Claire Lynch in East Hartford January 9 - Preview

Claire Lynch

The Clair Lynch Band will appear at the East Hartford Cultural Community Center in East Hartford, CT on Friday, January 9^th. Doors open at 7:00 PM, and the concert begins at 8:00. Tickets are pegged at $15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the gate, and plenty of seats are still available. The band, a quartet whose bluegrass sound is laced with a delightful variety of musical signatures, is noted for its musicality and its excellence. Roger Moss, Director of Parks and Recreation in East Hartford, CT promotes a series of Americana events as a part of the East Hartford Community Cultural Center winter program of concerts and films. Roger tells me the concert hall seats 298 without a bad seat in the house and featuring outstanding acoustics. Easy parking for the event is available and the hall is just off an interchange of I-84. Directions to the East Hartford Cultural Center can be found here. Tickets can be ordered on line here.

With two feet planted firmly in bluegrass, Claire Lynch’s interests and versatility take her comfortably into country, Americana with a tinge of jazz, swing, and blues in her compositions and her performances. Her career, spanning thirty-five years, includes stints with several bands and working as a house singer/songwriter with Universal-Polygram where her name appears on 160 projects, if I’m counting right. She’s been nominated for a couple of Grammies and was named IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1997. Many of her songs are immediately familiar to bluegrass fans as is her youthful, clear, and expressive voice. Her signature songs include the recent hit “The Day that Lester Died,” “Hills of Alabam’”, and the yearning “Kennesaw Line.” Her version of “Wabash Cannonball” gives the entire band a chance to strut its stuff while always staying true to the great country original made famous by Roy Acuff.

Spending the early part of her life in Kingston, NY, Claire Lynch moved to Alabama at age twelve. She worked with a band, took time off to raise a family, and along the way worked as a song writer and session vocalist. Her songs have been recorded by Patty Loveless, Seldom Scene, Kathy Mattea, and the Whites, while she has appeared on albums with EmmyLou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and others. She achieved prominence with the Front Porch String Band, which, after a time, disbanded as bluegrass bands do, and later founded the Claire Lynch Band with many of the same members. Recently, her kids grown and fledged, she has moved to Nashville for the convenience of being in the center of the music scene. While there have been changes in personnel, the current band is as strong as any she has had.

Jim Hurst

Jim Hurst, a long-time band mate, is one of the monster guitar pickers in music as well as being a fine banjo player. Hurst, while active in music, for many years had to continue providing for himself and his family as a truck driver. When his wife urged him to move to Nashville and take on music full time, they did and he did. Jim Hurst was named IBMA guitar player of the year in 2001 and 2002. His career had been broad and varied with stints in jazz, country, and bluegrass. Hurst is not merely a spectacular guitar player, he’s spectacularly tasteful, too, reflecting his debt to Doc Watson as well as to Tony Rice. Jim is on his second go round with Claire, having taken a period to tour and record with Missy Raines to high critical and popular praise, before they both returned to the Claire Lynch Band. Missy has since left the band again to form Missy Raines and the New Hip.

Jim Hurst

Mark Schatz

To replace Missy Raines, Claire has turned to two time IBMA bass player of the year, Mark Schatz. A graduate of Haverford College in suburban Philadelphia with additional study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Schatz has had a distinguished career in bluegrass, acoustic, and country music on acoustic and electric bass. He’s played with Bela Fleck as well as the Tony Rice Unit. He played bass with Nickel Creek until they disbanded and has since been touring with the Claire Lynch Band. On stage, Mark is a dynamic figure in his bass play as well as when he steps out from behind his instrument to clog. As musical director of the Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, an internationally acclaimed dance group, he has many outlets for his creative urge.

Mark Schatz

Jason Thomas

Jason Thomas, on mandolin, fiddle, and vocals, brings an added versatility to the band. Born in North Bay, Ontario, Jason has been based in Florida as a full-time musician since finishing college in Missouri. In addition to his work with the Claire Lynch Band, Jason plays with several bands in Florida. His play on both mandolin and fiddle adds enormously to the strength and versatility of the band. He’s a quiet yet dynamic presence in this very strong band.

In a telephone interview, Claire spoke expressively and enthusiastically about her band, its personnel, and the joy she takes in performance. All these qualities are clearly evident in this fine band. Friday, January 9^th might be chilly outside, but the concert hall at the East Hartford Cultural Community Center will be warm and filled with joyous song provided by these dynamic performers. Don’t miss it.

