North Carolina had an unmistakable presence at this year’s Americana Fest, not simply because of the quality and quantity of music and musicians in the state. “Come Hear North Carolina: A Celebration of the2019 Year of Music,” is an effort of the North Carolina Arts Council to spread the word about the composers, performers, venues, and music lovers in the state.Among the many performances through the week of Americana Fest was one highlight, “Amazing Grade: Celebrating Doc Watson,” held at the iconic Bluebird Café.
Emcee Craig Havighurst introduced a sampling of some of the best talent the state has to offer, including Bryan Sutton, who played the “Docified” version of an old Carter Family song he called “Solid Gone.” Also on the lineup were Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year Chris “Critter” Eldridge of the Punch Brothers; Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley; Dave Wilson and John Teer of Chatham County Line; and Paul Cowert on bass. Also performing was Nitty Gritty Dirty Band’s Jeff Hanna, who played an instrumental role in the Will the Circle Be Unbrokenrecordings, which brought a new generation of fans of traditional music.
Many of the artists, songwriters in their own right, shared the stage to sing songs either written or made famous by the late singer and guitarist Doc Watson, including “Columbus Stockade Blues,” “Windy and Warm,” “Deep River Blues,” and “Way Downtown.” Joe Newberry, the Raleigh claw hammer banjo player, gave a pure old time rendition of Rosa Watson’s song “Your Lone Journey,” inspired by Doc’s time away from home while on the road. Rebecca Frazier, the first female to be featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitarmagazine, joined the lineup, as did Jordan Tice, David Grief, Ben Garnett, and Jim Lauderdale, the busiest man in Americana music, who had played in at least two other back-to-back shows that day. Lauderdale told the audience that hearing Doc for the first time “changed my life.” He joined “Critter” Eldridge for the Jimmy Driftwood song made popular by Watson, “The Tennessee Stud.”
The musicians on stage shared “Doc stories,” including the time when Doc, hearing a young woman with beautiful Southern Georgia accent, asked, “Is she beautiful?” When told she was, he replied, “I knew it! I’m too old to ride the train, but I still love to hear the whistle blow.”
The cast came together for the grand finale, a rousing rendition of “Roll on, Buddy.” Several North Carolina natives, some from the NC Arts Council and others veteran MerleFest festival goers sang along. It was enough to make anyone else want to “Come Hear North Carolina” too.
