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A group of women with a love for each other and a love for music can brighten the day of people within earshot no matter what the circumstances. On a rainy day in October, sheltered by a tent, the Transformers did just that during the Rockford Baptist Church Fall Festival.

Barbara Grigsby, director of the Transformers, said they weren't discouraged by only a few people in the audience that dreary day.

"It was a disappointing day for us, but it still was a beautiful day and we sang anyway," Grigsby said. "We'll sing if we have two people or 200."

The Transformers, started in 1988 at the Chilhowee Music Academy by Grigsby and Don Brakebill, gives women from all walks of life an opportunity to share their common interest in music and also to share their love of people wherever they are invited to perform. They have sung at Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C., at Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, and at the Festival of Trees and the Dogwood Arts Festival, in Knoxville. They perform at such venues as Rockford's Fall Festival, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, veterans' homes and churches.

This group is more than meets the ear, however.

Grigsby said, "We meet special needs in people's lives at certain times. A lot of the ladies are widows, and this gives them an outlet of people to get together and fellowship. We sing a lot, but we also fellowship a lot. And we eat a lot! But it serves a need for us."

Members ages range from 60 to 85, with Polly Berggron the senior member at 85. The group currently has about 15 members and is happy to welcome others to the fold.