Sammy Shelor performing with the Crooked Road Tour.  Photo courtesy of Lee McLaughlin

I am an ancient ballad and I lie in still, and wait patiently within.  I  was here long ago, and will remain long after.  Some want to change me, turn me into a commodity for their own gain.  Others simply clutter my life with documentation, time lines, scholarship.  To the great masses raised on chaff, I am ignored, ridiculed, even reviled.  When they listen, they cannot hear the beauty of the wild hawk, taste the whole kernel of the raw wheat bud, or see the diamond shining in its natural state.  Still, like the rich soil that nurtures and feeds, I live on.  I sustain open hearts crying out for sustenance, for voice, and for love.  I am an ancient ballad, and I lie in still, and wait patiently within.

If a spirited, near sell-out crowd is any indication, the patience exhibited by the ancient ballad has its virtues.   That patience was roundly rewarded by stirring performances of Music From the Crooked Road, the Mountain Music of Virginia.  This event occurred on Sunday evening, April 25, 2010 at the Maryland Hall For the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland.  The evening opened with young Elizabeth LaPrelle singing “Pretty Saro”, an unadorned Appalachian love ballad, elegant as a soaring hawk in its sheer simplicity, as beautiful as a wildwood flower in its pure grace.  “Pretty Saro” would be the first of about thirty-two tunes and ballads from six different bands in their various settings, combinations and interchangeable parts.  Banjoist Kirk Sutphin would offer LaPrelle support with his superb frailing, the old Appalachian style of playing the rhythm and melody simultaneously, followed by master fiddler Eddie Bond.  The three would play “Handsome Molly”, an old-time ballad several hundreds of years old, and for those who care, recorded commercially by Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.  All three hail from the Galax area of southwest Virginia, a hotbed of traditional Appalachian music for generations.  When Eleanor Roosevelt visited the depression ravaged area in 1933 to lend moral support, she was regaled with “The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife”, a bawdy little ditty played on the same banjo Sunday evening, passed up through several generations.  Back in 1933, word quickly spread that then first lady Mrs. Roosevelt left the Galax area in much better spirits. 

(Photo of Wayne Henderson, courtesy of Joe Wilson).

A highlight of the evening was Wayne Henderson and Bond & Kirk on a medley of old Carter family tunes ‘Keep On the Sunny Side”, “Foggy Mountain Top”, “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”, and “Gospel Ship”.  Emily Spencer, matriarch and lead singer of the family band Whitetop Mountain Band would deliver powerful vocal performances on “Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy”, and “Rooster Blues”.

After a fifteen minute intermission, Sammy Shelor of Lonesome River Band acclaim added a fine Earl Scruggs influenced banjo, exceptional vocals on “Highway Paved With Pain”, and great instrumental work with “Cumberland Gap” and “Angeline the Baker”.

Amber Collins and No Speed Limit are another fine testament to the ability of traditional Appalachian music to renew, reinvigorate and regenerate itself, its players, and its fans.  Aptly named, the firecracker Collins fronts a young and explosive bluegrass/newgrass quintet that performs original, “On the Corner”, as well as traditional standards, “Shenandoah” and their show stopper “Ruby”.  Josh Pickett on hot guitar, Duane Compton on mandolin and vocals, Steve Barr on banjo, and vocals and Dustin Pyrtle on bass and vocals add ample support for the young and fiery Collins.

The evening’s grand finale was a stirring a Capella performance with the entire troupe on the old gospel “Bright Morning Stars Are Rising”.  The encore and Merle Travis classic “Nine Pound Hammer” was dedicated to the families of the victims of the recent Upper Big Branch mining disaster in West Virginia, proving once again the timelessness, relevance, and currency of the classic Appalachian ballad.

To aspiring musicians, it is at once heartening and daunting to know that, with the exception of Sammy Shelor, Amber Collins and No Speed Limit, and Wayne Henderson (a retired postal worker who is now a world famous maker of hand crafted guitars), all the musicians involved in The Crooked Road  Tour earn their living outside of music.  This is in keeping with the long and great tradition of old time Appalachian, bluegrass and mountain gospel music existing primarily as a community, and family centered endeavor.  The musicians' status as amateurs speaks only to how they earn their living, and not to their high level of musicianship.  

A spokesperson from the primary sponsor, The National Council for the Traditional Arts was on hand Sunday evening  ostensibly to interpret, officiate and introduce the performers.  Emceeing by non-profit execs seems to be a a trend at shows they sponsor, and evolves into a predictably self-serving exercise for the sponsoring organization.  The exercise becomes cumbersome for the audience, awkward for the musicians. and detracts  from their otherwise good work overall.    Travelogue style monologues, running commentary, and PBS style fund raising at publicly funded shows simply needs to stop.   The music  stands alone in all its unfiltered glory.

For those seeking more information regarding the Crooked Road itself, the DC Motorcycle Examiner has published a handy article on The Music Trail which can be accessed here.  

stevestegman@verizon.net