“Don’t waste another second thinking that you’re failing, when really all you’re doing is growing.” ~ Chani Nicholas
If you grew up in Eastern Kentucky in the 1960s and 1970s and had any interest at all in bluegrass music, you knew the McLain Family Band. I remember seeing them on TV when I was a kid and thought Raymond Jr. had the cutest smile, but to my recollection, I never saw them live until last Saturday when we happened to be at Shakertown at the same time. They were utterly delightful and made me super sorry I didn’t have a better lens with me. Let me tell you, Ruth McLain on that standup bass was bada$$ when she got going. As you’d expect from a band that’s been together for 50+ years, they’re tight but not stodgy. Their imperfections were few, their arrangements refreshingly not as traditional as you might think, and they seemed genuinely happy to be playing on such a gorgeous day. I really enjoyed listening to them, and I had fun sending short videos to mom who always appreciates good harmony. If I catch them around again, I’m taking mom.
july 10, 2022 – the outhouse: where art goes
[…] singing their beautiful harmonies again. You may recall that I just saw them for the first time at Shakertown just about three weeks ago. With that post, my friend Rose Conley Howell pointed out that the banjo player, Daxson Lewis, is […]