Getting the Most from Merlefest - Preview

Watson Stage

What’s your roots music taste? Do you want to see old favorites, new discoveries, or some of each? Would you prefer to get your music in more or less intimate settings, or don’t you mind big crowds? Do you want it traditional or progressive, mountainy or rocky? Just about the only constant, and now-a-days not even that, at Merlefest is that it’s an acoustic music festival. Beyond that, it’s your choice. Merlefest, to be held in Wilkesboro, NC from April 24 – April 27 this year, is easily the largest festival held in the east by any standard. Daily attendance approaches 20,000. Thirteen different sound stages. Hundreds of performers. Dozens of vendors. Every camping space and motel/hotel room within fifty miles filled. The very top names in acoustic and bluegrass music performing. It’s all there at Merlefest. With all this size and diversity, the question arises, “How can I get the most out of my Merlefest experience?” This post is designed to help you do just that.

Gospel Jubilators on Cabin Stage

Planning - The best source for planning and managing your time at Merlefest remains the Merlefest web site. Once both a resource and a more-or-less open forum, the web site has changed in recent years, eliminating the lively message board it once carried. This has been, at least partially, replaced by The Unofficial Merlefest Forum, which provides for the discussion, but loses out because it hasn’t yet attracted the large group once posting at the Merlefest home site. Despite this loss, the official site of this great festival still provides most of the information you need in order to plan your four days in Wilkesboro.

Scene at Creekside Stage

Where to Stay – During our first four years at Merlefest, we stayed on campus in our trailer. Last year, when they raised the price, we migrated out to Fort Hamby on W. Kerr Scott Reservoir outside town. It worked for us. There are other campgrounds in the area, but by this time they are pretty well filled. The Merlefest web site gives a good overview of these. Unless you’re very lucky, you won’t find a motel room in the area, and if you do, it’ll be quite expensive. For next year, make your reservations early.

Doc Watson at Creekside

Seeing What You Want and Getting Around - Your first task, and do it today, is to download and print the Merlefest Schedule. Once you arrive at Merlefest, the pocket guide the festival provides will become your best friend, but until then you can use these Adobe PDF documents as a tool to guide your planning. The pocket guide will also be accompanied by a large, elaborate, and useful festival program describing all the performers as well as detailing the vendors and their locations. Until you get this booklet in your hands, the 2008 line-up will have to do. This listing has the advantage of providing links to most of the artists performing at Merlefest, allowing you to research them to your heart’s content and listen to samples of their music. Since one of the great joys of Merlefest is being introduced to new bands and sounds, this resource shouldn’t be overlooked. You can also find a festival map here. This recently updated map provides a much more accurate picture of the Wilkes Community College campus than earlier versions. The only missing element is a sense of the geography of the place, and this is important. At Merlefest you’ll do a lot of walking and climbing. The campus is quite hilly, the hills are steep, and two important stages (Walker Center and Hillside) require quite a hike. The final important resource is a list of stages. Click on stages on the Merlefest home page and you’ll be provided a list of each stage at the festival. Select each one and read about its focus. I’d prefer a more elaborate discussion, but combined with the map and the artists list, this link is helpful. Remember the reserve seating section at Watson Stage is open until 5:00 PM. Just go in and sit in an empty seat. If the owner returns, move somewhere else. Some people with strong bladders manage to stay inside into the evening, but once you leave, you won't get back. Once you have these resources in hand, you can begin to chart out a tentative schedule. But remember what Don Rigsby sang, “If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.”

Sam Bush's Annual Jam

Dressing for Merlefest is an important consideration. Remember a few things. It always rains at Merlefest. You won’t know when or how much, but count on rain. No matter how warm, sunny and pleasant the day is the evening is likely to be cool or even cold. The Watson Stage is set on a flat plain surrounded by steep hills. As the sun sets, cooling air begins to roll down from the hillsides and settle onto this main performance area. By nine or ten in the evening, everyone wishes they had more and warmer clothing. Bring several layers of clothes with you, including a fresh, dry, warm pair of socks. Remember that keeping your feet and head warm increases your chance of keeping the rest of you warm. As the evening progresses, layer up to stay warm. In the bottom of your pack, make sure you have a nylon shell to ward off dampness in either its drifting or falling form.

