In the last few weeks of summer, the DC area has hosted several established and up-and-coming roots music bands. It is good to see that the field is in good hands.
On August 21st, we enjoyed an evening Strathmore Live from the Lawn concert featuring Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road. Sitting near the gazebo and munching on a delicious picnic with our friends Bob and Judy, we had a close-up look at Purcell, a hot young flatpicker from Deep Gap, NC, the home of musical legend Doc Watson and the birthplace of bluegrass flatpicking guitar.
“Rapidly rising on the bluegrass scene, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road have garnered industry awards and captivated fans worldwide with their dynamic performances. Led by Purcell, the band infuses traditional bluegrass with bold originality, earning recognition as the 2019 Momentum Band of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association . . . and in 2022, Purcell made history by winning the RockyGrass Music Competition on guitar, mandolin, and banjo. The band features Purcell on mandolin, Ella Jordan on fiddle, Colton Kerchner on banjo, Rob McCormac on guitar, and Jacob Smith on bass.
Purcell brought a slimmed-down version of the band to Strathmore with bassist Jacob Smith and banjo player Zack Vickers, but these three musicians—augmented on some tunes by a guitar-playing fellow student from the Berklee College of Music—more than held their own. While a number of the selections were covers of tunes from venerable bands such as the Seldom Scene (Rider) and New Grass Revival (White Freightliner), I found the original material from their albums Roots and Yellow Line more satisfying.
This live version of Cazadero featuring Purcell on mandolin—from a February performance in Raleigh—is especially tasty.
At the end of August, my good friend Marty went to see Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show play at Wolf Trap. Marty, who has seen more than his share of great bluegrass bands live, told me it may have been the best concert he’s ever attended.
The fiddle playing of Golden Highway’s Bronwyn Keith-Hynes especially caught Marty’s attention. To see her work, along with the talent of the entire ensemble, let’s begin with a terrific song from the band’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival at the end of July about our beautiful public lands . . .
“Come on out to the big backyard | It ain’t mine or yours | its all of ours”
. . . with a rousing cut to Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land.
The PBS News Hour had an enlightening assessment of Tuttle and her journey to bluegrass stardom that’s worth a listen.
And we’ll follow that with a live version of Crooked Tree.
The Wolf Trap show also featured Old Crow Medicine Show.
OCMS has been delighting audiences for 25 years with their unique brand of old-time string music mixed with punk sensibilities. Here’s founder Ketch Secor’s take on recent moves within the band.
“In April 2022, [the band] released the critically acclaimed Paint This Town, our first album of all original material in five years, recorded in our very own Hartland Studios and co-produced with Memphis hitmaker Matt Ross-Spang. The album and title track landed in the top five of Americana Radio’s 2022 Album and Single airplay charts. After Pentecost’s surprise “call up to the major leagues” early in 2023, Dante’ Pope joined the Old Crow team on drums. Dante’ first sat behind the kit as a special guest back in 2014 and is featured in the “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer” video of that same era. A former member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, he brings to the stage more than just a mastery of percussion. Utility player PJ George III also was enlisted. A native of Salem, Virginia, and a master on banjo, accordion, and mandolin, PJ is a veteran of the bluegrass and Americana scene and brings a rascally energy to the band not seen since Critter’s departure. Together we’ll be crisscrossing the nation, connecting with fans who remind us night after night why a life in music is the most rewarding.”
Belle Meade Cockfight from a Ryman New Year’s Eve concert showcases the band’s energy and showmanship.
The Conjugal Trailer video Secor references perfectly captures the band’s quirky (is that the right word?) sensibilities.
And then why not end with OCMS and Molly playing together during last year’s New Year’s Eve concert on the classic The Weight.
Molly Tuttle will be back in the area on November 16th, playing about two blocks away from our house at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. I have my tickets!
More to come . . .
DJB
MORE TO COME... 
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