Review of Concert by the Claire Lynch Band at the Lucy Opry on August 5, 2006

By Betty Westmoreland

The concert on August 5, 2006, at the Lucy Opry in the Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center (BPACC) by the Claire Lynch Band was another wonderful opportunity to see and hear one of the finest vocal and instrumental groups in bluegrass music! While this reviewer heard the band at the Concert for Ataxia in Huntsville, AL, only two weeks prior to their appearance at the Lucy, she was more than eager to hear them again. This kind of interest began about 25 years ago, when the reviewer first heard the Front Porch String Band, which was Claire Lynch, husband Larry Lynch, Herb Trotman, and Andy Meginniss, as they performed what is now a signature song for Claire, “Kennesaw Line,” written by Don Dunaway. “Kennesaw Line” cuts right through to the heart of the listener. It reveals a story by a Confederate soldier named Sammy Watkins, and Company H of the Maury County (TN) Grays, as Sammy tells of the events which happened north of Marietta, GA, in the War Between the States. The years have brought personnel changes in the band, many new songs, and new fans to be added to their huge following. At the core, the heart and the soul of this band, stands world-class songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, Claire Lynch.

A familiar face to the Memphis bluegrass community, Claire Lynch has performed at the Lucy Opry when it was housed in Frayser at the Harvester Lane union hall, and more recently at the Lucy Opry in the BPACC. She held a songwriter’s workshop at Bill Weir’s Gumball Studio on a wonderful, snowy winter afternoon…remember snow…and winter? Claire performed like a woman possessed for a lot of years, then she realized that she and her family needed rest and more “face time,” so she took a break in order to be at home with her family. She did that and she is back! She is touring! She has her CD, “New Day,” which is selling well, and she and her fine band are excited about the response to the Claire Lynch Band. This thing is working and rather well.

Claire Lynch writes many songs for herself and others. She also incorporates songs by songwriters, such as Memphian Paul Craft; Nashville attorney Henry Hipkens; Chris Stuart, a recent performer at the Lucy Opry; Huntsville writer, Hershey Reeves; Pierce Pettis; and Tim Stafford, of Blue Highway, the band which will appear at the Lucy Opry on September 23, 2006. In addition, Claire co-writes with songwriters such as Pamela Brown Hayes, Jennifer Kimball, and Irene Kelley.

The dynamic duo of Jim Hurst and Missy Raines are also quite familiar to West Tennessee bluegrass music fans. They have performed here as their own band and as earlier members of the Front Porch String Band. They’re back, too, and Claire’s got ‘em!

Jim Hurst has won IBMA awards for his fine style of playing the guitar; his vocals are sublime. He can grab a banjo and get serious on that instrument, too. One can sense when he or she is in the presence of a master like Jim Hurst. When he is performing, Jim just looks like he is having the best time. He is!

Missy Raines has won the IBMA upright bass award so many times that she has probably lost count. Completely in synch with what is going on, Missy keeps a steady groove, literally moving her bass back and forth behind Claire—first toward mandolinist David Harvey, then toward Jim Hurst and his guitar. Missy works her bass like no other you will ever see or hear! She is a complete joy to watch! She also contributes occasional vocals to the rich sound of the Claire Lynch Band.

David Harvey completes the makeup of the band, as he demonstrates his expertise on the mandolin, the fiddle, and the mandola. His harmony vocals work perfectly with the voices of Claire Lynch and Jim Hurst. David works for Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville, TN, building and repairing instruments. At this concert, the band paused to remember David’s friend and co-worker, Charlie Derrington, who was killed in a motorcycle wreck on August 1, 2006, in Nashville. Charlie was known all over the world for his reconstruction of Bill Monroe’s 1923 Lloyd Loar F-5, which was damaged in a home invasion. Charlie was a friend to many in Memphis and West Tennessee, performing over time in bands such as Cross Country, the Tennessee Gentlemen, the Gibson touring band, and more recently, Traylor Parker. In the true style of musicians everywhere, David Harvey paid special tribute to Charlie Derrington with his lively tune, “Tater Patch,” and the show went on. David’s history in bluegrass began at his tender age of 14, when he performed with the legendary Red Allen. Locals may remember the fine band Wild & Blue, which featured David Harvey, his wife Jan, and her sister, Jill Snider. David Harvey recently produced a fabulous CD called “Moody Bluegrass,” which pays tribute to the music of the Moody Blues. Fellow musicians who contributed to the project are some of the most outstanding in bluegrass music.

First Set:

1.Love Light (written by Claire Lynch), 2.Goin’ Up, 3.Train Long Gone (currently nominated as IBMA Song of the Year), 4.Stafford’s Stomp (instrumental written and performed by Jim Hurst and dedicated to Lucy Opry legend Joe Taylor’s grandsons, Justin and Jeffrey), 5.Down in the Valley (written by Jess Leary, Morgane Hayes, and Liz Rose), 6.Leavin on that Evenin’ Train (written by, as Claire says, “a hippie type”), 7.Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring (written by Henry Hipkens), 8.Jealousy (co-written by Claire and Irene Kelley), 9.Tater Patch (written by Charlie Lowe, featured David Harvey), 10.White Train (written by Peter Holsapple), 11.Kennesaw Line (written by Don Dunaway), and 12. Hitchcock Railway (written by Chris Stainton).

Second Set:

1.I’m Movin’ (written by Paul Craft), 2.Paul and Peter Walked (written by Chris Stuart), 3.Missionary Ridge (written by Pierce Pettis, of Mentone, AL), 4.Up This Hill and Down (written by Richard Staedtler, made famous by the Osborne Brothers), 5.I’m Fallin’ in Love (written by Henry Hipkens), 6.Pee Wee and Fern (written by Harley Allen and Mel Besher for her Moonlighter album and #1 on the charts), 7.Lonesome Indian (a ‘pick-off’ between Jim Hurst on guitar and David Harvey on fiddle—he ‘picked’ his fiddle!), 8.Sunny Side of the Mountain (written by Jimmy Martin, featured Gary Johnson with the Claire Lynch Band), 9.Thibodeaux (written by Chris Stuart), 10.Judas Is My Name, 11.This Old Guitar (written by Jonathan Edwards , featured Jim Hurst), 12.Savannah (written by Tim Stafford, performed on mandola by David Harvey), 13.Wabash Cannonball (written by Roy Acuff), and 13.the encore, which Claire Lynch calls her “critter song,” Your Presence Is My Favorite Gift (written by Hershey Reeves).

The audience has a long-standing love affair going on with the Claire Lynch Band. Folks sang along, they perhaps shed a tear, they smiled, they may have even laughed out loud, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves at this concert. Catch the band whenever you can. Pick up their CD, “New Day,” on Rounder Records, and make it a permanent fixture in your CD player.

Additional information:

www.clairelynch.com

www.jimhurst.com

www.missyraines.com

www.davidharveymusic.com

E-mail: clairelynchband@gmail.com