​Rod Hopkins and his wife Frances Faust Hopkins had a lot in common: their love for each other, their love for family and their three children, their love for God and their church, and last but not least — their mutual love for music.

​Frances played the piano. Rod played the guitar and sang. She was the Sabine Parish queen of southern gospel music. Rod was the parish’s own Elvis Presley.

​Together they built a band with fellow musicians. Rod Hopkins’ ArkLaTex Legends Band performed on the fourth Friday of every month for more than 18 years at the old Sabine Theater that was renamed the Many Community Center a few years ago.

​The ArkLaTex Legends Band played all kinds of music: country and western songs, gospel music, patriotic music, music from the 60s and 70s. They could play and sing just about any song a music fan wanted to hear.

​Rod died in 2016, and the Legends Band had lost its leader. They soon disbanded and the Legends Band was no more. Band members drifted away to sing or play with other bands. But they and Frances and Rod’s children and grandchildren never forgot about Rod and his deep love for music.

​The ArkLaTex Legends Band will reunite on Friday, Jan. 19, at the Many Community Center and play a tribute concert to Rod Hopkins. They’ll play old favorite songs of Rod’s: the patriotic songs he loved so much, southern gospel, and country/western.

​Lots of the band members will be performing including Russell Peace, Buster Jordan, Keith Lightfoot, Jennifer Breedlove, France Hopkins, Rod’s daughter Ginger, and his grandson. The rest of his band members will be there too. It will be a night to remember Rod Hopkins.

​The show will begin at 7 p.m. and every song will be a tribute to Sabine Parish’s own version of Elvis — the late, great Rod Hopkins.

​Admission to the show will be $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. Veterans will be admitted free because Rod Hopkins was a true patriot and a veteran never paid a penny to attend one of his shows.