What Up, Dobro?
by Jon Weisberger
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Aiming to complement the multi-day ResoSummit workshop devoted to the resonator guitar (that’s Dobro to you), the Station Inn presents three bands that feature some of the world’s top players—and also, separately, the co-writers of this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association Song Of The Year. Thursday’s kick-off act, Blue Highway, is polished and virtuosic, with a lineup that’s gone largely unchanged for more than a decade and a stockpile of thoughtful original songs that range well beyond standard bluegrass themes. They’ll probably give a little extra spotlight time to 10-time IBMA Dobro champ Rob Ickes, who organized the ResoSummit, but they’re also sure to perform the title track from their latest Rounder release, “Through the Window of a Train,” co-written by guitarist Tim Stafford. Friday turns the stage over to Grasstowne, built around a trio of veterans that includes 2005 Dobro Player of the Year Phil Leadbetter, Stafford’s frequent songwriting partner Steve Gulley and mandolin genius Alan Bibey. Resonator guitarist, singer, songwriter, recording engineer and producer Randy Kohrs closes out on Saturday night, backed by a group of youngsters as musically muscular as their bossman. Taken together, the three nights offer not just a portrait of state-of-the-art hubcap guitar playing, but a good sampling of today’s bluegrass spectrum.
Sat., Nov. 15, 8 p.m., 2008
Sat., Nov. 15, 8 p.m., 2008
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