Gnometown didn't really knock it out of the park this year with live music, but we did the best we could. Between working night shift, taking a summer Europe trip, and hanging with the grand kids, we skipped out on seeing some music. Here's hoping for a groovy 2015!
Here are some of the great bands that we were fortunate enough to see in 2014.
Railroad Earth, Donna The Buffalo, Yonder Mountain String Band, Town Mountain, Jim Lauderdale, Green Sky Bluegrass, Jeff Mosier, The Traveling McCourys, The Duhks, The Royal Tinfoil, Punch Brothers, Jason Isbell, Steep Canyon Rangers, Grandpas Cough Medicine, Ralph Roddenbery, Henhouse Prowlers, The Honeycutters, Sam Bush, Del McCoury Band, Jerry Douglas, The Avett Brothers, Southern Soul Assembly, Sloppy Joe, Dread Clampitt, The Freight Hoppers, Porch 40, Dustin Martin and the Ramblers, Jon Stickley Trio, Mandolin Orange.
Last night, the Gnometown gang caught the first night of the three night Railroad Earth's New Year's Eve run at the Orange Peel. It was a great time spent with friends and family, listening to one of our favorite bands. As a bonus, we got to hear the first live playing of the title track of Railroad Earth's upcoming album, The Last Of The Outlaws.
Here's the set list:
Set 1: Like a Buddha 420 Peace on Earth Been Down This Road Came Up Smilin' Right in Tune Where Songs Begin Carrying Coal to Newcastle --> Chasin' a Rainbow
Set 2: Mission Man Long Way To Go Drag Him Down Colorado For Love The Last of the Outlaws (A) Mourning Flies --> Lone Croft Farewell Crossing the Gap Gold Rush Elko
Encore: Water Fountain Quicksand
(A) First time played. Written by Todd Sheaffer and Carey Harmon
While looking back and reviewing all my YouTube videos and blog posts from this past year, I am beginning to realize that 2013 emerged as a pretty terrific year of live music for the Hometown gang. Black Betty and I were joined by family and friends to boogie to some of the best music ever, played by many of the most talented artists in the world. As I have said before, "There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!" Here is a list of many of the incredible bands that we were fortunate enough to see in 2013:
Donna The Buffalo, Railroad Earth, Cooking With Quanta, Town Mountain, Greensky Bluegrass, Danny Barnes, Willie Nelson, Apple Butter Express, Peter Rowan, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, The Traveling McCourys, John Prine, The Duhks, Jeff Sipe Trio, The Freight Hoppers, The Horse Flies, The Deadly Gentlemen, Solas, Tornado Rider, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ralph Roddenbery, Bibb City Ramblers, Keller and The Keels, Keller and Traveling McCourys, Taylor Martin Acoustic Band, Mavis Staples, The Corbitt Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, The Brothers Comatose, Stephen Marley, Drive By Truckers, Todd Sheaffer, Rayna Gellert, Strung Like A Horse, Grandpa's Cough Medicine, Darol Anger, Elephant Revival, Kris Kristofferson, Lizzy Ross Band, The Hackensaw Boys, Bobby Miller, Heavy Pets, Mamajowali, Apple Chill Cloggers, David Via and Curtis Burch, Scythian, The Stacks, Vagabond Swing, Leftovers Salmon, Jerry Douglas, Dread Clampitt, Yonder Mountain String Band.
We were in for a special musical treat last night when Todd Sheaffer of Railroad Earth performed a solo show at the Isis Music Hall in West Asheville. It was our first time seeing Todd without the band and our first time at the Isis venue. We absolutely loved both. The venue was intimate, and it was if Sheaffer was in our living room, singing to us, and telling us the stories behind the songs that we know and love so well.
Man, you've got to love Asheville on a Thursday night in November when you can spend it like this!
Black Betty, daughter Becky, and I once again attended one of our favorite music festivals of the year, Music On The Mountaintop, held near Boone, NC. A good time was had by all!
Beauty Spot.
The music speaks for itself. To begin with, THREE DAYS OF RAILROAD
EARTH! That fact alone is worth the price of admission. Besides the
main shows, small, intimate, workshops were also held by musicians from
RRE and various other bands. Sunday saw a super jam tribute to Woody
Guthrie, featuring members of RRE, Larry Keel, Sam Bush, Monroeville,
and others.
Railroad Earth.
