About a month ago, banjoist Jayme Stone put together a special concert tribute to John Hartford, held at the Little Schoolhouse in the Pines in Salina, CO.
Hartford, of course, was both a celebrated songwriter and a genre-shattering live performer who dominated the bluegrass and folk festival circuit in the late 1970s and 1980s. His live show was almost always done solo with John switching between banjo and fiddle to accompany his distinctive baritone voice – with percusion provided by his amplified, non-stop clog dancing.
Stone’s concert outside Boulder on May 22 focused on the great songs Hartford has written, and some traditional songs he recorded. He was joined by Rich Zimmerman on mandolin and vocals, Ryan Drickey on fiddle and vocals, Brad Murphy on guitar, Ian Hutchison on bass, and KC Groves on vocals.
Audio from the show is available for free download from the Steam Powered Preservation Society.
Here’s a taste… the band playing what is surely Hartford’s most popular and successful song.
