Cuz's Corner

SEPTEMBER CUZ’S CORNER

Welcome to yet another edition of Cuz’s Corner. By the time you read this, I’m hoping the thermometer is a bit more cooperative. Today it’s 101degrees outside and climbing. I guess it’s a good day to stay indoors and flash back to cooler times in the North Carolina mountains and a couple of festivals I attended that exceeded my high expectations.

It’s been three years since I last attended Floydfest and I must say I was amazed at how the community of Floyd, Virginia has improved on an already beautiful festival. The music ranged from old-time and traditional bluegrass at the Virginia Folklife stage to traditional African music and dance at the Global Village stage. The setting is wonderful, the food was exceptional, and the festival had energy one rarely experiences these days. I must also mention those new pegged-beam permanent stages that Bob the Builder and neighborhood volunteers have constructed – just amazing! Floydfest demonstrates what a community can accomplish by working together for the greater good of both the community and the planet. The weekend was all about music and community, so hats off to Floyd and I’ll see you next July 24-27!

Last weekend I attended my first Ola Belle Reed Festival in Lansing, North Carolina and I and a half dozen other music lovers from the Charlotte area had the time of our lives. This is an extremely small festival that never loses sight of its purpose, which is to pay homage to the music and the family of Ola Belle Reed. I really can’t recall a festival as small as this with such a high level of musicianship. If you are tired of those big ole festivals that sometimes tend to lose sight of what it’s “all about,” this festival might be for you. The highpoints for me were area favorites The Whitetop Mountain Band, Tim O’Brien’s solo set, and the exceptional Laurelyn Dossett, Kari Sickenberger, and Polecat Creek. Laurelyn and Kari’s songwriting workshop in the old turn of the century Lansing schoolhouse absolutely blew my wife, Carolyn, and me away – their songs and harmonies are just simply as good as it gets.

Speaking of Polecat Creek, this is a great time for this article to morph into my monthly gig of the month and that will no doubt be their September 14th concert for the CFS’s monthly gathering. When you combine an instrumentalist of the caliber of Riley Baugus with two amazing vocalists and songwriters, one of which (Laurelyn Dossett) has won MerleFest’s Chris Austin songwriting contest in the gospel category and has a song on the upcoming Levon Helm CD; you have a no-miss concert. Please read the write-up on this show and I hope to see you there!

Another compelling September (30th) show takes place at the Neighborhood Theatre (www.neighborhoodtheatre.com) and features Rodney Crowell, Elizabeth Cook, and Tim Carroll. Across the street the night before (29th) The Believers bring their brand of folk/country/ punk originals to The Evening Muse and are definitely worth a listen. (www.maxxmusic.com) Craig, Cynthia and their pug, Beenieboy, take the stage at 8 PM.

There were a bunch of great CDs that came out since last time and Polecat Creek’s Ordinary Seasons was one of them. (www.polecatcreek.net) If you like well constructed songs, beautiful harmonies, and back-up instrumentals that accompany perfectly, this one should be part of your collection. This one does not yet have a street date, but will be available from the website and at the September gathering - hint, hint!

Mock Turtle Soup’s Bound for Carolina is another recommendation that not only has Carolina roots, but connections to the Charlotte Folk Society (Willie Repoley and Chris Holleman). (www.mockturtlesoup.net) This CD is both well played and sung throughout and covers about every aspect of acoustic folk music from Celtic to old time and bluegrass to Western and Hispanic genres and back again. It’s great to see such a young group of players with such a mature take on folk music – well done!

Staying close to home, you might check out the new one from one time gathering performers Buffalo Creek Stringband. ( www.buffalocreekband.com) I found Weary Woman Blues to be a potent instrumental album and suitable for a long road trip.

Now let’s take a trip over the mountains, past Knoxville and the Cumberland plateau, to the town of Nashville and check out a couple of hot releases I am enjoying immensely. The self-titled Kane Welch Kaplin is the third great effort from this Americana super group. (www.compassrecords.com) I just can’t say enough about the groove, the instrumental prowess of Fats Kaplin and the fine songs from both Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch. In a month of excellent releases, this one gets Cuz’s pick of the month.

The connection between Bill Monroe, bluegrass, and Elvis Presley goes all the way back to the release of Elvis’s cover of Blue Moon of Kentucky. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Elvis’s untimely passing, check out the new release from Shawn Camp and Billy Burnette called The Bluegrass Elvises. ( www.americanrootspublishing.org) Yep, you guessed it – these are bluegrass covers of your very favorite Elvis tunes with the backing of some of the best bluegrass instrumentalists in the business. This one is just plain fun to listen to.

I also especially love Peter Case’s Let Us Praise Sleepy John for not only its songwriting execution and social commentary, but for its live feel. No wonder, as this ex-street performer and consummate troubadour is the real deal. Catch him live on October 12th at The Evening Muse. (www.maxxmusic.com)

Finally, Ryan Adams has released, in my thinking, the finest and most consistent solo effort to date with his edgy Easy Tiger release. This release has been number one on the AMA charts for weeks now and hopefully signals the fact that this most creative North Carolinian has now found a consistent voice. I am extremely impressed with this CD! That’s all the room I have for this month, so, as always, get out and enjoy some live music in September and don’t forget CFS’s big 25th anniversary coming up in October!

CUZ