City Winery, Saturday Evening (Sept. 25)
Americana Music Fest
By Wil Comstock
MCAU Contributing Writer
NASHVILLE — In preparation for Americana Music Fest, I spend time watching the scheduled artists on YouTube, determining what shows I will take in. Since there is nothing like live music, most of the time the artists far outshine their YouTube videos. Tonight I was blown away by the first musician of the evening, Phillip-Michael Scales.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Scales returned to Chicago where he honed his skills and developed a following. A couple of years ago he moved to Nashville where his career began to take off. Oh, did I mention that his uncle encouraged him along the way, reminding him of his blues roots? It wasn’t until after the death of his uncle, B.B. King, that he began to dig deeper into his legacy.
I loved the honesty and soul searching that went into “When They Put Me in My Grave.” Scales commented, “My mother was the first black female to have her own practice in the state of Michigan, and my grandmother went to college in the 1940s despite not being able to stay or eat on campus. So, the question of how I want to live my life so that my future kids will be better off later is something I think of a lot.” The lyrics to the chorus are, “I come from sons and daughters of lambs who escaped the slaughter, My bloodline should have stopped with bones and chains in that blue water, What will they say when they put me in my grave?”
He did a cover of “A Day in the Life” that brought first a smile then a shake of the head to many in the audience, as Scales brought new life into a Beatles classic that few have heard covered. He arranged the bridge a la Chuck Berry rock n’ roll, pure genius!
Phillip-Michael asked a middle-age couple in the crowd if they thought they would be together if they had met 10 years earlier. They said they went to grammar school together… always knew each other. Scales commented that he thinks about things like that a lot and segued into “O Hallelujah.” These lyrics say it all: “ Oh, hallelujah… I'm glad we ain't met sooner… 'cause if younger me had met young you… we woulda this up and that's the truth”!”
During setup for the next act the gentleman across the table asked me if I had ever seen Sue Foley. When I said that I hadn’t, he answered, “You’re in for a real treat.” Foley is a guitar god! I couldn’t believe the licks I was hearing from this traditional blues guitarist and singer. Sue was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. She started playing at 13 and by 16 was playing professionally. Clifford Antone brought her to Austin in 1990 where she played his club, Antoe’s, and she was signed to his label. He put her on the road with Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, and Koko Taylor. His philosophy was the younger players learn from hanging out with the older ones. Highlights for me were “Boogie Real Slow,” “Dallas Man,” and “Hardworking Woman.”
Never have 45 minutes gone by more quickly than during the McCray Sisters set. I was clapping, singing, and lifting my hands right along with them. They are the daughters of Beverly and the late Rev. Sam McCrary of the Fairfield Four gospel quartet. They kicked off with “When the Spirit Moves You… Dance,” and dance they did! Next was “Help Me,” a plea for God’s deliverance in time of need. I couldn’t help but notice that Regina and Alfreda were tearing up now and then. Regina, while introducing “Amazing Grace,” said wherever you go there are people hurting, people who are down and out, people who are grieving. She told us that everyone on the stage had been to two or three funerals that day. The grief poured out as they praised God during this hymn. Ann asked us if we were ready to get on the train? As she began the gospel number “Train.” Regina encouraged us to let go of our problems, as she whisked her hand away from her. This was the hand motion they used on their closing song “Let it Go.” Caught up in the Spirit, I was surprised when the show was over and they were walking off the stage!
Gospel legend Don Bryant was schedule next. I was perplexed to see four chairs brought out and then a string quartet entering the stage. A lithe woman walked out with a guitar and said, “I am not the scheduled guest. My name is Lydia Luce. I got a call last night at 10 p.m. asking if I could fill in for a show tonight. I said yes, and then called four friends and asked if they would join me.” Then she nodded to the string quartet. From the first few bars of the lilting “Like You Do,” I knew this set would be something special.
Many of Luce’s songs were introspective and sad. Her latest album, “Dark River,” was written after a breakup. But her banter between songs did not reflect sadness, but a woman determined to happily move on. I loved the chamber ballad “Sausalito” about a return trip to see an old love, part of her wanting to be in love, but knowing it wasn’t yet time. Lydia confessed it took her 32 years to admit that she is from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. She jokingly called it Ft. Liquordale. She grew up surrounded by music. Her mother is the conductor of the Ars Flores symphony. Luce herself graduated from Berklee College of Music and has a master’s degree in viola performance from UCLA. She said she was thinking of naming her next album after her homage to childhood, “Florida Girl,” a sweet song that closed her performance. This show was one of the highlights of Americana Fest for me. What a great way to end the conference. And what a nice surprise! I’m now planning on seeing Lydia at Musician’s Corner this Friday.
