When the music hit, it was simply stunning. The red tapestry that hid our presenters eased aside, and we gazed upon our bards who were set beside their keys and strapped with a guitar, a saxophone and an armament of talent. A backdrop of red beams shown through a cloud of eerie fog. The opening tone was a taunting murmur of hum that drifted about the atmosphere and held us tightly. That hope we longed for was imminent, if even just for a moment.
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Elvis’ 91st trip around the sun would have been this year and his “Birthday Bash” was happening Friday, January 9th. It was featuring Elvis tribute man Dennis Jalefrom Austria on Lead Vocals with The TCB (Taking Care of Business) Band Members & guests Glen D. Hardin, Terry Blackwood, Larry Strickland, Boh Carter, Paul Leim, Donna & Craig Morris, Larry Hall, Mike Brignardello, Kerry Marx, The Holladay Sisters , Bobby Ogdin with Special Guests Deborah Allen, Thomas Gabriel (Johnny Cash’s grandson) and was hosted by Donna Presley, who is Elvis’ first cousin. I wasn’t going to miss it. This would be the closest to The King that I would ever get.
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3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, hosted an event that was 35 years in the making. It was the triumphant return of guitar hero Dann Huff, under the lights, for the first time in a long time. Maybe youhave never heard of Huff, but you have certainly heard him play. He deserves a mention alongside any legendary axe wielder that you can speak into existence. Google his name and you will find him listed as a player with hundreds of famous musicians and on just as many hit records. I’ll give you two names: Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift.
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My newest medicine has arrived in the form of Cam Callagher. Music journalists often scribe about young artists having “old souls”, and if I had a better descriptor, I would write it differently, but I do not, so I’ll leave Cam’s elucidation there. Glenn Miller comes to mind when I think of Cam and what he brings to Nashville’s music scene and what he brings to the industry as a whole. He is not only an exquisite saxophone player, but he is a producer, songwriter, arranger, and band leader.
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The Criticals at this show consisted of Christian Kaplan (drums), Cole Shugart (lead guitar), Augustus Carroll (rhythm guitar), Henry Henson (baritone guitar, keys), Michael Meadows (bass) and Parker Forbes (lead vocals). The band is listed as a duo of Forbes and Shugart but implements an array of these players that appear both on the album and on tour. The six-piece ensemble came out to face the overjoyed audience with gleaming smiles of their own. Happy to be home? Excited that the long tour was finally over? Feeling gratitude to be surrounded by not only their fans, but also their friends and family? It seems that all these things were in play and that they were more than ready to give a brilliant performance. Which they most certainly did.
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When you go see Tyler Childers live you will find out that he is multifaceted. This article is more than just music because Childers is a preacher, a carnival barker, a comedian, a motivational speaker, and oh yeah, a wonderful singer and songwriter. In between songs he can make you laugh or rile you up or make you sink into deep reflective thought… and when he plays… you are completely engaged. That’s exactly what he did on Saturday night in Nashville at Geodis Park. Tyler was in town supporting his “On The Road” tour both Friday and Saturday nights on October 11th and 12th. This tour comes in the wake of Childers’ Rustin’ in the Rain album, which debuted at #10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Childers was there along with special guests Charley Crockett and Cory Branan.
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Leilani Kilgore has already been praised by Guitar World magazine for her “killer vibe and chops to back it up.” Kilgore, touted as a “must-see live performer” by Loud Hailer Magazine, has hundreds of live shows and festivals notched in her belt, both in the U.S. and overseas, including headlining slots on legendary stages like Sturgis Buffalo Chip and Summerfest, and she has opened for such renowned acts as Buddy Guy, Lita Ford, 38 Special, The Dead Daisies (feat. Glenn Hughes and Doug Aldrich) and Tommy Castro. So yeah, she is doing her thing, and we need to all listen. Her sound is certainly engrained in rock and roll, but this bluesy underbelly pads the backbone of the blistering and raucous forefront.
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