A Winter's Day

Back in July I wrote a column after the Master Musician's Festival in which I mentioned only a few of the performers who had been particularly effective at leaving me rapturous. I ended that column with a promise of more later. I love promises like that because they are so open ended that it is hard to accuse me of defaulting on the promise. Well, now is later.

Ben Knight and the Well Diggers came to the festival being unfamiliar to me but Ben's Uncle Chris Knight has been to the festival several times and is a crowd favorite. I think Ben could become that also. When I listen to a live performance I listen for something in the delivery that makes the performer unique. Perhaps something that gives them a connection to the audience. One of the first things I noticed was that Ben Knight's voice was not a pristine one. There were flaws in how he held a note and sometimes drifted just a bit off key but what I heard was a uniqueness. I searched for someone to compare him to and decided that Rob Thomas of Matchbook Twenty was a pretty good likeness. Both of them have a little catch in their singing that let's you know that there are no tricks here. Just straight forward music. You know from that that the music is from the heart, most likely self-penned and hasn't been corrupted by some studio manager somewhere. It is the kind of music that speaks to the heart and soul and draws you closer to see what it is that the musicians have to tell you. It causes me to listen more intently to the lyrics and try to find out what the message is about because I know that it is something that is important for the purveyor to say and for me to hear. Sometimes it isn't worth the effort but with Ben Knight and the Well Diggers it certainly was. I was so impressed that I made my way to the merch tent to purchase the CD and talk to the band. I complimented Ben on the strong lyrics to his songs and he assured me that they were self-penned and not a cover in the bunch. I told him was that I have never heard of strong lyrics hurting a record. This was the kind of band that one could do a lot of listening to without getting bored.

Another band that was on the bill was Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds. I had never heard of them prior to this day but when they came out on stage I knew it would be all right. They were fronted by a lithe, smallish woman but what I really noticed was the HORNS. Horns just do the trick for me. And with the type of music this band delivered the horns were a existential part. This little woman started off with a low growl that one would not have expected and built it to a roar with a voice sort of like Beth Hart or Susan Tedeschi and set off prowling non stop about the stage in the stifling heat. There are a lot of bands running over with good music that we just never get to see and some of them benefit greatly from being seen live. This band is one such band. I caught them a few weeks later on the TODAY SHOW and the music lacked that edge that was present at the Master Musician's Festival. Rock and Blues almost has to be delivered with an edge that almost betrays the musicality inherent in the song. It is the attitude and empathy that accompany the song that cuts right to the heart. This band calls Brooklyn home but the music is straight out of the Southern Soul Sound that is so familiar to aficionados of the old Stax and Muscle Shoals sound and that sound carries me away. I never tire of it.

It was a strong festival showing. From the Bluegrass of Sam Bush to the traditional Mountain sound of Abigail Washington. From the jazz influenced banjo of Bela Fleck to the Caribbean influenced sound of Ben Sollee. From the nontraditional Americana sound of Ben Knight and the Well Diggers to the soulful blues and raucous delivery of Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.

I once asked Carol Young of the Greencards what it was that caused her and her bandmates to leave Australia to play the festival circuit in the United States. She told me that it was the opportunity to practice her art. She said that such a festival circuit did not exist in Australia. Playing the festival circuit is not an easy lifestyle but nowhere else is such freedom of expression afforded an artist willing to pay the toll. The chance to get to see bands like these is a treasure. Personally, I think the very best music being made is heard at the festivals outdoors. We are very fortunate to the the Master Musician's Festival call Somerset home.

Already thinking about July. And that's My Take for this cold January day when reverie drifts to a more pleasant and joyful time. See you there.