Today Straight Drive graced the boards of Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, along with Sierra Hull and Ryan Holiday and The Ebony Hillbillies, as part of The Weill Institute's "Bluegrass Celebration"! Nothwithstanding all of the incredible classical musicans and historical figures who have appeared there, Carnegie Hall has also hosted many legends of country and bluegrass music- in 1947, Ernest Tubb brought members of the Grand Old Opry there, and in 1961, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys, Faron Young, Grandpa Jones, Ben Smathers and the Stony Mountain Cloggers, fiddler Tommy Jackson, the Jordanaires, Jim Reeves and Minnie Pearl also performed there as part of the Opry. If that's not enough, Flatt & Scruggs performed there in December of 1962, and Buck Owens and His Buckaroos were there in 1966. To be sure, all of this remarkable history was not lost on us as we rendered our own brand of traditional bluegrass! Trust me when I say, the view from the stage is amazing!
Mandolinist Sierra Hull and banjo picker Ryan Holiday opened the show with a sharp rendition of "Salt Creek", and did a wonderful job of MC-ing the proceedings. The Ebony Hillbillies played some powerful, gritty old-time music, including rousing versions "Cluck Old Hen" and "Little Liza Jane". Then we took the stage, and gave it our all with "How Mountain Girls Can Love", led by the mighty Dave Hampton, followed by Greg Garing's wonderful song "Far Over The Sea". We followed this with Terry McGill's take on the Art Stamper fiddle tune, "Long Fork of Buckhorn". Sierra Hull joined us for our last number, our Monroe gospel favorite, "Don't Put Off 'Till Tomorrow". As a closer, everyone pitched in on an impromtu version of the classic, "Orange Blossom Special", and I was very surprised to find that Ronnie Feinberg's fiddle wasn't reduced to a pile of sawdust after he got through with that one!
All told, it was a fantastic afternoon of hard-driving music, and we were all so proud to be there! That's a memory we'll all treasure for a good long time, and for those of you that were there to support us and enjoy the show, a sincere heartfelt thanks!