Atlanta area and is an active performer and teacher of harp. And — drum roll please — she is the former president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Harp Society!! Who knew?? So come on out and see what happens when you put a flautist and harpist on a small stage at the same time.

Now plays and guest artist recitals are very special events. But there are also some great musical events happening in Milledgeville on a regular basis.

And one I want to bring up this week takes place every Tuesday evening over at Amici. That’s some wonderful jazz from the Jon Joiner quartet.

There are few things I enjoy more than live music, particularly in a bar/club type setting. Here in Milledgeville, there are several live music venues downtown aimed primarily at college students. And that is all well and good. When I first arrived at Georgia College in 1991, the downtown area was practically devoid of live music. It’s truly wonderful to see the area jumping on many nights.

The problem is that for some of us, music starting at 11 p.m. or later can be a bit intimidating. We need our beauty sleep (OK, some of us a lot more than others). Plus the volume can be a bit intimidating — this coming from someone who at various times in his youth was right in front of the speaker columns at concerts with The Who, the Outlaws, Blue Cheer and the Rolling Stones. Eventually the decibels started to force me a bit further back from the stage.

And, as anyone who is a regular reader of this column knows, I love jazz.

Jon Joiner, former star drummer with pretty much every musical amalgamation that has existed at Georgia College, gets together from 6 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday evening with guitarist Brad Weaver, saxophonist T.J. Brown, and keyboard/ bass player and vocalist Terry Bragg to present some incredible music.

There’s no cover — “never a cover at Amici” — Jon Joiner likes to point out. There’s a great dinner special on Tuesday night (just ask about two for Tuesday) and it’s happy hour all day.

I’m not hyping this folks — these guys are great! Every member of this group is either a former or current member of the GC Jazz Band. And if you have some musical talent of your own that you would like to contribute, come on down. Jon and the group are quick to welcome folks to sit in with them.

Hey, maybe I’ll give them a real treat and tote my old guitar down there one evening. I’m sure there is nothing they would enjoy more than playing along with some old fart who has barely picked up his guitar in 30 years and used to specialize in 45 minute versions of “Louie Louie” and “In-a-Gadda-da-Vida.”

I’m going to say a bit more about this great weekly jazz opportunity in my next column, but don’t wait for that! Head on over to Amici any Tuesday and listen to the jazz go down. And remember, if you know of any other regular musical montages taking place around town, let me know.

OK, back to Wendell Hall. “Wendell Hall?” I hear you say. Well, even though the tune “It Ain’t gonna Rain no Mo’” has early folk origins, the “hit version” was recorded by Mr. Hall back in 1923 on the Victor label. Advertised as “the song with a 100 laughs,” it sold more than 2 million copies. And this song was a classic example of why I end my column the way I do as it’s B-side was “We’re Gonna Have a Weather” — sort of a double sided masterpiece dealing with weather prognosis.

Wendell Hall was reputed to have added more than 48 verses to the original song, but let’s go out with one of my favorites:

“Well, little black and white animal out in the woods, Well ain’t that little cat pretty?, I went right over to pick it up, But it wasn’t that kind of a kitty... Oh, it ain’t gonna rain no mo’...”

Catch you on the flip side.

Tom Toney can be reached at ttoney@union

recorder.com.