THE 2012 LINEUP
Friday
The Black Lillies
River Whyless
Greensky Bluegrass
J.J. Grey & Mofro
Dr. Dog
Railroad Earth
Saturday
Monroeville
Holy Ghost Tent Revival
Rose’s Pawn Shop
Naked Gods
The Hackensaw Boys
Futurebirds
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Railroad Earth
Sunday
Stoney Creek Boys
Salem Speaks Larry Keel & Natural Bridge
Railroad Earth Super Jam tribute to Woody Guthrie featuring: Sam Bush,
Larry & Jenny Keel, members of Monroeville, special guests and more.
Sam Bush
Hometown, Becky, Black Betty.
Here's the Deal:
The 5th year of Music On The Mountaintop saw a return to the idyllic Grandfather Campground in Foscoe, NC, and a new partnership with jam-grass favorites, Railroad Earth.
The weekend crowd seemed somewhat smaller than last year, overall organization of the event was improved, and production was dialed in.
Music for this three day event was all concentrated on one main stage and sound and lighting were superb.
Noticeably absent this year were the big outdoor gear sponsorships (Chaco, Osprey, etc.) and the very cool green eco-village of last year. I must say that I missed the vibe that they bring to the fest.
The price for this festival continues to be very affordable, but by the time you add on wristbands, parking, and shuttle fees, you come to the realization that you have spent a considerable amount of bucks.
As always, this is a young, friendly, and enthusiastic, music loving crowd.
It's a nice venue for families, the large grassy meadow in front of the stage is the perfect staging area for family fun with lots of room for kids to play and run, under the watchful eye of mom or dad, as they listen to music.
The kids parade continues to be a Saturday afternoon highlight.
Camping, as always was nice, but no camping with your car this year was a bummer for us (ahem) mature Festivarians. The price for parking our little Gnometown pop-up at the festival would have been $150. (can you believe that?) so we parked it 6 miles down the road for $52 for the weekend.
My favorite festival moment came when the entire Super Jam cast came out on stage, and led the crowd in singing the great American anthem,Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land.
Music on the Mountaintop benefits Appalachian Voices, a nonprofit environmental group that focuses on protecting
the central and southern Appalachians.
Greensky Bluegrass got one song in on Friday afternoon before rain shut them down.
The Hackensaw Boys.
Polecat Dancers.
Sunday afternoon Super Jam tribute to Woody Guthrie.
Two of the finest bluegrass bands in western North Carolina lit things up last night in little downtown Bryson City. Town Mountainfrom Asheville and The Freight Hoppers out of Bryson City debuted on the new stage at Nantahala Brewing Company. These two bands have collaborated for the past couple of years and complement each other wonderfully. We were treated to a full set by each band and then a shorter third set at the end of the night when the musicians joined each other on the stage for several songs.
If great things like this keep happening in the far western counties this summer, we won't have to make the hour plus drive to Asheville as often to hear cutting-edge, world-class music. That would be a good thing with $4.00 a gallon gas. I'll have to keep my eye on the schedule of events for the Nantahala Brewing Co. for sure! Nantahala Brewing
Town Mountain's gritty-edged grass blends the group's precision playing with Robert Greer's outstanding vocals and with the significantly impressive song writing abilities of Phil Barker (mandolin) and Jesse Langlais (banjo). This results in a truly unique Town Mountain sound which is at times: hard-core honkytonk, traditional, newgrass, jamgrass, gospel, roots, rock and roll, Americana. No need to label it; it's all great grass!
More info on the band here:Town Mountain
Town Mountain is:
Robert Greer guitar, lead vocals
Philip Barker mandolin, vocals
Jesse Langlais banjo
Jon Stickley bass
Bobby Britt fiddle
The Freight Hoppers play an infectious brand of old time string band music originating from the 20's and 30's. They are excellent musicians who seem to be having a great time playing and singing songs about murder, mayhem, and moonshine from the era of American prohibition and The Great Depression. Tossing in some great fiddle tunes played by David Bass always gets the crowd dancing.
The band's bio and more can be found here: Freight Hoppers
The Freight Hoppers are:
David Bass fiddle
Frank Lee banjo, vocal
Isaac Deal guitar, vocal
Bradley Adams string bass
We had a fine weekend of live music to celebrate my birthday. On Friday night, we went to the groovy and quaint Soul Infusion Tea House in Sylva for a fun bluegrass show featuring some powerful picking by the Dan River Drifters. This was our first time seeing this group of young musicians and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks to bassist bad ass Adam Bigelow for inviting us out.
I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing lots more from this band in the near future.
