String Theory Media

Levon Helm at the Ryman - Wow

It's three days later and I'm still marveling, turning melodies and moments over in my mind. The great Levon Helm, a musician I never imagined being able to see perform and a man back from the brink of voice death (throat cancer) played and sang and led one of the greatest nights of music I've ever seen on Wednesday. Even by Ryman Auditorium standards, Helm's Ramble on the Road show was a high mass of American roots music, featuring a remarkable band, a swell opening act in Ollabelle, and the guest talents of Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, Sammy Davis, John Hiatt, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Roy Parnell and more. It was also a triumphant concert promotion debut by the Americana Music Association and its new executive director Jed Hilly, who came to the organization ready to make a statement and a stir. He's to be congratulated for his vision and courage and personal diplomacy that made the show possible. (Full disclosure, I'm a member of and a volunteer for the AMA and wholeheartedly believe in its mission.)

Peter Cooper beat me to the punch on this point, but the most potent impression I had, beyond the awesome comfort-food repertoire (The Shape I'm In, Chest Fever, Ophelia, etc.), was the subtlety of Helm's drumming. Even while singing his heart out through bright white smiling teeth, Levon simply owned the heartbeat of the songs, dragging the beat with just the perfect microsecond delay when needed, leaning over the beat when a song needed more insistence. It was simply a tour de force and no small surprise that the gangly artist I fell for watching The Last Waltz is still with us in full force at the age of 67.

Charlie Louvin on NPR

Ever since I discovered them, the Louvin Brothers have been my favorite country harmony act. Theirs was the first complete Bear Family box set I ever bought. And I thought the Grammy-winning tribute album of Louvin Brothers songs produced by Carl Jackson and released by Universal South a few years ago was a masterpiece. So it was a great honor and a great treat to interview surviving brother Charlie Louvin for NPR. My profile ran on Saturday's Weekend Edition and is archived HERE.

I’ve been reading about and listening to a large dose of Chet Atkins lately. Several reasons: Foremost, I’m a guitarist and there’s no greater well of inspiration to go to periodically than Chet. Besides that, I’m doing preliminary research into a documentary idea. And Chet recently posthumously celebrated his birthday (June 20, 1924). And we’re coming up upon the annual convention of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (July 11-14 in Nashville), an event that every guitar freak should attend at least once. Information HERE.

Finally, from my reading, a very String Theory quote from the great Chet: “When I pluck the strings and feel the vibrations against my chest, I know the life I feel buzzing inside is really my own.”