Piano Playing Attorney Uses Tips For Scholarships

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – An attorney who is also an accomplished piano player is using his musical skills to raise money for scholarships that help young musicians.

Once a week, usually on Fridays, Dan Davis plays piano for the lunchtime crowd at Weezie’s Deli and Gifts.

The Tupelo attorney started his weekly piano concerts at Weezie’s about five years ago.

“Happened to come here and there was a piano sitting there, I asked them if anybody ever played, they sent out Vivian, the owner to talk to me about it and sure enough, she yeah, go ahead, give it a shot,” Davis said.

Davis didn’t want to keep the tips for himself, so he came up with the idea to use the tips and start a scholarship fund for young musicians, who are about to graduate high school.

Band directors and music teachers were encouraged to get their students to apply.  IAHS Senior Linna Zheng auditioned for a panel of four judges and won first place in the scholarship contest for her skill on the violin. She joined Davis for the lunchtime concert.

Zheng says Davis is an inspiration.

“I can see he has a passion for music, it’s really important for people, to go for a dream, and do it for the betterment of the community, really awesome,” Zheng said.

Davis is thankful he has an opportunity to help young musicians.

“We gave away three thousand dollars, total, and glad to see high school seniors get that,” he said.

“Dan lives a life to a cause, I like to join teams with anybody who loves to give back,” said Vivian Lee, owner of “Weezie’s Deli & Gifts.”

Dan Davis will give three scholarships every year to young musicians, so if you are in Tupelo on Fridays, drop by Weezie’s, enjoy a great meal, and don’t forget to leave a tip for the piano man.

All three of the scholarship winners will head to Ole Miss this fall.  For information on next year’s scholarship and to see when Davis is playing at Weezie’s, go to Weezie’s Facebook page at facebook.com/WeeziesDeli