Jayne Mahovlich:

I Jayne Mahovlich. Submitted photo.heard Jayne Mahovlich sing with her classic rock band Wild Angels at a fundraiser in Pike last fall, and was wowed. So when Curtis Takkunen told me she would be singing some Patsy Kline tunes for the Pier Country concert at Goodman Auditorium on March 27, I thought, “Cool!”

A bass guitar player and vocalist, Mahovlich has been performing with Wild Angels for 13 years. Other band members are Ross Sarkela (lead guitar, keyboards, vocalist) and Rob Swartz (drums and vocalist). Prior to that, she was with the band Cornerstone for 14 years. Basically, she’s been playing guitar and singing since she was a kid.

A graduate of Gilbert High School, Mahovlich still lives in Gilbert, works in Virginia, and plays with Wild Angels at venues across the Range as well as occasional gigs in Duluth and the Twin Cities. She, Sarkela and Dave Takanen are also members of the original bluegrass/folk music band called the Finnbillies. Takanen writes all the music and lyrics.

“I just love music,” Mahovlich said. “It keeps me happy and sane.”

The Patsy Kline tunes Mahovlich is singing with Pier Country are: “She’s Got You,” “I Fall To Pieces,” “Crazy,” and “Sweet Dreams.” She’ll also be doing the Linda Ronstadt version of “When Will I Be Loved,” and “Desperado.” A duet with Takkunen will feature “Jackson,” a Johnny Cash and June Carter tune. She has done country before, with a band called Jukebox Junkie, but “it was only new country stuff, not the classical country.”

“The Goodman is a wonderful venue,” Mahovlich said. “And I know anyone else Curtis has lined up will be top notch. He’s aces in my book.”