Keeping it live...

I'm vowing to do a better job keeping current with the music-related posts but procrastination and the need to actually make a living have kept me from sharing highlights of the first quarter. But I would like to acknowledge the following for some memorable evenings over the past few months:

Old School Freight Train at Ashland Coffee and Tea on January 12...the band without Ben is forging ahead bravely in search of life without the banjo. This night saw the young and tasteful Robby Sinclair sitting in on percussion. These talented guys will continue to grow and impress.
Jesse Harper, the group's frontman vocalist/writer/guitarist will venture forth in a solo night at AC&T on April 7th with former bandmate Ann Marie Calhoun, keyboard magician Daniel Clarke and the aforementioned Mr. Sinclair. Should be great. OSFT returns as a band on May 25th.
Our favorite local venue has a great spring lineup. Check it out at www.ashlandcoffeeandtea.com

Eddie & Martha Adcock at In Your Ear Recording on February 22...another of our JAMinc house-style concerts in IYE's Studio A, a perfect place to intimately hear live music, both aesthetically and acoustically. Newgrass innovator and perennial cut-up Eddie Adcock brought wife Martha in for an an engaging evening of songs and stories. Highlights were (besides the delicious potluck hors d'oeuvres) guest appearances by JAMinc's own Andy Garrigue on blues harp, young Danielle Sargent picking a mean "Dear Ol' Dixie" on the five-string, and Randy Waller sitting in on a couple of powerful tunes including "Daddy's Old Guitar." If you haven't made one of our JAMinc/In Your Ear concerts, the next one's tomorrow night, featuring harmonica giants Phil Wiggins, Allen Holmes and guests accompanied by Daniel Clarke on keys and drummer Brian Jones. We'll be hearing the common ground between jazz and the blues and it's gonna be great. Tickets at www.jaminc.org.

John Starling & Carolina Star at The Birchmere on February 23...my 30-year travelling companion and I made the trip up 95 to catch Dr. Starling's new band and it was more than worth the run. Those who cut their bluegrass teeth on the original Seldom Scene will find John's warm, bluesy vocals as powerfully understated as ever. Carolina Star includes two fellow members of that seminal band, the forever-cool Mike Auldridge on Dobro and steel, and the one-man rhythm section Tom Gray on bass. Holding down the other spots are veteran tenor/mando man Jimmy Gaudreau and seasoned fiddler Rickie Simpkins. A high-pedigree grouping for sure, but add to that guest shots from one of Americana's most underrated artists Jon Randall, Starling's son Jay on keyboards and the legendary sound and ambience of one of this country's best music halls and your drive home is more like gliding down a lazy river. www.birchmere.com

Chick Corea & Bela Fleck at the UofR Modlin Center on February 28...I don't know enough about jazz to adequately describe what we witnessed as these two musical geniuses mixed it up at the Camp Concert Hall. Suffice to say, the unlikely meeting of two masters of their respective instruments, piano and banjo, was breathtaking both technically and musically. They both seemed to enjoy the experiment immensely and so did we. Their duet album is called "The Enchantment" and will be out in May.

Robbin Thompson & Friends at The Canal Club on March 9...Richmond's favorite singing sailor gathered a bunch of his old pals (and new) to help him debut his latest CD "Just A Blur In The Rearview" and it was a very full evening of Thompson chestnuts and his new material.
Longtime musical colleagues Steve Bassett, Mike McAdam, Bobby Antonelli, Carlos Chafin and others were joined by Robbin's new acoustic playmates Billy Lux, Chris Fuller and Jim Skelding.
Lots of us have known Robbin for a very long time and it's encouraging to see that the older guys can still rock. RT worked hard for his crowd, so did the guys on sound and lights. A big night all around for Richmond-made music. www.robbinthompson.com

Chris Thile & The Tensions Mountain Boys at Carnegie Hall on March 17...I've been drop-jawed over Chris Thile's talent ever since I first saw him jamming with David Grisman, Mark Schatz and others after hours at the Addison Motel during MerleFest a dozen or so years ago. His growth as a virtuoso and musical innovator has been phenomenal and it's hard to resist any opportunity to witness his latest evolution. Thus we braved a winter storm with lots of sleet and slush on the Jersey Turnpike and drove up to Manhattan the day before. The Lincoln Tunnel never looked so good. We're always invigorated by a few days in America's biggest city and this was a big weekend...our first St. Patrick's Day parade in NYC to boot. Chris proved loud and clear that there will be life after Nickel Creek with the potent support of Noam Pikelny on banjo, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, Greg Garrison on bass and Virginia's own Chris "Critter" Eldridge on guitar. Dad Ben and his wife Barbara were beaming after the show at the acoustically-perfect Zankel Hall. The band did a number of selections from the "How To Grow A Woman From The Ground" project and premiered Thile's 40-minute scored piece "Blind Leaving The Blind" which was breathtaking in its technical difficulty and its remarkable scope.
I hope it gets recorded and released one day...there was way too much music in there to absorb in one sitting. Chris Thile and NYC seem to be very good for each other.

Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys at Hermitage High School on March 24...I helped the Kiwanis Club of North Richmond with promotion and staging for this fundraiser for the Virginia Home For Boys and Girls. It was vintage Dr. Stanley who's earned the admiration of all for still taking his mountain sound on the road at age 80, when sitting back on his laurels in Coeburn would be much more comfortable. Ralph II who's enjoying a pretty solid career of his own these days, was conspicuous in his absence, but I gained a renewed appreciation for James Shelton's wonderful cross-picking guitar style on his '46 D-28 herringbone (which he bought for $600 from a naive chap back in 1984). We all dream of such deals, eh? And Jack Cooke continues to be the crowd favorite...he's got a fine new record out too, called "Sittin' On Top Of The World."

Down the road...tomorrow night, Harmonica Crossroads at In Your Ear, Jesse Harper & Friends at AC&T on April 7th, The Infamous Stringdusters at AC&T on April 22nd, and my annual pilgrimmage to Wilkesboro, NC April 26-29 for the 20th annual MerleFest. I've been Cabin Stage manager for the last 15 years and hope to put in another 15. In my mind it's THE American music festival. www.merlefest.org

Thanks for checking out the journal...back to work....TT