Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Lytic Opera House, Baltimore, Dec. 7
Amythyst Kiah and Maia Sharp, Kennedy Center, Dec. 6
Shawn Colvin, Rams Head, Annapolis, Dec. 3
Chris Smither & the Motivators, The Collective Encore, Columbia, Nov. 22
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Two Runner at Fillmore Silver Spring, Nov. 16
Kacey Musgraves, Nickel Creek, Lord Huron at CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Nov. 9
Bruce Springsteen, Camden Yards, Sep. 13
Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show, Wolf Trap, August 30
Tedeschi Trucks Band and Margo Price, Merriweather Post, August 21
Della Mae, The Collective, May 9
Richard Thompson, The Barns, April 11
Rhiannon Giddens and Charly Lowry, Strathmore Hall, March 18
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Lyric Opera House, Baltimore, Dec. 7
This was my third show in five days though Larry and I had booked tickets months before. I had never seen Gillian Welch but had long admired many of her songs done solo or with her longtime musical partner, David Rawlings. This was their first tour in more than five years and was in support of their excellent new album, Woodland Studios, named after the historic Nashville studio they own which was severely damaged in a 2020 tornado. Together they put on a transcendent show, just the two of them with occasional assistance from a bass player rounding out the bottom. Gillian’s voice has always been a treasure but it was the combination of their harmonies and guitars (or sometimes Gillian’s banjo) that provided the magic. It was a truly acoustic show with just a set of microphones — no pickups, amps, floor pedals or gimmicks — as if we were in the backyard of a pair of supremely talented neighbors. They seemed to enjoy the acoustics of the Lyric Opera House and adjusted their set as they went along to play songs they thought fit the room, including the opening “Elvis Presley Blues” because they encountered Baltimore’s “Night of 1,000 Elvises” at their nearby hotel and the closing “White Rabbit” “because the reverb in here is really nice.” It was a really special performance — I had tears in my eyes for nearly every song and have quickly come to love a number of their new tunes as well as many of their oldies and covers. The pair have notched many new entries on my list of favorite tunes.
Amythyst Kiah and Maia Sharp, Kennedy Center, Dec. 6
At the same time I booked Shawn Colvin and Chris Smither tickets I learned that Amythyst and Maia were performing at this free one-hour “songwriter’s showcase curated by Bonnie Raitt” in the foyer of the Kennedy Center. I got one of the free tickets and arrived early to stand in line for a good seat, just in time to hear Amythyst wrapping up her sound check with a lovely rendition of Bonnie’s 2022 Song of the Year Grammy winner, “Just Like That.” Each artist performed solo for just 30 minutes; Bonnie herself was nowhere to be seen but she would be in town to receive her Kennedy Center Honors award over the weekend. They couldn’t formally say but it seemed clear that Amythyst and Maia would be among those paying tribute to Bonnie on Sunday; this free show was a chance for them to promote their own work. The Kennedy Center filmed the event and posted it here. I had a great seat and enjoyed both of their short sets. I didn’t know Maia Sharp’s music well but listened to her playlist on the drive down. I was pleasantly surprised to find a perfectly respectable and listenable set of well-crafted pop tunes from her two decades in the business. I’m surprised she’s not a bigger star. It speaks to the fickleness and random luck of the music business. At least she evidently counts Bonnie Raitt among her friends and supporters.
Shawn Colvin, Ram’s Head, Annapolis, Dec. 3
I decided to see this show just a few weeks in advance, in furtherance of supporting artists that I admire but are not exactly at the top of my playlist. I know a lot of Shawn Colvin’s songs and particularly like her guitar style but I wasn’t a top-tier fan. There were plenty of seats available when I bought my ticket so I was surprised to see the venue pretty much full. Where did they all come from? In any event, Shawn put on a professional solo show, starting promptly at 7:30pm and finishing precisely at 9pm. She played her hits, a few covers, and a couple of new songs, told some amusing stories, and surprisingly fumbled a few chords and lyrics here and there. She wrote it off to being nearly 69 years old but there was also just a touch of the old war horse being on the road a tad longer than she might like. Another night in another town singing for her supper. The crowd, many of them more hard-core Shawn Colvin fans than I, was supportive but there was little electricity in the room. A pleasant evening and I’m glad I did my bit to line Shawn’s pockets a little, but I’m not much more of a fan than I was the night before.
