Larry Sparks has had a number of celebrated bands during his career, even recording recently with star-studded lineups. For many die-hard Sparks fans, however, the band that worked with Larry in the 1990s is considered to be one of his best. This lineup had Larry on guitar, Larry’s son D. Sparks on bass, David Harvey on mandolin and Barry Crabtree on banjo.
Nearly 18 years after they last performed together, this congregation got together again this past weekend at Ralph Stanley’s festival in Coeburn, VA. We understand that they played some of Sparks’ newer material but made sure to reach back for favorites like Face In The Crowd, Blue Mountain Memories, Tennessee 1949, and Kentucky Girl.
Our correspondent on the scene tells us that the performances sounded just like the records, and Barry even remembered Kentucky Chimes! Sorry I missed that one – it was a one-time event.
Here are a couple more photos from the reunion.