We rang in the New Year this weekend at The Grey Eagle in Asheville with two of our favorite bands, Town Mountain and Acoustic Syndicate. It made for a fun time spent with good friends and great live music.
So we happily ended 2011 and started 2012 just how we prefer to live our lives by savoring the moments and smelling the flowers along the way. Here's hoping that the New Year brings health, happiness, and lots of good love and music to you and your families in 2012!
It's New Year's Eve and Black Betty and I are going to celebrate tonight at The Grey Eagle in Asheville (our favorite music venue) with Town Mountain and Acoustic Syndicate (two of our favorite groups).
The following is a list of many of the bands that we saw in 2011. We were fortunate indeed to see most of them numerous times. As I said last year, "There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!"
Once again I would like to thank all the outstanding musicians who helped to make our year so incredibly fun and filled with great tunes.You know that we love you! I'm hoping for a repeat in 2012!
Last Friday night, Black Betty and I caught our favorite local band at the Soul Infusion Tea House in Sylva.
It was a jammy night of original music and some pretty groovy covers by our friends in Cooking With Quanta. The fab four (Neil, Scott, Adam, and Greg) rocked the house. We boogied till we dropped!
We love Quanta and we love the Soul Infusion. What a great venue for this group, it really feels like a house party with all your best friends. It was another "mighty-fine" night of live music in western North Carolina.
You really should try to join us next time!
Two of the finest String Bands in the mountains came together on Friday night at The Grey Eagle in Asheville.
The Freight Hoppers are from Bryson City, NC and play Old Time and Traditional tunes from the 1920's and 1930's. David Bass (fiddle) and Frank Lee (banjo, guitar, vocals) have been together since the Freight Hoppers started their Great Smokey Mountain Railroad gig in 1993. After a hiatus of seven or eight years, the band regrouped in 2007 with Issac Deal (guitar,vocals) and Bradley Adams (bass). www.thefreighthoppers.com/
Town Mountain is, without a doubt, our favorite Asheville area bluegrass band. Black Betty and I try not to miss a local show with this smoking hot, bluegrass band. Their rawness and grit manages to get under your skin, and you become a convert after one Town Mountain show. Their rough around-the-edges sound fueled by Robert Greer's outstanding vocals and the band's skilled licks keep us coming back for more.
Town Mountain's strength and appeal lies in their ability to keep it real and gritty while refusing to allow their sound to become a polished out white-bread Nashville caricature of bluegrass music. This is working man's grass, it's the real deal! They feature outstanding original tunes penned by banjo player Jesse Langlais and mandolin player Phil Barker; they also do some great covers, including Bruce Springsteen and John Anderson. If you are extremely fortunate, you may even hear Robert Greer sing a heart-wrenching version of the Grateful Dead's Brokedown Palace. Their newest CD is Steady Operator. http://townmountain.net/blog/
The Sons of Ralph are an Asheville institution and favorite of Black Betty's and mine. They are also the house band at Jack of the Wood. We happened to catch them there during Bele Chere weekend when they rocked down the house to the delight of the crowd.
At 83, Ralph Lewis is still going strong. Ralph jams with the boys on mandolin, guitar, and vocals. He usually plays the first set of the night and then heads home. You can tell that his sons really love him and the crowd absolutely adores him.
They play a lively blend of pure Appalachian Americana music ranging from Bluegrass to Country to Rock and Roll.
Ralph's sons Marty and Don make up the Sons of Ralph along with cousin Steve Moseley and "other brother" Ozzie Orengo Jr.
Read their bios and purchase their merchandise on their website: Sons Of Ralph
Better yet see them in person.
Bele Chere picked a winner with Railroad Earth as headliner on Saturday night at the Coxe Avenue stage. Though they were hot off the heels of Floyd Fest the band still managed to have enough energy to get the huge crowd rocking downtown Asheville. They even managed to play a couple of my favorites, Smiling Like A Buddah and Head. Todd Shaffer further endeared the band to the Asheville crowd when he channeled Jerry Garcia for the uplifting spiritual, My Sisters and Brothers.
All in all it was another great Railroad Earth show. It seemed as though there were lots of folks seeing RRE for the first time in the crowd and discovering that they really were digging them. I imagine that there will be many more hobos jumping on the train next time they come to town.