Chris Smither and the Motivators, The Collective Encore, Columbia, Nov. 22
I made a nearly last minute decision to attend this show (which kind of snuck up on me) at The Collective Encore in Columbia and was very glad I did. I got my ticket 48 hours ahead of showtime and only bar seats were available. I thought that would mean I’d have to fight for a seat at the bar but it turned out to be an assigned spot and I got one of the best ones very near the stage. I had time for a decent burger and a drink before the show as the club slowly filled. The Collective is growing on me as a venue – I wish they had a stronger lineup of shows but there are some gems scattered among its usual assortment of theme cover bands.
Chris Smither usually tours solo or with a percussionist as I’d seen him in May 2018 in Baltimore. I enjoyed that show greatly and continue to admire Chris’s music. His guitar picking is exquisite; his songs and singing voice are often as natural as breathing. Now at age 80, he’s an underappreciated American treasure still making fine new music. He now has three entries in my Songs that Matter (to me) including the new “Down in Thibodaux,” a song that just makes me happy.
The Motivators made Chris’s most recent album with him, this year’s All About the Bones. The band consists of David Goodrich (who has produced Smither’s albums for years), Zak Trojano, and BettySoo, none of whom I’d known before. The band opened the show with 40 minutes of songs from each of the members who have their own albums and careers. Chris then joined and the band reverently receded into supportive roles. From then on it was definitely Chris’s show. They closed with “Leave the Light On,” still one of my favorites and getting more poignant as Chris counts down the years until 100. Twenty more to go. Sail on, big man.
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Two Runner at Fillmore Silver Spring, November 16, 2024
My second time seeing Molly Tuttle in 10 weeks and third time overall, this time as headliners. The band (with Casey Campbell capably subbing on mandolin for Dominick Leslie who evidently was on paternity leave) was terrific once again with an energetic and entertaining 90-minute set. Molly now has a deep catalog of excellent songs of her own to pick and choose from and the band spiced the set with four rousing covers including, of all things, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” I don’t know whether she realized the song’s relevance for Baltimore Orioles fans but the crowd (and I) loved it. They also encored along with opening act Two Runner on Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” which was a treat for me. Two Runner is a duo including Paige Anderson who grew up jamming with Molly in California. It was sweet to see them playing together but Two Runner has a long way to go to really be in Molly’s league. Molly and the band have a more commanding stage show and deservedly larger audience than two years ago when I saw them in Baltimore (here’s a good review of the show that confirms Molly’s growth as a performer and stage presence); I wish they had an even bigger following and could sell out larger venues but it’s still great to see them up close. That said, this was my first concert at the Fillmore — I had a balcony seat which was better than being on the floor but I ended up having to stand the whole time to see anything. Once I stood, I had a good view but still, not my favorite venue.
Kacey Musgraves, Nickel Creek and Lord Huron at CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, November 9, 2024
Went with Larry. This was my first show at Baltimore’s renovated CFG Bank Arena. Note for the future: our seats in Section 109 at the far end of the arena away from the stage were terrible. Better to get something higher up and closer to the stage if I ever go there again. Larry and I ended up shifting to the back row of our section which was even worse but at least we could spread out and get comfortable.
Nickel Creek, whom I was eager to see, was swallowed in the arena. We could barely see them and the two smallish video screens beside the stage did not help matters much. The sound was good but Nickel Creek performed a rather perfunctory 35 minute opening set. They’re still wonderful musicians but could rouse little more than a polite response from the still-arriving crowd. Lord Huron did little better with a 45-minute set of bland indie rock. The sound again was impeccable but muted and they never generated much energy or enthusiasm from the crowd or me. I was worried this show was a big waste of money (the tickets were expensive — more than $130 each, more than what I paid for Springsteen at Camden Yards).
Things changed when Kacey Musgraves hit the stage with glitzy lights, massive video screens and a roving robotic camera we hadn’t seen earlier. It was a full blown production, intricately structured and timed. She has a winning stage presence and a decade’s worth of memorable songs, even if they are mostly simple mid-tempo melodies wrapped in a vestigial cannabis haze (setlist). Early in the show things ground to a halt as she and the band missed a cue and the the light show went dark. It took a few awkward minutes before the technical crew got a backup computer rebooted (or something) and the show proceeded. As the evening went on I began to notice that the audience sing-along parts were a little too precise, on tune and right on time. I came to think there was some uncanny valley mix of piped in chorus effect to supplement the actual humans singing along in the audience. Larry noticed it too. The band was definitely playing and Kacey was definitely singing but there was an added hint of backing tracks keeping the whole show precisely in sync. I think the age of AI has already arrived for big arena shows but we still left feeling industrially entertained.
