There’s something real wistful the last day of a festival. Usually it’s Sunday. And the last sets beginning at 5pm thru 11pm always leave a place in yer heart and a memory to hold to once it’s time to head home.

This song by Gordon Lightfoot and sung and played here by Charlie Waller, is that kind of Sunday night last set song.

Well, I tried to embed the youtube, but it didn’t take, so, I guess I’ll just add linky’s. Having the embed video woulda been kewl for this diary. Can that be done? How IS it done, Seminal? Rayne?

Charlie Waller In ’01 Or So The banjo and mando picker are real good, picking AND singing harmony to Mr. Waller. A real Country Gentlemen sound, as you’ll see in my next few linky’s. But this is Mr. Charlie Waller, at his finest. What a voice. *sniff*

This being Sunday, I thought I’d put together a couple of youtubes (seeing’s how they are Seminal legal!) and help recreate that Sunday night fest feeling.

Charlie Waller (RIP) is one of the greatest new and blue grass tenors to ever grace a song or a stage. I never got to see him. But his original band The Country Gentlemen, were legends, as was Mr. Waller.

At one point, he had the OTHER legendary tenor of blue and new grass, John Duffey, as his mando player and harmony/lead singer. John Duffey could sang 4 octaves. He’s gone, too. But Charlie Waller and John Duffey reshaped what bluegrass ‘sounded’ like, with their song selections, their arrangements, their voices.

Here’s Duffey, and Mr. Waller, at a reunion in ’92.

Duffey, Hi Tenor

I never saw John Duffey play, either.

That vid had one of my fav Country Gent’s lineups. Mr. Waller, of course, John Duffey, Eddie Adcock on the sparkling 5 String, and Tom Gray (Seldom Scene dawghouse) on the dawghouse.

Mr. Waller had Doyle Lawson, Bill Yates, his son Randy Waller, and many others in the band thru the years. Country Gentlemen set the stage for the changing of Bill Monroe’s hard core bluegrass, and Charlie Waller helped pave the way for newgrass, and The Seldom Scene, the greatest newgrass band that ever cut a record or graced a stage. But that’s for another diary.

So I’m O 4 2 in that seeing legends catagory, but I have lots of Mr. Waller’s music and video’s, and youtube is full of the works of Mr. Waller and Country Gentlemen over the decades.

Here’s another one of The Matterhorn with a different lineup.

That Jimmy Gaudreau on mando has become a legend too, if ya never heard his name. A monster multiple picker in many bands and a studio cat always in demand.

THIS one really gets to the heart of newgrass v. tradgrass. And it features not only Mr. Waller and his Country Gents lineup, but also the greatest dobro player to ever put on some picks, St. Mike Auldridge (of Seldom Scene).

That NewGrass Sound! And listen for the dobro break . . .*G*

I’ll close tonite’s show, and this fest, with a classic that’s so classic, no one wants to sing it anymore. It’s kinda like hearing folks call out for yet one more version of Rocky Top, which bands just hate to do anymore.

Fox On The Run.

And that’s that. Tomorrow morning, we break camp, strike the kitchen, pull the tent down, the canopy, load it all up, and take to the roads and traffic to get home.

But for tonight, just cuz the main stage music is over, don’t mean the fest is over.

It ain’t sun up yet, it’s only 11pm, and we got hours of late night picking and sanging to do before THIS fest is over!

Shut Up N Pick!

Yep, that’s me and my dobro strap and Fav Fest T Shirt!

*G*