Lionel Richie and Tina Turner.

That's the dynamic duo that started it all for Taylor Hicks.

Watching those two perform in Birmingham, Ala., at the first concert he ever attended as a 6-year-old, the future “American Idol” wasn’t sure what was stirring inside of him.
But he knew it was there.

“I just really felt something when I left,” Hicks told the Poughkeepsie Journal in a recent interview. “I felt the excitement.”

Twenty-four years later, Hicks has been spreading that “excitement” across the country since his tour kicked off in his native state in June, bringing his show to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“I’m happy to be playing for anybody and everybody,” said Hicks, adding his legions of devoted fans have responded well to his current tour. “The Soul Patrol is happy.”
Count Janice Haynes among those satisfied Soul Patrol-ers.

Thursday’s concert will be the third for the Hopewell Junction resident and her husband, who have taken in Hicks shows at Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel and House of Blues before this current tour embarked.

“These were two totally different shows that we enjoyed immensely,” Haynes said, “and we were surprised to find how quickly the time went by and it was over.”
Hicks’ distinctive sound, she said, is what appeals to her.

“I liked that fact that Taylor is different. His music has a comfortable feel to it — it can be lively or soulful — but feels like you are ‘at home’ with it,” Haynes said. “I have been involved in music since I was a child singing in church. I have been exposed to almost every genre of music, and what I like ranges extensively from hard rock to opera. His type of blues has certainly grasped my attention.”

When Maryann Cerilli learned Tuesday she’d be one of Hicks’ fan club members to actually meet the singer before the Poughkeepsie show, hysteria broke out in her Hyde Park home.

“I can’t even explain it. Seriously, I love this guy. He’s awesome,” said Cerilli, who will be sitting in the sixth row.

Well … maybe not sitting.

Having seen Hicks before at the Beacon Theater in New York City, Cerilli said she “stood up and never stopped moving” the entire time.

“His spirit shines through,” she said. “You feel connected to him when you see him. He’s got an enormous energy. He's a real person and that shines through, and that’s appealing to me.”