Bruce Springsteen at Camden Yards, September 13, 2024
Went with neighbor Mark. A year after the original date for this show, Bruce and the now 14-piece E Street Band took the stage promptly at 7:30pm and played nonstop for three entertaining, professionally paced and aerobically challenging hours (setlist). Not bad for a 74 year-old and his buddies. The emotionally resonant songs still brought tears here and there, nearly 50 years worth of anthems and memories delivered with grace and good spirits. There was an underlying theme of loss, underlined by “Last Man Standing,” and the redemptive power of rock and roll through the encores. It was a well structured, very enjoyable show and I’m glad I saw the man and the band presumably one last time, spanning most of Bruce’s career and much of my own life (see my October 2024 comments on Road Diary, the film documentary of the tour). Camden Yards proved to be a comfortable but not especially inviting music venue. The stage was a long way from our first base Club level seats and we watched the show mostly on the screens…but at least I didn’t have to stand up for the whole three hours. I thought we’d get a hot dog or something at intermission but there wasn’t one. Mark and I were happy to grab a late night snack of Korean wings back in HoCo.
National Symphony Orchestra Declassified, September 6, 2024 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall
I bought a ticket to this concert about a week ahead when I found that Yasmin Williams was playing in her only DC-area show, just as she has a new album, Acadia, coming out. The Declassified series is sort of a Boston Pops concept where the orchestra plays a few short pieces and backs a variety of popular musicians, in this case Williams, singer songwriter Madison Cunningham and Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas. Musician Ben Folds hosts the series, calling it a “gateway drug” to expose a wider audience to the orchestra and to expose the orchestra to more contemporary music and artists.
In this case, the orchestra provided a lush, supportive backdrop to Yasmin Williams’ naturalistic guitar instrumentals, though I was disappointed she only played two selections, both from her older album Urban Driftwood. I had never heard of Madison Cunningham but have enjoyed exploring her catalog, including her album Revealer which won last year’s Grammy for best folk album. I was a little less impressed with her as a performer last night but was glad to discover her. I was never a big fan of Rob Thomas or Matchbox Twenty but plenty in the audience were excited to see him and sing along with some recognizable hits. I was not deeply impressed but a couple of the songs were undeniably catchy, like a cold. The orchestra played four short pieces by living classical composers, one of whom was thrilled to come onstage and accept a round of applause…but I don’t know who he was. The digital program could be a little more forthcoming about what was played.
Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show at Wolf Trap, August 30, 2024
This was the debut of Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway at Wolf Trap and I hope it won’t be the last. It was the first I’d seen Molly since April 2022 at Baltimore Soundstage just as her Grammy winning album Crooked Tree was coming out. Since then she put out City of Gold and said a new EP is coming out in a few weeks. The setlist was about evenly split between the two recent albums. The new song “Getaway Girl” sounded good; so did a terrific cover of “Queen of Hearts,” one of my favorite Dave Edmunds/Rockpile (not Juice Newton, please) tunes. The band is still terrific and well seasoned after two years of near constant touring, much of it with Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS to friends) – Tuttle and Ketch Secor are evidently a couple (I didn’t realize he co-wrote all the songs on City of Gold) which they seem to treat as not quite a secret but not a big deal.
OCMS is a warhorse of a band with a 25-year history. I didn’t know them well beyond their ubiquitous 20-year old signature tune, “Wagon Wheel.” Their old time string band ethos should be in my wheelhouse but they’ve always come across as overeager yokels, too eager to please and joke around. Sure enough, for the first 30 minutes of the show (setlist) they leaned into a caricature of a hillbilly band, prancing and mugging all over the stage, singing rapidfire paeans to cocaine, moonshine and lost glories of the South. They were definitely skilled musicians and talented multi-instrumentalists but it was all a bit too reminiscent of Hee-Haw. Fortunately, after a while, the band and the show’s pace settled down and some of the intelligence, wit and even a little earnestness of frontman Ketch Secor came through. He and two bandmates are from Virginia and there was evident pride in many references to the state, Wolf Trap, and the DMV. There were little stories to go with most of the songs and a few golden oldies tossed in to help make connections, showcase band members and honor influences. Members of Golden Highway made cameos throughout the show and toward the end both bands were back onstage and well integrated for the last few crowd pleasers. In all, it was a well orchestrated and successful show by a band that was clearly proud to be on home turf. I will delve a bit further into OCMS’s extensive catalog – many of the songs have depth, irony and historical and musical allusions that get overwhelmed sometimes by the band’s relentless showmanship.