Becky, Tim Carbone, Black Betty Set List:
Walk Beside Me
Like a Buddha
420
The Jupiter and the 119
Long Walk Home
Lone Croft Farewell
Stillwater Getaway
Mourning Flies
Head
My Sisters and Brothers
E: Bringin' My Baby Back Home (with Jason Flournoy on banjo)
Black Betty and I hit Asheville for Friday night at a scaled-down Bele Chere with some hot, hot, hot, Holy Ghost Tent Revival. This rockin' roots band from Greensboro NC seems to get better each time we see them. Even with out a banjo (seems to have been short a D string) the band had the crowd whipped into an enthusiastic, dancing, sweating, frenzy. It was certainly a great start to Bele Chere 2011!
Our 28th wedding anniversary, the "super moon", and Town Mountain's CD release party at The Grey Eagle all came together this weekend to create a spectacular time of fun and music. Talk about planets aligning? We couldn't have asked for a better anniversary present than a night at our favorite music venue listening to one of our favorite grass bands. The CD is great, check it out, it's called Steady Operator. It's released nationwide on May 12 if you weren't lucky enough to grab one at the Grey Eagle last night.
The Barn Cats performed last night at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. The Barn Cats are the three piece band consisting of Frank Lee, Issac Deal, and Bradley Adams of the Freight Hoppers. Even though though they were without David Bass on fiddle (he was out of town and unable to attend) their inspired passion for traditional music made for great times and great music.
It just doesn't get any better on a cold and rainy winter night in Appalachia.
The Freight Hoppers: BioAfter more than a decade The Freight Hoppers have released their eagerly awaited fourth album Mile Marker. This collection includes music that was first recorded in the late 1920's and early 1930's, and spans geographically from Mississippi to West Virginia. The Freight Hoppers play hard driving old time music with an emotional, raw excitement that keeps one foot planted in the past and the other in the present. Of course that’s only when they keep their feet still, for this is high energy dance music of an older day played like there's no tomorrow. Finding their passion from a love of stringband music of the 1920's and 30's, The Freight Hoppers have been entertaining crowds of fans at festivals and music halls alike as they travel around the country. The heart of the band is held together by the powerhouse fiddle and banjo combo of David Bass and Frank Lee, while the rhythm section of Isaac Deal on guitar and Bradley Adams on string bass keep the groove moving. Add in the vocal duo of Frank and Isaac, and you've got yourself one of the most exciting traditional bands to come out of the woodwork. Based out of the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers draw from a deep source of rural southern music for their inspiration, and are proud to present music that is still very much alive and meaningful to today's world.
The Freight Hoppers are:
David Bass fiddle
Frank Lee banjo, vocal
Isaac Deal guitar, vocal
Bradley Adams string bass
Black Betty and I got to see two of the hottest Americana jam bands touring today when they rolled into Asheville last night.
Greensky Bluegrass opened for Railroad Earth at The Orange Peel and got the crowd warmed up for a scorching hot show on a cold Friday night.
Here is a recording of their set on Archive; Greensky Bluegrass.
Railroad Earth started the first set with a heavy electric bass intro by Andrew Altman with the Happy Song. Other first set highlights included a crowd-favorite Like A Buddha andended with Lone Croft Farewell.
Set two featured the latest RRE sing-a-long, The Jupiter and the 119, and an epic and wonderfully jammy masterpiece Warhead Boogie, which really managed to get the whole house rockin' without restraint.
Here is a link to their show on Archive: Railroad Earth.
It was another fine night of listening to some of the best live music in the world delivered right to my door step in Western North Carolina. How lucky is that?
Caroline Pond is the front woman for Snake Oil Medicine Show. From Asheville, North Carolina she has been a touring musician for 15 years. She delights audiences with her vocals, fiddle and her Martin ukulele. Her original songs are catchy, uplifting, positive and just plain fun. Caroline dips through many styles of music, from Bluegrass, Old Time, Jazz, Reggae, Ska and funk.
Caroline Pond is an ambassador of peace through her music, art and positive outlook on life. Her travels have spanned throughout Europe, North America and Jamaica.
Caroline has shared the stage with many artists/heroes including: Vassar Clements, Larry Keel, Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, Acoustic Syndicate, Donna The Buffalo, Mad Tea Party and so many more amazing musicians.
Caroline has a released a new solo album this winter entitled Follow Your Heart.
Special guest musicians appearing on the CD are Asheville artists Ben Scales, George Pond, Ami Worthem, and Jason Krekel.
Black Betty and I are big fans of everything Caroline and I was thrilled to be able to ask Caroline 11 questions for the new year, 2011.