Reserve Seats at Watson Stage

Eating at Merlefest - A couple who have sat three rows in front of us ever since we began coming to Merlefest always carry a lot of food in with them. I suspect, in addition to hors d’oerves, they have the forbidden cocktails in a thermos. They carry fruit, salads…all they need for the day. Our seat neighbors always bring sandwiches as well as plenty of snacks with them. Both ways work well. We do some of that, too. However, we also believe in doing what we can to support the vendors at the festival. The massive food tent, to the left of the Watson Stage, offers a range of foods from hamburgers and hot dogs, through barbecue, to Thai, Italian, and Indian specialties. Meals are tasty and reasonably priced. There’s one problem: at meal times the lines are long and seats at the nearby tables are scarce. The best way to shorten your wait in line is to eat at off hours or during the performances of big headliners. You can hear from the food tent and see the huge television screen, and the lines seem to be shorter. Last year, several vendors of snack foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and the ever popular funnel cakes were spread around the grounds. There were still long lines. I’ve been told that this year the festival has worked with vendors to increase efficiency and staffing at high traffic periods. They’ve also worked to make pick-up foods like hot dog, hamburgers, pizza, and ice-cream more available in high traffic areas. Coffee will be brewed on-campus making it more quickly available in larger quantities. Merlefest leadership is aware of the problems and has worked hard to alleviate them.

The Great Tut Tayler - Honoring the Pioneers

Chances to connect with band members are smaller, briefer, and less intimate than at typical festival settings. Merlefest is too large and complex for much meeting and greeting or shake and howdying. If you want to get to know members of a band, this isn’t the place, but you can say hi and get autographs either at scheduled signings at the entrance to the Watson Stage or get a chance for somewhat closer contact at the smaller stages spread about the campus. The map, the schedule, and the stage descriptions, taken together, will help you make these choices. It’s not as frequent at Merlefest as at other festivals to see band members around the grounds, but that happens sometimes, too. Often, however, they seem to be with friends and give off a vibe of preferring not to be interrupted.

The Little Pickers Tent

Instrument contests and the Chris Austin song writing contest are central elements of Merlefest. The recognition coming to a musician who wins an instrument contest or the visibility a songwriter gains from having a song sung from the cabin stage can serve as important boosts to a career. Contest winners get to sing their songs from the Cabin Stage on Saturday night, and it’s a pretty big deal. Sometimes you hear new songs that end up in major albums a year or so later. Lorraine Jordan had a song take second place a couple of years ago. Grasstowne selected “Devil’s Road” which Brink Brinkman won with for recording and performance. It’s a great showcase. Another feature of Merlefest is the organized jams happening almost every day. These jams bring musicians from different bands, but often with a musical affinity, together for an extended extemporaneous performance. Last year, at one point, the members of New Grass Revival were on stage at once for the first time in years. Such jams take place at a variety of stages. Another opportunity to see musicians jamming occurs at the area sponsored by the Wilkes Acoustic Society both during the festival and during the three evenings preceding it.

Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson on Stage

I thought maybe I’d put up a list of bands I particularly wanted to see and hear during Merlefest. I went through the 2008 Merlefest lineup, looked at my choices, and decided they were mine. Merlefest is actually 20,000 different festivals each day. As such, it’s up to each person who attends to decide who they want to see, and how much effort they want to make to see them. I showed the list to my wife and her concern was our ability to stay in touch when not at the same performance. Lots of people carry walkie talkies. I recommend not bringing them and relying on cell phones instead. There are just too many people clogging up too few channels to make the family radios very good communications tools. Be sure, however, to keep your cell phone on vibrate so your ring tone doesn’t bother others.

Evening Jam on Watson Stage

In the end Doc Watson and his friends established and maintain the spirit of Merlefest. The festival is a celebration of his son Eddie Merle, but it’s a recognition of Doc’s accomplishments, his taste, and his friends. As long as that remains, the festival will continue to be one of the great musical events in America. Doc’s spirit pervades the entire event.

Annual Sand Sculpture

For a different perspective focused on specific musicians and coming from a somewhat differently nuanced place, read Derek Halsey’s Merlefest Preview here.

Merlefest's Heart - Doc Watcon

Mountain Music Meltdown - Saranac Lake, NY June 30 - July 1: Preview

Fair Warning! It’s difficult to preview an event which I myself have not been to before. It’s even harder to preview one which has no history, as there are not even comments by others to take into account. Mountain Music Meltdown, to be held in Saranac Lake, NY on June 30^th and July 1st boasts a varied schedule of Americana and world music. This event is billed as “the first annual” so I hope it succeeds, as the Adirondack region is much in need of a couple more strong music festivals. This festival is promoted by Lazar Bear Productions, whose principal is Les Hershhorn.

