Full Glory...

The July full moon over Jackson, Wyoming was a moving and melancholy sight, and looking back at the image tonight, on the 40th anniversary of man first setting foot on that distant source of wonder, elegantly underlines the fleeting nature of time and the precious nature of what we can do with it.  My window on the west has closed for now, and I'm lamenting how quickly the small memories fade and how quickly the routine returns.  I'm so grateful for the 30 days I had with my favorite girls and for even the already forgotten moments...there were so many.  The "magnificent desolation" Buzz Aldrin described exactly four decades ago and the rugged terrain found in the part of America we just left, make one at once thankful for our comforts and yearning to be more at one with the elements.  The craggy majesty of the Tetons was something I'd been preparing for for years albeit insufficiently.  These timeless sentinels that tower above Jackson Hole, snow-covered year round, are breathtaking in their testimony to our inconsequentiality. 

But this is a music blog after all so I'll share a few thoughts about our big Friday night in the old copper-mining wild west town of Butte, Montana.  Home to hundreds of saloons and up until the 1980's a vibrant and legal red light district called "The Line," Butte inherited the National Folk Festival from our ten times larger and far more genteel hometown.  The venues couldn't be much more different...Richmond's modern urban skyline up against the falls of the James vs. Butte's lingering frontier attitude toward wide-open dancing and drinking in the streets....no cooler checks, no sneaking beer into plastic cups here, no sir.  And instead of our wilderness river, Butte has the Berkeley Pit, a massive hole in the ground on the eastern side of town that's not only full of toxic water, it's a major tourist attraction.  So the county seat of Silver Bow County has a little harder edge.  But what a fun place to hear music.  We only were able to take in opening night which included a great Irish band, the Pride of New York, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, a solid Chicago blues unit, and BeauSoleil avec Michael Ducet.  The Cajun legends closed the "Original" main stage that 1st night, beneath the scarlet-trimmed and iconic headframe from the old mining days that was used to lower men into the deep shaft and pull the ore to the surface.  On a hill overlooking the town, it was a fitting and imposing centerpiece for the National, which of course has left our 2nd annual Richmond Folk Festival in its tailings.  Artists playing Butte and headed east to join us in October include Bob French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band from New Orleans, North Bear from outside Butte, and Wylie Gustafson, the Texas yodeler made famous for his .com cry, "Ya-hoo-ooo."  It runs the 9th thru the 11th and we'll be expecting you.    

Back home in the comfort zone a week later (Boulder to Richmond in 3 days), we had to check out the John Cowan Trio at Ashland Coffee and Tea.  Actually his drummer Bryon Larrance had a previous gig, and John Frazier had a best-friend's wedding.  So it was just John with his most seasoned side-men Shad Cobb and Jeff Autry.  And it was just right...a tasty set list including favorites like Tim O'Brien's "Hold To A Dream," some sweet jams on the Moody Blues' "Tuesday Afternoon" and Jeff's instrumental composition "East Meets Wes" (Montgomery).  And there was also a silky Sinatra tribute dedicated to the memory of John's dad, "In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning."  The boys just finished recording a Christmas album...more than worth waiting for the November release on Koch Records.  Standards like "Silent Night, " "O Holy Night," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and even "Ave Maria" gain new meaning with John's perfectly-controlled power.  And wait 'til you hear the rousing new take on "Let's Make A Baby King."  It'll be a Christmas to remember.

And I want to pat my pal Page Wilson on the back for a fine free show at Dogwood Dell on Saturday night with a top-drawer Reckless Abandon alongside including Bill Lux, Jay Gillespie, Charles Arthur and Jim Skelding.  Their 1st set closer, Michael Burton's "Night Rider's Lament" was as fine a tune as I've ever heard them render.  And he was doing the Out O' The Blue at the same time!  Magic.

Speaking of King Charles, he'll be doing a solo show at AC&T's new homegrown Wednesdays slot on August 5th...he can do it all, so get out and support the live stuff.  And this Thursday, the 23rd, Chris Fuller, Frank Coleman, Jackie Frost and the Taters take the Ashland stage in a benefit for the Bluemont Concert Series coming to the Center of the Universe later this summer. 

Jesse Harper's opening for Dean Fields at Capital Ale House's downtown music hall this Saturday and then of course this is FloydFest 8-The Revival weekend, Thursday-Sunday up on the Parkway.  I only need to hyperbolize if you've never been...it's one of the coolest and far-ranging fests in the nation...give it a try; you'll be hooked.

Finally for now, JAMinc's got such a fine lineup set for this fall's Studio Concert series that we're getting started in August at In Your Ear Recording with George Turman welcoming back his friends and Peter, Paul & Mary sidemen Dick Kniss and Paul Prestopino...and likely some other special folk sitting in.   It's on the 21st and you can check our Website soon for reservations.  In September we've snagged harmonica master and original Flecktone Howard Levy.  In October, it's past MerleFest songwriting winner Wil Maring with John Bowring, and in November, Jackson Hole's Anne & Pete Sibley who last spring took top honors at the Great American Duet sing-off on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion.  Join us for a great season that also includes the Dixie Beeliners with Wayne Henderson & Helen White at the Virginia Historical Society on October 17th.  Ticket info soon.

A good year for howling at the moon...TT

 

(George Turman photo by Charles Dunton)