Photos: Old Crow Medicine Show :: November 8, 2009

Upcoming Show: Old Crow Medicine Show - The Barrymore 11/8

Nashville, Tennessee old-time string band Old Crow Medicine Show makes their way back to Madison's Barrymore Theatre. Last time they came through town I was there and it was SOLD OUT. The crowd hung on to every single note and applauded every down home instrumental jam - can't forget to mention the Wagon Wheel sing along. Ketch Secor (Fiddle, Harmonica and Vocals) and the boys always manage to pull in an audience with rousing stage antics and top notch musical skills.



The band has performed at such major music festivals as Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Their 2007 live-performance itinerary included shows in Boone, NC, Seattle, Lawrence, KS, Arcata, CA, Knoxville, TN, Nashville and Boulder, CO, as well as overseas in London and Amsterdam. The band has also toured the UK several times, including an appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival and on the BBC show Later with Jools Holland.

O.C.M.S. is the type of band that doesn’t come around that often and should not be missed.

Show Information:

Barrymore Theatre
2090 Atwood Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
Phone: (608) 241-8864
Showtime: 8 pm
Price: $26 adv / $28 dos

On Sale Date: Fri. 10/2 at 10am

Where to Buy Tickets: Tickets available at www.barrymorelive.com or call the box office at 608.241.8633.Fans do not pay service fees if they purchase tix at Barrymore Box office

The Big Surprise Tour

Not happening around these parts...but definitely worth traveling to see this "big surprise"....  

From The Felice Bros:

PROUDLY ANNOUNCING THE BIG SURPRISE TOUR AN OLD FASHIONED REVUE FEATURING OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, DAVE RAWLINGS MACHINE (FEAT. GILLIAN WELCH), THE FELICE BROTHERS, AND JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE 

Born out of a deep running comradery built on countless tours and ties between a host of excellent musicians comes THE BIG SURPRISE TOUR, a traveling show of epic collaboration and good times. Kicking off in Hampton Beach, NH on August 4th, THE BIG SURPRISE TOUR is not your standard up down up down line up.  Shows will be composed of two 90-minute sets broken up by an intermission.  In a free form ramshackle flow the bands and artists will share the stage, taking part in each other’s songs, resurrecting old standards, and playing newly written collaborative material as they go.  Each evening is sure to be a unique experience as they all put their many combined years of musicianship and knowledge of song-craft and American music into play for these sessions.

Ketch Secor from Old Crow speaks of the special relationship these bands have and the parts they’ve played in their own individual journey as musicians. “Seven Years ago when Old Crow first met Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch at the Station Inn in Nashville, we stayed up till dawn singing Stan Rogers songs and playing AC/DC licks.  Three weeks later we were making a record.  They were that rusted sign at the fork in the road showing OCMS just where it was headed." With the Felice Brothers as Secor explains it, “with their rockin’ unruliness, we found where we had come from in the first place. Music is a mobius strip, contort all ya want and you’ll keep winding up where you started."  Justin Townes Earle is “looking forward to being on tour with folks that are kindred spirits. We all have similar influences, which will be reflected in the covers we do during the show and our collaborations on stage."  For their part, James Felice reminisces that they’ve “traveled around the country with Justin and Cory (of Justin Townes Earle) playing some pretty bizarre gigs.  We couldn’t love those guys more."  “As for Old Crow…" he says, “they cleaned us out playing dice more than once."  Perhaps they’ll get a chance to even the score on these dates.

Borrowing from the title of a Felice Brothers track, THE BIG SURPRISE TOUR will live up to its namesake.  As Secor states, the audience should “expect the unexpected!"  “Music is wild and not tame" he says, and with this tour the artists involved hope to fully unleash the true and unpredictable spirit of creativity.  Heaven knows that combined they have a wealth of it to draw from.

Tour Dates Below:

AUGUST 2009

04 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Casino Ballroom | more info

05 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues | more info

06 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre | more info

07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory | more info

09 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion | more info

10 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre | more info

12 – Louisville, KY @ Waterfront Park | more info

13 – Nashville, TN @ Riverfront Park | more info

14 – Knoxville, TN @ World’s Fair Park | more info

A bit about the artists:

Old Crow Medicine Show have been on the road behind their latest album Tennessee Pusher since its release last September, headlining sold-out dates across the US, UK and Australia/New Zealand and making special appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, A Prairie Home Companion, World Cafe and more. Additionally, the fivesome were asked to open for Dave Matthews Band on recent dates, including upcoming shows in New York.  Known for their infectious live show, OCMS is also one of the headliners for Pete Seeger’s Clearwater Festival on Saturday, June 20, which celebrates 40 years of protecting and preserving the Hudson River.

Dave Rawlings Machine is a collaboration between David Rawlings and Gillian Welch.  David Rawlings knack for meticulously crafted arrangements helped earn a Grammy nomination as producer for Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator). He went on to produce Gillian’s 2003 release Soul Journey as well as records by Old Crow Medicine Show and Robyn Hitchcock.  David and Gillian are in the studio this summer working on a Dave Rawlings Machine record which may never be released.

The Felice Brothers (Ian and James) and their long time friends and band mates Greg Farley, Christmas Clapton, and Searcher, come to us from the Catskill Mountains, where a homegrown sound has been working its way through the bloodlines for generations. Their recent April ’09 release Yonder Is The Clock has gained wide spread critical acclaim from all corners including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Spin, NPR, and Entertainment Weekly among many others.

Justin Townes Earle's latest release, Midnight at the Movies, has been tearing things up. He's recently done sessions on WNYC's Soundcheck, KEXP, NPR's “World Cafe," and Daytrotter. Rolling Stone gave Midnight at the Movies four stars, and Esquire called standout track "Mama's Eyes" one of the 50 songs every man should be listening to. His new video, for the title track, will premiere exclusively with Amazon.com this week.

Images from Sugar Maple Festival - August 3rd, 2007

Robbie Fulks returned to SMF to give a special performance. Fulks is an American alternative country artist originally from Raleigh, North Carolina but who is a longtime Chicago, Illinois resident. Fulks is known for his disdain of mainstream modern country and the country music industry. His live performances feature improvised arrangments of his original songs, off-the-cuff musical humor. He started the day off with a great set.


The highlight for me was Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two. Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two “Low-Fi sounds from weird America's rural roots. Resonator guitar, high lonesome harmonica, upright bass, stripped-down drums and foot stomping twang.” Woody Pines has been playing and singing since he can remember. He left home with his guitar on his back and made it through 49 states before he was 19. After landing on the west coast, he co-founded a ragtime jug band, The Kitchen Syncopators, which sold thousands of their self-released recordings. The Syncopators performed everywhere from the streets of New Orleans to Seattle’s Folklife Festival to the Oregon Country Fair. After several years of living and playing in New Orleans, Woody headed for the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, playing old time music for dances, busking for tourists, and releasing his first solo cd, ‘Rags to Riches.’ Woody played shows all over the south, including a stop in Nashville for a guest appearance at the Grand Ole Opry with friends Old Crow Medicine Show. Today, Woody continues to find ways to reshape the old music, weaving new stories from timeless threads. He combines freak realism and vaudeville showmanship with the sincerity and grace of the rich, traditional landscape of roots music. Woody plays with foot stomping gusto, but knows when to croon a lazy mountain ballad. The Lonesome Two is Tim Peacock on upright bass and Bram Riddlebarger on his stripped-down suitcase drum kit. The full band sound is featured on Woody’s newest release, Lonesome Shack Blues. Woody is also available for solo performances. Check him out on the web.