For us, the premier attractions, when we heard of this festival, were (and remain) the appearances of Doc Watson and The Gibson Brothers on Friday. Doc Watson, at age 84, is still a wonder flat-picker on the guitar. (Do your own Google search on Doc; there’s a wealth of information and lots of it is worth looking at.) His picking style, which first made a splash during the folk revival of the sixties, is fast and accurate and his singing voice is mellow. His musical tastes range from old mountain ballads through bluegrass and blues to rock and roll. He’s played it all. As host of his own festival, the fabled Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC, which annually attracts in the neighborhood of 80,000 admissions, he has set the standard for Americana festivals. Each year we go to this remarkable event to hear old favorites and are introduced to bands we never heard before who make a deep impression on us. Doc Watson is still worth hearing and seeing on his merits as a picker/singer and a must see as an important part of music history.

The Gibson Brothers bring the tight harmonies of brothers to a delightful mix of music with their feet very deep in bluegrass, but not so embedded that their music doesn’t reflect modern tones and sensibilities. Coming from upstate (now in this case, upstate doesn’t mean “anywhere north of Westchester, but Ellenburg Depot, just south of the Canadian border) New York, these two singer/songwriter/musicians have put out three number one bluegrass albums in recent years and are becoming an increasing draw on the festival circuit around the country. In New England and New York, where they have a large following, they always draw a crowd eager to respond to their exciting singing and playing. Supported by Mike Barber on bass, Rick Hayes on mandolin, and Clayton Campbell on fiddle, this group sends out a big wall of sound that reflects all that is best in contemporary bluegrass music while still paying respect to the founders of both bluegrass and classic country.

Sven Curth opens the program on Saturday. His MySpace entry lists him as a singer/songwriter who plays guitar for a group called Jim. Curth’s sound, as sampled on his site, seems to be a nice rocky/bluesy sound complemented by interesting lyrics. It sounds like the sort of material that would be pleasant listening under the sun at the opening of an eclectic music festival. He is based in Lake Placid and performs around the Adirondacks and over into Vermont. He is followed by the George Bailey Trio, billed by Lazar as a regional bluegrass group. As this band doesn’t have a web presence, I’ll have to leave it at that. The Gibson Brothers appear at 3:30 and are followed at 5:30 by Doc Watson. These two offerings are sufficient to make the day ticket price of $50.00 worthwhile. They are followed by Tcheka from Cape Verde, Africa whose music is described as Afrofunk. A second stage provides additional music.

The Chaz dePaolo Blues Band kicks of Sunday's performance. He describes his music as “traditional blues played with a rock feel.” The two samples of his music available on his MySpace page support his assertion. He sounds, again, like an enjoyable opening act. He is followed by Ana Popovic, Yugoslavian guitar Diva. Her American debut Album, titled “Still Making History (2007) is about to be released. She comes from Belgrade, Yugoslavia and sounds good enough to me to spend some time listening to her.

I have to admit that Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen are a group that I’ve never heard, but whose name strikes some kind of chord with me, though I can’t say where or how. Their press kit says they originated at the University of Michigan during the sixties and migrated to San Francisco during the late sixties. Songs like “Hot Rod Lincoln” a talking blues and “Hawaii Blues” have a really listenable west coast sound that’s pretty sure to please. The samples on their web site suggest a strong country influence informed by the Grateful Dead. New Riders of the Purple Sage close the show on Saturday. The fact that Jerry Garcia appeared on their first album probably had no influence on them or their development. The early editions of this band also included Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and David Nelson. Their sound is western hippie jam band – easy to listen to. Most of their recordings were released from 1974 – 1980.

This new festival looks like a very good way to spend the early part of 4^th of July week. As nearly as I can tell, spending your time at this festival might well provide a good deal of enjoyment. As I listened to sound clips in preparing this preview, I was impressed and enjoyed the music. Mountain Music Meltdown will be held on the North Country Community College soccer field in Saranac Lake, NY on June 30^th and July 1^st. You can by tickets on line for $75.00 advance or can get them at the gate for $80.00. Day tickets are $45.00 and $50.00. Food vendors and a beverage tent will be available. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets. You can buy tickets here. You can find Saranac Lake here. For my taste, Doc Watson and The Gibson Brothers offer the most exciting part of this new festival, but there’s good diversity here and lots of surprises in store.