1 Your new album is called Follow Your Heart. Do you have a favorite song on the album?I think the title track "Follow Your Heart" is my favorite. I wrote the song on my back porch hanging with my dogs and thats when I dreamed of making the album and doing a tour. Also, its a strong message for us to Follow our Hearts. You can control your dreams and make your days the best days ever, whether you are in your most happiest spot like your back deck with the sun shining or having to wait in line at the Driver's License office. Its what you make of it. Follow your heart people.
2 You sing in Babies On The Lawn that babies don't belong in Babylon. Who would you say does belong in Babylon?SO this song was spawned from a play on words Baby Lawn,Babylon, Babies on the Lawn. And, I hear many Reggae Artists referring Babylon, as a negative place, like places of murder, disease, Corporate America, Wal-mart style places. And I know that Babylon, used to be a beautiful place, the Ancient Mesopotamia with its Hanging Gardens, so its really interesting how a beautiful place has become known as an area of constant revolt. So, the answer to your question, no one should belong in Babylon. I like to think of myself as an ambassador of peace through my music and so if i can spread the word by singing Babies on the Lawn don't belong in Babylon, then that's what I got to do.
3 We see you with Snake Oil Medicine Show, The Pond Farm Pickers, and sometimes with Sugar andSpice. Do you have any plans for 2011 yet? Well my plans are to still play in heavy rotation with Snake Oil Medicine Show, we are taking a bit of time off this month for recording and the Pond Brothers are brand new daddies. Also, I plan on averaging one show a month with Sugar & Spice with Ami Worthen. We sure do have a blast. I play in an old-time band called Tater Diggers and we have many shows and a new cd to share in 2011. In addition, I plan on fine tuning my solo career and want to travel through the United States again.
4 You took your mother along for a cross country tour this Fall, playing solo shows and staying with friends and fans. What was that like?I had a blast and was so grateful that I got to share that solo tour with my mom. We managed to get along really well, except our nerves were getting challenged while driving through snowy conditions in Colorado. We survived driving over Vail Pass. My mom hula hooped at the Winter Park, Colorado show and all the kids were loving that. Mom and i also got to spend a week with my sister in Southern California and that was such a lovely vacation family time, hanging out in warm climates and sitting by the poolside. I am so grateful to all those people in my home country that supported me on my pathway and providing us with soft landings and yummy food.
5 Name one artist or band (someone you've never played with) that you'd jump at a chance for a 2011 collaboration. I dig Jason Mraz and his positive music.
6 Your Snake Oil Medicine Show performance at Bishop's Cafe on 11-13-2004 has an amazing 500,00 downloads on Internet Archive. What if anything do you remember about the show? This is sooo amazing to me that we have this many downloads. I remember having to take a ferry to get on that island, which I believe was called Vashon Island and I remember that not many people were at the show, but our host Alex and all the people that were there were so sweet, supportive and dancing their butts off. I also remember loving just being with my Snake Oil Family and just being on tour together in such a cool spot. Also, I was wearing a brand new dress that made me feel like I was rocking my mojo. Music has definitely taken me places.
7 What is it like to be part of the Asheville music community?Everybody plays with everybody. We have an open and supportive group here.
8 Name five non-Asheville area groups on your IPod today.I have some random stuff and groups on my Ipod and mostly they are Zydeco bands from rural Louisiana. These bands feed my soul. 1. Little Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, 2. Keith Frank 3. Brian Jack 4. Chris Ardoin & Double Clutch 5. A non-zydeco band that I met in California,they are a swing band called Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums.
9 What is one regional music festival that you would encourage someone to try to attend this year? I just love the French Broad River Festival. Its held every year in lovely Hot Springs, NC. Last weekend of April. Family friendly, great bands, awesome folks, amazing vibe, on the river, across the street from the hot springs, cute little town and I emcee the fest.
10 Your blog is called Caroline Pond's Earth Adventures and you sing a wonderful song called I Am Only Human. I'm also pretty sure that I once heard Col. Bruce Hampton refer to you as an alien. Are you really trying to convince us or is it you?Well, Colonel Bruce definitely cracks me up, it takes one to know one. As far as being an alien, its confidential, if I told you I would have to kill you. Ha ha. Just kidding. The song I am only Human was another song written in my yard underneath the sunshine, it just all came out smooth as butter, between sips of coffee and ukulele strums the song was born.
11 How can someone get a copy of Follow Your Heart?you can directly order it from me. I accept paypal, check, deed to your tropical vacation home and cash. You can go to carolinepond.com or email me at scarycaro@hotmail.com Soon the album will be on i-tunes.
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