Springfest roundup 2

More from Dancin' Dave. Thanks, Dave.

In my first review of the Springfest I neglected to mention a couple of acts that also stood out, but somehow slipped my mind.

Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp and Mike Bubb did stellar sets on the Main Stage on both Saturday and Sunday. To me Verlon is one of the sweet gems in the musical world; a more gracious person than most.... On Sunday I had a nice visit with him; he was watching a dance partner of mine and I dancin' and he was all smiles. He told us that he didn't know that folks could dance so well to that kind of music (Tania of the Duhks was playing with Crooked Still and Joe Craven at the time) and I assured him that he also plays very danceable music....and he was pleased.

Also, Roy Bookbinder did a set with Jorma Kaukenon that was bluesy, folksy, and just plain fun! Barry Mitterhoff joined Jorma as well...sweet.

And of course there was Darrell Scott. It doesn't get any better than Darrell! "It's a great day to be alive...." >g<

On the way to the Springfest I had the wonderful opportunity to be able to stop in Nashville for a couple of nights. The first night I went to the Bluebird Cafe, a first for me....and what a night it was! The musicians included John Cowan, Jonell Mosser, Ashley Cleveland, Luke Bulla, Jeff Autry, and two fellows that I don't know (but who were obviously top-of-the-line Nashville musicians...!). These seven musicians sat in a circle in the middle of the club (no stage), and went around the circle, playing whatever tunes that came up in their minds. It couldn't have been more intimate or magical...

The next night I had every intention of taking in the Station Inn, but in cruising the ol' internet during the day I noticed that Daybreak was playing at another club I wasn't familiar with. I had seen and heard Daybreak four or five years ago....the four young musicians had just graduated from Vanderbilt and I really liked their sound. I got to know a couple of them and had been wondering why I hadn't seen them on any festival lineups since.

Well....they weren't able to make a living traveling as a band and went off to pursue other avenues for their talents: DeAnn Whalen and Dan the bass player both landed jobs on Broadway in New York in a musical play about Johnny Cash. DeAnn has moved backed to Nashville, got a good job promoting musical acts, and has gotten back together with her bandmates to start playing as Daybreak again. She was really excited to see me, claiming it was even more special since this was the first gig for the group in a couple of years. And I still really like their sound and hope that they continue their music....

Besides the music of Daybreak, 12th South Tap is a wonderful club that has great food and many many kinds of micro-brews of which the ones that were offered to me by the two young folks running the place were very tasty!
So much high-quality music around...>g<
Peace, David