By THOMAS KINTNER
The Hartford Courant
July 30, 2001
It was a wonderful day for music in East Hartford Saturday, as glorious weather greeted the city's sixth annual Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival. The gathering's biggest crowd ever, announced at more than 4,000, enjoyed a bounty of bluegrass flavors from a lineup of quality bands that took the stage in Martin Park's baseball field, all capped by an enthralling show from headliner Emmylou Harris.
The crowd trickled in steadily throughout the day in anticipation of Harris' set, filling much of the outfield grass by the time Hickory Project took the stage in mid-afternoon with tunes imported from other genres such as "In the Mood" and originals that included the racing banjo number "Icy Roads." Vermont's Smokin' Grass was less traditional with its "newgrass" mix that stirred in funk and jazz, but the fiddle and dobro that pushed along the group's ever-accelerating delivery of "Orange Blossom Special" made its diversity an easy sale.
Led by the earthy vocals and washboard of lead Diane McKoy, the Singing Conquerors melded bluegrass and gospel in a lineup of spiritual tunes that included "The Great Speckled Bird." Pleasant harmonies matched with impeccably smooth acoustic renderings were a hallmark of the set by Auldridge, Bennett and Gaudreau, whose reading of "House of the Rising Sun" was one of many exceptional spotlights for the fine dobro player Mike Auldridge.
Fiddle legend Vassar Clements joined the four-piece Northern Lights for an energetic set loaded with his sweet sawing. His lead vocals on "Kinfolks in Carolina" were appealing and warm, and his playing was equal to any pace the rest of the band could set on such speedy numbers as "Dixie Breakdown." Infectious hooks were plentiful in the chugging "Northern Rail," and when the group closed as the preceding act had, with "John Hardy," its feisty charm made the song seem anything but repetitive.
While certainly not a bluegrass act, Harris' blend of rootsy country, folk and rock made a good fit with the rest of the bill. With her three-piece band Spyboy, she led off with the lovely story tune "Red Dirt Girl," then eased into the mesmerizing "The Pearl." A becoming mild quaver tinged the pretty ring of her vocals in the measured "Pancho and Lefty," an edge that disappeared amid the clarion vocal with which she topped the chunky bass and electric guitar of "Raise the Dead."
Harris' take on Steve Earle's "Goodbye" was unforgettable as she filled its lyric with elegant ache. Also among the highlights of her show were the powerful "Going Back to Harlan," the lustrous "Michelangelo" and the sturdy Elvis paean "Boy From Tupelo."
After she closed in stirring fashion with the sway of "The Maker," she returned with another delightful ballad, "Boulder to Birmingham," one last piece of measured magic beneath a cool evening sky.