Dierks Bentley at the Country Music Hall of Fame

It. was. awesome.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has a an exhibit showcasing his life and career, and as part of the exhibit they have him do an interview and acoustic performance.  The is the second one we've seen - they're done really well, and because they are in a small concert hall specifically built for music -- the sound is phenomenal.

We were lucky enough to get meet and greet passes as well as passes to the show.  The official photographer took pictures with Dierks, so I don't have those yet, but I did get a few good ones.

 The interviewer is Peter Cooper, who is a locally well-known music journalist and musician.  He's really good at getting the subject to open up about themselves and he allows them to tell the story in their own words.  I always enjoy the interviews that he does.

 Above the stage is a large screen and the entire time they were talking there were photos on the screen.  Some were from concerts, some were childhood photos (one of which he found slightly embarrassing), and some were album covers.  This cover is from 2003.  His dog Jake is still alive.  He's deaf, and sleeps a lot, but he'll still around.

Before the show, Jim said  - If you could ask him one question, what would it be?  I said, I think I'd ask him what his favorite guitar was named and how long he's had it.  Of course he told me that was two questions.  Well, I kind of got my question answered.  This guitar was part of the exhibit, and they had it on the stage for him to play during this show.  He has had it autographed by many country and bluegrass stars (unfortunately this picture didn't pick up the signatures).

 When he started playing, you could see the wear up near the neck, and the hole where his fingers have worn through the wood.  It still sounds good, though!

 He had a bunch of songwriters join him on stage.  All great songwriters and musicians.

 He sang What Was I Thinking, I Hold On, Drunk On a Plane, Somewhere on a Beach, Free and Easy,  Am I the Only One, Every Mile a Memory, Up on the Ridge, and a new song called Freedom.  (I might be forgetting some, it seemed like he played for quite a while). 

In this picture, his fingers are actually in that hole in the face of the guitar.

It was an awesome show, and it was really great to meet him.

My favorite Dierks song?  I Hold On.  For some reason it resonates with me.  It was great to hear it live and even though I like a lot of his songs, that remains my favorite.

John Prine

We have an annual membership to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  They have weekly songwriter sessions as well as a lot of other great shows.  As members, we get advance notice of these shows so we go and enjoy the shows from time to time.  We had passes to go to 'A Conversation with John Prine".   The Hall of Fame recently expanded and this was held in one of the new spaces - the CMA Theater, which seats about 800 people.  In addition to stage and mezzanine level seating, there are lower and upper balconies.  A lot of the seats are single row, so you don't have anyone behind you, nor are you trying to see over anyone's head.  Great for us short folks.

This 'conversation' was hosted by Peter Cooper, who is a Grammy-nominated singer songwriter, music journalist, speaker, teacher etc.

What a great show!  John Prine talked about his childhood, his start in music, the background to some of his songs.  His voice sounded really, really gravelly.  He had surgery a few years ago to remove cancer in his neck and that, coupled with the allergies in Nashville, took a toll on this voice so he had a tough time singing.  The first song he sang he did from his chair, a little uncomfortably.  

Those chairs are just not made for a man and his guitar.  So before the next song, they brought out a mike and a stool for him.  He joked that he never used to sit on a stool, he would set a 6-pack and an ashtray on it.  He said he used to begin each song by saying something to the audience and would pause for effect and light a cigarette, resting it in the ashtray while he sang.  He would get to take one puff before the song and one after and then he would light another one for the next song.  He said these days he takes sips of water instead.

He grew up in Kentucky in a town that's no longer "Paradise".  One of his first jobs was as a mailman.  He would write songs while he was on his mail route.  He said once you got onto the right street, there wasn't really much to occupy your mind while you were out there, so he wrote songs in his head and he was on his mail route.

One of his greatest songs (I think) is Angel from Montgomery.  Bonnie Raitt did a great version, and you may heard it before

Bonnie Raitt - Angel from Montgomery

But in my opinion, if you want to hear the BEST version, listen to Susan Tedeschi sing it

Susan Tedeschi - Angel from Montgomery

Takes your breath away, doesn't it.  Trust me, you'll be singing this all day.  It's THAT good.

Ricky Skaggs - Country Boy at Heart

The Country Music Hall of Fame has a program called the Artist-In-Residence.  It honors a musical master who can be credited with contributing a large and significant body of work to the canon of American popular music.  Honorees are given a blank canvas and are encouraged to lend their own creative brushstrokes to an up-close-and-personal musical experience.  This year's artist was Ricky Scaggs.  We have an annual membership to The Hall, so we got advance notice of tickets and ordered early.

 The show began a few minutes late - he claims he was stuck in traffic.  

I, for one, don't doubt it!  

 Her performed with The Whites.  Sharon White (closest to him) is his wife of 32 years.  Her sister and father (playing the piano) are the other members of The Whites.

 Brad Paisley joined the fun.

 After intermission, he came out with Sharon and Cheryl and said that since The Hall spent so much money on their recent upgrades, he thought they should try singing a cappella.  Wow! 

 Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt were actually two of his earliest supporters.  They gave him his start on tv to help expand his audience.  Linda Ronstadt was unable to perform - she was recently diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and can no longer perform.  Emmy Lou Harris joined him for a couple songs, and a couple stories.  She told about the first time they all sang together for a tv show and during editing they cut Ricky's part and it ended up on the cutting room floor.

 Another special guest was his daughter, Molly.  She plays the banjo (and probably a few more instruments) and has a lovely voice.  And she thinks her dad is awesome.

This is Ricky Skaggs on the left, Brad Paisley on the right, and that guy in the middle?  Peter Frampton.  Yup, that Peter Frampton.  He's this little, unassuming guy who came out in his Chuck Taylors and absolutely rocked.  That man can still play a guitar!  He recently recorded some songs with Ricky Skaggs for a gospel album.  Album?  I mean CD of course!!  

Where else would you ever see that trio on stage performing together?

Only in Nashvegas Baby - Music City.