RED BARN continued from 23 He and Puckett are in the process of buying the property from current owner Vercii Reed of Bedford.
If Hardesty is a never-say-die dreamer, then Puckett is at least in part a practical realist.
Puckett recalled the first time he saw the place after several years of neglect.“ I was like, boy, we’ ve got a lot of work ahead of us. And we both know we need a lot of help …. But I believe that music is a great way to bring people together.”
The pair figures installing electricity may surface as the largest early expense. But Hardesty’ s determination hardly will allow skeptics to douse his vision of another town locale for families and others to find relaxation and connection.
Red Barn Jamboree when Robert Shaw was performing his Johnny Cash and Elvis tribute shows in 2010.
Brown County’ s Sarah Flint joined Shaw on stage as June Carter.
Rich Hardesty sits on his late father ' s restored 1968 Honda 160 motorcycle.
Hardesty is planning the next gathering at the Red Barn for July 4th weekend.
This challenge presents a dizzying array of moving parts. Hardesty sees worthwhile efforts lined with some sense of adventure or risk.
“ I’ d rather get comfortable being uncomfortable,” he said.
The veteran musician has little time for the status quo. When his father died, Hardesty wrote a song called“ Sleeping Tiger.” One line markedly stands out:“ Don’ t die with the music still inside you.” Or the dream. To support the cause you can contact Rich Hardesty at 317-490-7424 or hardestymusic @ yahoo. com •
24 Our Brown County • July / August 2025