Crowe’s band, along with Trigg County group the Ridgerunners and the Josh Williams Band, played two Independence Day weekend sets on July 5 in the air-conditioned Lexie Bush Convention Center. The 70-year-old Lexington native and Grammy-nominated bluegrass legend played some of his classics with the latest incarnation of the band he started in the mid-1970s, which once featured Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice.
The newest New South included Ricky Wasson on guitar, Dwight McCall on mandolin, John Bowman on the upright bass and Steve Thomas on the fiddle. All five took turns singing and spectators in the first few rows could marvel at Crowe’s fingers as they speedily crept up and down the fretboard of his five-string banjo.
Sitting at the back table with a pile of CDs and T-shirts before the afternoon show, Crowe told The Cadiz Record that he doesn’t often play in small towns, but that he did play at Lake Barkley about three years ago.
“It’s all fun,” he said.
The Cadiz Record spoke to a few people as the crowd from the afternoon show left and the evening crowd arrived. James Stubblefield said he was a big bluegrass fan and enjoyed the entire lineup.
“All three (groups) did a good show,” Stubblefield said.
Bob and Judy Chastain said they drove down from Morganfield to see the show. They used to live in California and Oregon and are big bluegrass fans. They said that ever since they moved to Kentucky, they have tried to take advantage of being in this part of the country, often driving to Nashville or festivals across the state to see concerts. They said had watched Crowe play on KET (Kentucky Educational Television) and had seen the Josh Williams Band play three weeks earlier at the Kentucky Lake Bluegrass Festival. They said that living in this area allowed to see many talented musicians play in intimate settings.
“To be able to sit that close to groups of that caliber in small crowds is wonderful,” Judy said.
For the rest of this story, read this week's Cadiz Record.
