Reports:
This from Julie Campbell
Lime Kiln in Lexington, Virginia, is a picturesque outdoor amphitheater. It’s a treat to see any kind of music, but especially a show like this. MAS put on a kind of bluegrass rock concert, with the musicians playing beautifully and with passion and humor. A crystalline moment I will always remember: JPJ with a mandolin and the Nickel Creek guitar player, just the two of them (crickets chirping in the background on a lovely summer night) playing a gorgeous instrumental version of “Going to California.”

They did all kinds of songs, silly and serious, jazzy and folky and bluegrass and rock, including a cover of the Beatles’ “Taxman” and the set-closing cover of LZ’s “Gallows Pole,” which, well, there’s no other way to say it, rocked. And what pros they are: the amplification blew out right before the end of that song. But they were unfazed: Pete Thomas brought his snare drum up to the front of the stage, the crowd hushed, and they played their instruments without amplification and sang a Nickel Creek gospel song to end the night–they even threw in a little choreography!

After the show, everyone came out of the tour bus to chat with the fans and sign autographs. One young man had even brought his electric bass for JPJ to sign, which he did graciously. It was a pleasure for me to thank JPJ in person for the many years of great music, right down to what he’d just played. You have to admire the guy–he’s in it for the music, riding on the bus with the rest of the band and eating the local barbecue.