Watershed, the premier country music festival in Washington, returns to the beautiful Gorge on August 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Fantastic acts such as Jason Aldean, Shaylen, Bailey Zimmerman and Lauren Watkins are among those scheduled to perform, so there’s great music and great acts to look at – seriously, there are hot musicians galore. And also hot will be the weather, and at the risk of sounding like a nag: Stay Hydrated. Avail yourself of fresh water wherever you can find it, including those gigantic walker sprinklers you can walk through at the Redneck Waterpark. Activities from speed dating to line dancing to giant Twister await you, and while there are several camping options, buy your choice now as they do sell out. Oh, and another top pick to catch: Karley Scott Collins, who you can check out before her debut album, Flight Risk, comes out in September.
Singer-songwriter Charlotte Lawrence headlined at Barboza, the second stop on her international Somewhere Tour. Accompanied by Matt Bergeron on guitar and keys, the charismatic Lawrence treated the audience with numerous, well-received songs from her debut studio album, Somewhere. Throughout the intimate show, Lawrence played both guitar and piano, and preceded each song with the interesting story behind it. She closed out the evening with “Sleep Talking”, and had the crowd screaming for more. Oregon-born, Los Angeles-based Sam Short opened.
Five time Grammy award winner (with sixteen nominations!) and Grand Old Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart and his remarkable band played a sold out and highly anticipated show at the Edmonds Arts Center last week. Stuart is a veteran of both Johnny Cash’s and Lester Flatt’s bands as well as being the owner of a very successful and sustained solo career and, as such, it was only fitting and appropriate that it was his name above the fold for this troupe of truly next level players. That said, the group could just as easily and accurately be called the ‘Stuart, Vaughan, Scruggs, and Stinson Band’ as each member of this quartet of world class musicians is equally crucial to the to the sound and aesthetic of the highly regarded act. No one appears more aware and appreciative of this dynamic than Stuart himself as he went above and beyond to make sure that each player got a chance to take the mic and lead the band for a couple of songs of their own choosing.
While they identify and present as a country act, Stuart and the Superlatives effortlessly sail above and beyond mere genre classifications, being equally comfortable and proficient playing twangy, psychedelic Byrds-style Americana, acoustic bluegrass & gospel, old school traditional C&W, spirited rockabilly, and delightfully spacey Dead-esque jams. Speaking of the Byrds, Stuart played the very same ‘B Bender’ Fender Telecaster guitar once owned and played by flat picking legend Clarence White. Hearing that gorgeous, unmistakably identifiable tone pouring out of Stuart’s Fender amplifier was enough to give this fan of psychedelic 60’s rock a case of the goosebumps that lasted for a good part of the band’s generous set. As wildly talented as Stuart is as a guitarist, a compelling case could be made that he is in fact the 3rd best guitar player in the band. Lead player Kenny Vaughan is a Nashville legend and has toured and recorded with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Billy Joe Shavers, and many more. Bass player Chris Scruggs (grandson of the great Earl Scruggs) is also a highly accomplished acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar player. He also took a stint behind the drum kit during this performance while drummer Harry Stinson stepped out to lead the band on acoustic guitar for a couple numbers. Not to be outdone, Marty Stuart took a solo excursion on mandolin through bluegrass warhorse ‘Orange Blossom Special’, allowing the rest of the band to take a breather while he thrilled the audience on 8 strings. I’ve not heard the mandolin played with more zeal and finesse. The packed house clearly agreed as they rose in unison to salute the performance with one of the evening’s many standing ovations.
Near the conclusion of the evening’s performance, Stuart stopped the thank the audience, mentioning that this is the third time that the Superlatives have played the Edmonds Center for the Arts. He vowed that it would not be the last and, judging from the capacity crowd’s response, he will be playing to a full house when he returns.
It was a night of “firsts” at Madame Lou’s last week. It was the first stop on Ha Vay’s first headlining tour and the first time I’ve seen her live. What a great show! The Spellbound Tour is bringing songs from Ha’s debut album, Baby I’m The Wolf, to numerous venues across the country. Backed by a three-piece band, the San Francisco-based artist was dressed as a ballerina as she twirled, danced and pranced across the stage throughout her set – a perfect match with her angelic voice. Singer-songwriter Reggie Pearl opened.
Country/punk ravers Vandoliers, hailing from Dallas, played a raucous and uplifting show to a crowd of devoted followers at the Tractor Tavern on the last Sunday evening of June. The performance came hot on the heels of Seattle’s yearly Pride parade and capped a month packed with events celebrating the LGBTQIA community.
Vandoliers have amassed a hardcore following of fans over 10 years of touring with a well-deserved reputation for ‘leave it all on the stage’ performances. It was evident that those in attendance were well acquainted with the band’s catalog as they greeted fan faves with rapturous applause and eagerly joined in on their anthemic choruses. The Texas septet’s most current album ‘Life Behind Bars’ has been the object of critical acclaim and they played a healthy selection of the new cuts at the Tractor. Jenni Rose, the band’s charming and magnetic frontperson, has recently embraced her truth as a trans woman as well as addressing problematic substance issues to attain a hard-fought sobriety and she seems positively energized by her life changes. She was a blur of guitar slinging motion and fist pumping abandon from the first note to the last and sported a winning, ear to ear grin the entire time. Her bandmates seemed equally charged and supportive, leading the audience on a thrilling ride through a glorious set that deftly straddled both C&W and punk worlds.
Vandoliers were supported at the Tractor by Adeem the Artist, performing a lovely and affecting set drawn from their most recent release, ‘Anniversary’, as well as selections from their previous two albums. Sadly, Adeem’s performance was marred by a trio of unruly attendees who planted themselves front and center and then made the regrettable decision to harass the artist while they were attempting to perform their set. Why one would spend the time and money to attend a show and then blather through the performance is a mystery to me but I guess we can just add it to the long list of things that I find puzzling about our current reality. After multiple entireties from Adeem to shut up and pay attention (to no avail) the performer finally gave up and ended their set prematurely. I sincerely hope Adeem will return to the Pacific Northwest soon so they can play for a more well-behaved and attentive audience.