Tedeschi Trucks Band and Margo Price at Merriweather Post, August 21, 2024
Went with Larry. Margo was something of a disappointment, mainly because of the unintelligible sound system and the milling opening act crowd (setlist). Our seats in the last row didn’t help much. She tried hard, though, and the band was good even if her husband, Jeremy Ivey, didn’t really do much. TTB was quite good, exhibiting all their ensemble flair over a range of songs I couldn’t name but were anagrams of older songs (setlist). The dozen players are consummate musicians with an amazing knack for chugging rhythms, melodic solos and tight dynamics within and between songs, with everyone getting at least one moment to shine. Toward the end they kicked into some songs I actually recognized, particularly “Keep on Growing,” a favorite of mine from Layla. They encored, along with Margo and her band, on Leon Russell’s “Stranger in Strange Land” and Ray Charles’ “Let’s Go Get Stoned” (originally by the Coasters, I learned, written by Ashford and Simpson).
Della Mae at The Collective Encore, Columbia, May 9, 2024
Went with Larry. This was my first show at The Collective, a local venue I’ve been meaning to visit for years since it was The Soundry. It’s a very nice listening room and the four ladies of Della Mae made for a pleasant first evening. Their “bluegrass adjacent” music went down well, including a number of new songs they’re preparing for their next album. They were promoting the line of raccoon-themed merchandise so I bought a poster which lead singer Celia Woodsmith kindly autographed. I wish them well and hope to see more shows at the Collective.
Richard Thompson, The Barns at Wolf Trap, April 11, 2024
My fourth time seeing Richard though it was last in 2009. His solo acoustic show was as excellent as ever: his guitar playing remains flat-out astonishing, his deep catalog of songs is remarkable with a new album, Ship to Shore, due out next month, and his singing and between-song repartee is perfect for a small, intimate setting. Not bad for a 75 year-old. He was accompanied for about half the set by his wife Zara Phillips who offered harmonies and a friendly presence. Set List.
Rhiannon Giddens with Charly Lowry, Strathmore Hall, Rockville, March 18, 2024
My Rhiannon Giddens infatuation continued; I felt obligated to again see her and the You’re The One touring band even though I had just seen them six months earlier. This was a better, more well-rounded show. The set list (and at least they are now posting complete setlists) included fewer songs from You’re The One, more from her earlier albums, and more from the various band members. The show also leaned into the strengths and deep musicianship of the band for some rousing instrumentals and interplay. The acoustics and amplification in the Strathmore were head and shoulders better than the Clarice Smith Center, making for a crystal clear, more enjoyable sound.
Rhiannon was riding a surge of interest from playing on Beyonce’s Texas Hold ‘Em but had little to say about it since it was a week before the Cowboy Carter album dropped and she was under some sort of press embargo. But then Rhiannon didn’t mention half the projects she’s involved in, such as The Silk Road Ensemble, the opera Omar, her PBS show My Music with Rhiannon Giddens, her Wondrium series The Banjo: Music, History and Heritage, Songs of Our Native Daughters, and more. Nevertheless, while the show was sold out, the crowd was overwhelmingly old white people like myself — there was far more grey and white hair than any with color, much less people of color. I wish (and she does too) she could pull in a younger, more diverse crowd. The level of stardom and the constraints associated with that broader audience is, I think, something she wrestles with regularly. An example: at the end of the show her nephew, Justin Harrington (Demeanor), had the crowd participate in “Rhiannon’s very first Tik Tok” (“so you know it’s the end of Tik Tok,” added Rhiannon). I’m still looking for it to appear. Her social media (and Patreon) presence is maddeningly inconsistent.
Opener Charly Lowry was a pleasant surprise with a good solo set and personable stories of her Lumbee/Tuscarora tribal background. She came back several times during Rhiannon’s set to sing backup vocals and to feature her song Backbone with the full band.
I attended a pre-show lecture about Black folk music and the banjo from Kristina R. Gaddy, author of “Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History.” Rhiannon wrote the foreward to the book and Kristina is from Maryland so it was a happy bit of synergy for the Strathmore to host her. I enjoyed the lecture though I’m hard-pressed to recount specifics. Her book adds well-researched scholarship and weight to the glaringly obvious argument that the banjo is rooted in Black culture, a point Rhiannon herself makes repeatedly.
The photo is of the Strathmore coordinator but mostly the book cover and lecture title.
In preparation for this concert, recognizing that no single album or project reflects the wide scope of Rhiannon’s catalog, I prepared an iTunes playlist of my favorite Rhiannon Giddens recordings. I hope it may prove to be a good introduction for folks who may not be familiar with her, and it’s a deep well of good music, suitable for putting on shuffle…and something I can add to.
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