Unoriginal Material

Mar 15, 2021 | Welcome Column

Last July I posted a welcome column called original material. It was all about how we should be open to new material when bluegrass bands perform on stage. At one time all bluegrass music was new material and we still need fresh voices to enrich the genre.
Today I want to make a pitch for the other side of the coin. Most Mondays I tune into Mark Hogan’s show on KOWS radio and he has done a few shows recently from the CBA Father’s Day Festival archive of tapes. Two recent concerts impressed me by their excellence despite an absence of original material.
Raymond Fairchild’s GV set from 1993 was all covers but still great. There’s nothing like old classics executed to perfection with all the elements of a bluegrass ensemble and Raymond’s set is exactly that. Due West’s set a few weeks later was substantially the same. All covers but done with flair.
Some classical music fans may be unusually sophisticated but most go to a concert expecting to hear Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. They might be pleased to hear a rarely played composition from one of the masters but if they have to listen to a semitonal modern classical piece they probably drive home thinking that was the only piece that sucked. That’s just the way it is.
Covers of popular songs bluegrass style, e.g. Charlie Waller singing Teach Your Children Well and Dylan’s Walkin’ Down the Line or Joe Val’s Norweigan Wood. Even that kind of liberty taken mixes the pot too much for many traditional bluegrass fans.
Bottom line: straight ahead classic bluegrass standards will always be entertaining as long as they are performed with love and care.

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