July 2, 2015
Story By Butch Worrell of One Heart
Photo
Photos By Butch Worrell of One Heart
Photo(with one exception)
Nashville City Winery was kind enough
to host a GD50 show of their own before the main event featuring the
New Riders of the Purple Sage.. Before headed up to Chicago to do
their “psychedelic last supper” show the New Riders of the Purple
Sage played a show in Nashville which featured 3 generations of
Grateful Dead influenced musicians.
David Nelson and Jesse McReynolds
The New Riders have been around since
the Late 60's. David Nelson, a founding member of the New Riders, had
Jerry Garcia as pedal steel guitar player, Phil Lesh on bass, and
Micky Hart on drums in the early days. That is about as “family”
as you can get in the Grateful Dead universe.
Now joined by Buddy Cage on pedal
steel, Michael Falzarano on guitar and vocals, Ronnie Penque on bass
and vocals, and Johnny Markowski on drums, the depth of musicianship
runs deep in this band.
And where would they be w/o Mark
Captain “Toast” Topazio as tour Manager, announcer, trouble
shooter when things go wrong, like David's guitar in the first song.
They totally rocked all night showing the Nashville crowd just how to
do it right.
Then there was their guest artist.
Back in the early days Jerry Garcia et al were influenced by many of
Country music's greats. Perhaps the most influential of all was the
duo Jim and Jesse. Jim has passed on but Jesse McReynolds is not
only still a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, but has recently recorded
a tribute album to Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead with the help
of David Nelson. As the deadheads spun and danced in the back by the
Merchandise table Jessie with his mandolin and his producer, Steve
Thomas with his fiddle, joined the New Riders to play Dark Hallow,
Diamond Joe, Deep Elem, Never Can Tell, and Ripple. That part of the
show was true magic, musical history, honoring the spirit of the
Grateful Dead with musicians of all ages coming full circle.
The opening act, The Captain Midnight
band (Acoustic), warmed up the crowd properly with their New Orleans
influenced rock n roll and ended the set with a beautiful cover of
“We bid you Good Night” an old gospel tune used by he grateful
Dead to close many a show.
3 generations
Jessie McReynolds, David Nelson, and Joshua Cooker
Captain Midnight Band Photos
The New Riders of the Purple Sage
with Jesse McReynolds and Steve Thomas
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