Song And Dance: Tim Kroening and Sharon Vreeland

Tim Kroening and Sharon Vreeland are sixth-year Winter Texans, but they don’t come to the Rio Grande Valley to relax, they come here to work.

Kroening and Vreeland are better known as 12-String Tim & Sharon. The couple works as a two-person music variety and dance show.

Kroening, originally from Wisconsin, and Vreeland, originally from Pennsylvania, have been performing together for about seven years. They’ve traveled together in a van packed with their equipment and costume wardrobe performing in places such as Las Vegas, Lake Meade, Penn., and of course all over the Valley.

Vreeland said that sometimes it’s hard to describe the 12-String Tim & Sharon act because it involves a lot more than singing.

“We’re performers, actual show and dance performers,” Vreeland said.

While Kroening plays the guitar and sings the lead voice, Vreeland sings second voice and plays an electronic percussion machine.

But the duo does more than just play.

Kroening puts on different types of “funny” hats according to the song they are playing. He wears a black cowboy hat for Johnny Cash songs, a hat with a parrot on it for Jimmy Buffet songs and many others.

Vreeland has her own changing curtain set up during the act so she can change into costumes that go along with the songs as well. One of her favorite costumes is one resembling Tina Turner.

Kroening said the duo knows about 2,000 songs by heart and has a music library of more than 5,000 songs that they use to perform.

Kroening said he’s been playing the guitar for more than 30 years and said he learns music by ear. At one time Kroening was a one-man act in Las Vegas, working a day job and performing at different casinos at nights.

But Kroening finally decided to make this his full-time job and take the show on the road with Vreeland, who started out as a “roadie,” he said.

“It’s always been more important for me to play music than make money,” Kroening said.

Their biggest audience here in the Valley is Winter Texans, Kroening said.

“One of the great things down here is that the audience is there (at venues) for the music,” Kroening said. “In Vegas they’re there to gamble.”

“And we’re more of the background music instead of the main show,” Vreeland added.

Kroening said they try to keep the show fresh and spontaneous to keep the crowds engaged in the show.

“No one knows what we’re going to do next,” Kroening said. “Because sometimes we don’t even know what we’re going to do next.”

Submit Slice of Life suggestions to Managing Editor Lucio Castillo or City Editor Charlene Vandini at 430-6244 or charlenev@valleystar.com.