Of all the concerts in this year’s Bluegrass Night series, it was this one I was looking forward to the most. Last year, Cherryholmes blew me away and after spending the last year trying to wear out their CDs, I was really looking forward to seeing them in concert again.

And this year’s show was as good, if not better than last year’s.

Another year of practice, working and playing together has only improved Cherryholmes. And they were pretty fantastic to begin with. A few weeks ago, Vince Gill talked about the ability to harmonize within families and no where is that more evident than here. The entire family’s ability to blend voices, find the right notes and harmonize is just one of the things that makes this group such a sensation. The other is that everyone in the group is amazingly talented and can play a wide variety of instruments–and play them well.

I was also impressed by the selection of songs for this year’s show. There were a few old favorites from last year, but most of the show was new material, hopefully a lot of it from their third CD due out in September. I didn’t get the feeling that the group has a set they do, so much as they have a large range of numbers to choose from. Of course, the fact that they chose one of my favorites “Heat of the Morning” to play didn’t hurt things at all.

I could go on and on about how great they were and how I didn’t want the show to end. A fantastic show and I can only hope they’ll be back next year.

Opening the show for Cherryholmes was Bradley Walker, a singer I’d never heard of before. But his set made me sit up and take notice. Walker has a strong, solid voice and I found myself wondering if he was related to Clay Walker. Their voices do have some similiarities. I couldn’t find anything on his web site confirming this, but you never know. Walker’s songs were all great and you had the feeling that this was a guy just out here, honored to be there and living his dream. It showed in his songs and peformance.

I was expecting great things from this week’s show at the Ryman but I have to admit overall it was mixed. We had one superb group, one good group and one group that I expected a better show from.

The one I expected a better show from was IIIrd Tyme Out. I’d never seen them in concert before, but my parents had a few years ago, singing their praises. So, I was really looking forward to hearing them. And yet, I came away a bit…well, dissapointed. I’m not sure whether it was the group or the audience just didn’t have any energy. But their set was just OK and really didn’t thrill me that much–or the rest of the audience either. The group didn’t get a unanimous standing ovation and wasn’t asked back for an encore.

I think a large part of that was that freshman group Dailey and Vincent had taken the stage first and had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. In a mere twenty minutes, this group went from unfamiliar newcomer to a new favorite for me. They did gospel, they did acapella and they nearly brought the house down with “More Than a Name on the Wall.” Front-lined by Jamie Dailey (who was with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver the past two years) and Darrin Vincent (brother of Rhonda), this group was smooth, professional, polished and fun. The mob around them after the show to buy CDs and have them signed was a huge signal that they’d rocked the house. And the wore orange shirts with orange ties, which immediately gave them two steps up in my book.

Finally, we got Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, who I’ve seen the past three years. I’d put this show below last year’s but above the year before. Last year’s show had a dynamic to it that this one didn’t quite capture. It was still good, but I did miss Rhonda doing her version of “Jolene” and one of her better songs, “Ghost of a Chance.” Both of those are favorites of mine and can never be performed enough live in my estimation. But I guess when you have as long a career and such a reportoire as Vincent, you have the luxury of choosing from a LOT of great songs to make up your set each night. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it…I did. But after being blown away by Dailey and Vincent, the next two acts had a high bar set.

What a difference a year can make. Last year, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Vince Gill’s set as part of the Ryman’s summer bluegrass series.

This year’s show was tremendous. The biggest thing last year was that Gill would talk to the audience, sharing stories of people he’d shared a microphone with and teasing you about how much he’d loved the experience and the sound. And then, just when you figured he was going to say, “And here is….” he’d launch into the song. Now, I know that the audience is there to see Vince, but it seemed a bit of a tease to get our curiosity up like that.

This year, Vince had a plethora of special guests with him, in addition to his own bluegrass band and they all put on a tremendous show. For me, the highlight was hearing Vince and his daughter, Jenny, sing together. Vince had bragged about the way their voices blended last year and then again this year, so when she came out on stage, expectations were high. And the duo delivered. They sang together on “A River Like You” and did a superb job. Vince also had Ricky Skaggs on hand and the two jammed together on mandolin. He also had two sisters, whose name eludes me, from his early days in the business, who helped sing a couple of songs. After a performance that got better with each song and went on for close to two hours, Vince and the entire group of guests ended the show with “Go Rest High on That Mountain” as bluegrass. Now, I know Vince has released this on a previous album, but I think the bluegrass version with his daughter helping would be a huge hit. I know, I’d run out and buy a copy of it. Or even a bluegrass version of the song, which is pretty powerful no matter what “format” it’s performed in.

As if that weren’t enough, the show opened with the Steeldrivers, a new bluegrass group that nearly brought the house down. Their lead singer has a deep, rich voice and it reminded me a bit of Travis Tritt. They performed a variety of songs from their first CD, all written by two guys in the group. The most memorable song of the set was one from told from the perspective of an old tree, watching a Civil War battle unfold around it.

I have to admit, of all the shows, I was really the least enthused about this one. However, both performances really delivered and as one guy shouted out during Vince’s set “Bluegrass rocks!”

Thursday night at the Ryman, there were no truer words spoken…

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Thursday evening kicked off the 2008 season of the Bluegrass Nights series at the Ryman. As you may recall from last year, I’ve become a big bluegrass fan since I moved to Music City and I really enjoy the series. For one thing, I’m still a novice fan, so going to the concerts, I get to have a good sample of new- and old-school bluegrass.

One of the benefits of the concerts is that Eddie Stubbs “hosts” them. Having him come out on stage and share a bit about the group or individual performing helps give me a bit of context for them as well as a bit of background on the group or person.

This week, we got a taste of the new-school bluegrass and the old-school bluegrass.

The evening kicked off with a set from the Infamous Stringdusters. The sextet won several awards this year at the bluegrass awards and hearing them, I can see why. Their set was great. One thing I love about the series is getting to see a group play the Ryman for the first time. Or at least for what I figure was the first time. The guys in the group seemed honored that they were playing on the historic stage. But while they were honored and taking it seriously, they still had a great time. As they played, they were all bouncing off each other, working together and delivering some great music. I will say I thought their set was too short–but then again, it was an hour and it literally flew by. My only disappointment of the evening came when they didn’t get enough applause to warrant an encore. So, I went and bought their second CD from them and am planning to order their first CD from their web-site.

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Originally uploaded by bigorangemichael

xt came the act that I think a lot of people were there to see. It was the old-school bluegrass style of Earl Scruggs. I saw Earl last year and I came away impressed by the wide range and variety he had and also by my complete lack of knowledge about some of his songs. I hate to say it, but the two I recognized were the theme from Bonnie and Clyde and the theme from the Beverly Hillbillies. Of course, just as last year, Earl saved those for the end of his show and had the crowd rockin’ along with them. (Well, to the Hillbillies theme, which has words). Before that, we got to hear some a highlight of songs from one of the guys who helped create the genre and is a legend not only in bluegrass but in all of music.

A great show and a nice way to start the season. And the best part–five more great shows to look forward to…

I’ve been looking forward to today for a long time for two reasons.