Lineup looks pretty solid. Will be my second time. Its a well run event and tickets are still available in case you feel like blasting off to Bellevue.
The first day was total bliss. Henhouse
Prowlers started things off very strong. My first time seeing them and I was mighty impressed. They did a song in Swahili.
Hawktail made it up through the brutal Portland ice storm. Their set was stronger than the two set show I caught last week. Maybe due to their night of terror?
Best set by far was Pas Du Cinq, a Darol Anger helmed supergroup with the Haas sisters, Nic Gariess, and the incredibly talented Amy Hakanson on nickelharpa. Jaws were on the floor. Seriously some of the most heavenly string music ever played. Lots of Swedish tunes, originals and only one tune I’d heard before.
Just finished up this morning with Darrell Scott and Matt Flinner tasting vintage guitars and mandolins. Different heirloom instruments for each song. Darrell’s “Crooked Road” is a classic. They wrapped things up with "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald " which is appropriate given the weather.
Onward…
Sonny Landreth & Cindy Cashdollar, sweet! Sat. & Sun.
I’ve seen both but never together.
Landreth is known as “the King of Slydeco” and plays with a strong zydeco influence.[2] Guitarist Eric Clapton has said that Landreth is one of the most advanced guitarists in the world and one of the most under-appreciated.[2]
Landreth is best known for his slide guitar playing, having developed a technique where he also frets notes and plays chords and chord fragments by fretting behind the slide while he plays. Landreth plays with the slide on his little finger, so that his other fingers have more room to fret behind the slide.[4][5][6] He is also known for his right-hand technique, which involves tapping, slapping, and picking strings, using all of the fingers on his right hand. He wears a special thumb pick/flat pick hybrid on his thumb so that he can bear down on a pick while simultaneously using his finger-style technique for slide.[6]
Watching Dirk Powell soundcheck an electric guitar is something I never thought I would be posting. Drum kit too? #scary
This morning, Joe Craven started things off with Joe Troop. A new name to me. “Dark Hollow” en Espanol? It worked.
Weather now turning again. Poor Hawktail had to leg it back to Portland for a gig tonight. More snow and rain forecast.
Outstanding set just wrapped by Darrell Scott stringband with guest Darol Anger. He sat in on “Old Joe Clark” and "With a Memory Like Mine " both excellent and with a unexpected swing section.
Darrell opened with “Helen of Troy Pennsylvania” a song about… just look it up. Enough detail that it really sounds like a true story but Darrell is too much of a gentleman to confirm or deny.
One of the finest sets all weekend, especially with the added mastery of mando and 'jo by Matt Flinner.
Thanks to Patrice O’Neill and Maria Camillo and all the staff and vols who worked long months and stayed up till 4:30 in the morning pulling this thing off. See you in 2024!
Wintergrass 2024 right around the corner. Strong lineup indeed. Hawktail/Vasen is not to be missed. Just saw them in Berkeley and WOW!
Tickets are still available, but some might sell out.