Monday, January 10, 2011

Buttonwood Buzz - Another Night of Amazing Music


submitted by:
The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center
605 Main Street , Middletown, www.buttonwood.org / 860-347-4957

The weather man did his job well Friday night! Quoting Ed McKeon: "He intoned to calm while inciting panic!" A storm was storming! A storm was coming! Stay home! Stay home! But over twenty hardy New Englander's braved the storm, three - even after sliding down their driveway and nearly crashing, relentlessly persevered to hear a wonderful group of talented musicians! I had never seen the band before, but before the end of the night I understood why these brave souls had come together at The Buttonwood Tree!

Saturday night the quartet, Harpeth Rising, played at The Buttonwood Tree on that snowy winter's night and they grabbed hold of the audience from the very start and didn't let go until the final notes! These classically trained musicians, with a passion for bluegrass, directed their talents on the genre and played it flawlessly! Especially enchanting was the vivacious Jordana Greenburg on violin. she seemed to capture the audience with ease and grace. Her persona was clearly one of the lead entertainer but elements of her considerable classical training and expertise also came shining through! The vibrant harmonies of the group blended softly and smoothly to produce beautiful music! It seemed that they could just as easily move from Bach to Charlie Daniels! There was nothing to dislike about them. From their personas, to their appearance and their minimalistic percussion, they were polished and professional!

Rebecca Reed-Lund, the group's very talented banjo player, who's melodic voice meshed well with Greenburg's and together their duets were at times sad and thought provoking and at other times joyous and even raucous!

Rachel Gawell was just marvelous on cello and brought a depth and clarity to the renditions with her steady, smooth and almost hypnotic vibes!

Chris Burgess affected fast and smooth roles with just with his fingers on percussion. His timing complimented the groups' sound at all times with what looked like minimal effort fused with passion!

Dr. Freddie Carroll, the "TBT House Artist" who was sitting and drawing, commented: "I didn't think I saw them bring in a full drum kit", but what Burgess did was accomplish the same sound with just a bass drum, a "conga" type drum and his own two hands!.

They played effortlessly and were clearly comfortable with each other, which added to the band's overall tone and tempo. We are very pleased to have had Harpeth Rising play The Buttonwood Tree's stage! For more information check out their site:
www.harpethrising.com

submitted by:
The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center
605 Main Street / PO Box 71, Middletown, CT 06457
www.buttonwood.org / 860-347-4957

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