Review of Concert by Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands at the BPACC/Lucy Opry Pickin’ Picnic on May 6, 2006

By Betty Westmoreland

The Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center (BPACC), along with the Lucy Opry, have once again outdone themselves for another successful Pickin’ Picnic. The annual event was held on May 5-6, 2006, and a huge crowd turned out for the event. Many thanks are in order for Ron Jewell and his BPACC staff, and for Will and Beth Mays and the crew of the Lucy Opry. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in the picnic and the ticketed show which closed the weekend of bluegrass, food, and fun.

While the event’s closing artists are usually a rather well-kept secret for a short time, it became big news this season when ardent bluegrass music fans learned that LAURIE LEWIS AND THE RIGHT HANDS were making their only stop in Tennessee for the whole remainder of the year right here at the BPACC/Lucy Opry Pickin’ Picnic. With such an appropriate name, no wonder it is obvious that they are indeed ‘the right hands’ for the job of playing some of the finest bluegrass music ever performed in that venue. They were just magic—so pleasing to the eye and the ear, as they played with each other, for each other, and most importantly, for their audience.

The Right Hands are California native, LAURIE LEWIS, singer-songwriter extraordinaire on fiddle and vocals; TOM ROZUM, Connecticut native, on mandola, mandolin, and vocals; Grammy Award-winning TODD PHILLIPS, as Lewis says, “THE thumper of choice,” on the upright bass (think Bluegrass Album Band); the Californian-turned-North Carolina resident, CRAIG SMITH, the banjo player whom many banjo players consider to be a legend; and North Carolinian SCOTT HUFFMAN, from Thomasville, “home of the world’s largest chair,” on guitar and vocals. This band is just stunning—separately and collectively!

The evening began with “Tall Pines,” followed by “Quiet Hills” and the Hazel Dickens song from their newest CD, “Guest House,” called “My Heart’s Own Love”. This writer was completely hooked by the perfectly matched vocals of Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum. The two have been singing together for over twenty years, and they know each other so well. They’re like bacon and eggs—a perfect fit! Their fiddle and mandolin work was flawless, accompanied by three masters of their instruments—Phillips, Smith, and Huffman. Not entirely bluegrass, and not entirely folk either, the band reaches such a broad audience with their ‘comfortable’ music, as one’s favorite slippers might be comfortable. Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands are just downright comfy!

Tom Rozum was featured on “Those Good Ol’ Days,” followed by Scott Huffman’s “Live Forever”. Then, Laurie Lewis told the sweet story of J. B. Monroe and Malissa Vandiver, and their last-born son, William Smith Monroe. The band performed a tribute medley of “O My Malissa” and “How Old Are You My Pretty Little Miss”.

Laurie Lewis and her various band configurations over time have had no trouble climbing to bluegrass music heights. So it was with their next song, “Don’t Get Too Close,” which rose to #1 on those all-important charts. Lewis and Rozum next performed a rather haunting number, “The Oak And The Laurel,” the title cut from their first duet album. The next song, “Bad Seed,” another chart hit, rose to #7 on bluegrass radio.

Hazel Dickens, an amazing singer-songwriter, figures prominently in all of Laurie Lewis’ performances. Dickens’ song, “The Scars From An Old Love,” serves to remind the listener that healing takes time. Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands closed out the first set with her own beautiful number, “Your Eyes”. The talented singer and songwriter completely captures the heart and mind of her listener—so much so that one goes around for days with words and music spinning around in his/her head. Lewis’ songs are so easy, so ‘singable,’ that it seems almost anyone can do it. . .you can’t! The mark of the master is that it just seems so very easy. It isn’t easy.

The second set opened with “My Old Kentucky Home,” in honor of the Kentucky Derby, which was held earlier in the day on May 6. A Jimmy Martin favorite, “Before The Sun Goes Down,” was next, and it was followed by one of those ‘singable’ songs, “Goin’ To The West,” a traditional number which came from the incredible old-time musician, Mike Seeger. The Don Stover song, “Poor Country Boy,” made famous by The Lilly Brothers, was next. From Craig Smith’s CD, we were treated to “The Curly-Headed Woman,” a song by Mark Graham of Seattle, WA.

Laurie Lewis’ “The Wood Thrush’s Song” was followed by a sort of tango number by Irving Berlin, which delighted the audience, called “Without My Walking Stick.” This writer waited all night for the song which has become Lewis’ trademark song, “Who Will Watch The Homeplace?” (Kate Long/Feeny Feemster Music, BMI) and she was not disappointed. My goodness! What a great song! Lewis and the band stepped to the front of the stage to sing it without microphones. They risked it all by teaching the chorus to the audience and asking us to sing it with the band:

Who will watch the homeplace?

Who will tend my heart’s dear space?

Who will fill my empty place?

When I am gone from here?

We weren’t bad. . .as singing audiences go.

Shows like this seem to end before they have even begun. When the listener is spellbound by what he/she is seeing and hearing, time has no meaning. It was on the agenda for the band to check out Graceland the next day, so they had to end the show and rest up for that occasion. Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands closed out the evening’s performance with “Sleepy-Eyed John” and two encore numbers, “Texas Bluebonnets” and John Hartford’s beautiful “Goodbye Waltz”. Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands provided the perfect close to a successful Pickin’ Picnic 2006.