Feature Article April 29, 2004
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
Jenny Whiteley in Maberly
They were turning people away at the CD release concert for Jenny Whiteleys recording Hopetown at the Maberly Hall last Saturday night. Those lucky enough to get into the Hall were treated to a four-part concert that ended with a dance set that went on until after midnight.
The concert opened with a set by Brock Zeman, a young singer-songwriter from Almonte with a gravelly voice. On CBC radio, Zeman has been compared to a young John Prine or Steve Earle. The Steve Earle comparison is probably more indicative of his sound, although he is more composed than Steve Earle was in his younger days. What he shares with Steve Earle is an intense commitment to his material, and the ability to translate that intensity to his audience. He was joined on guitar by his producer, Keith Glass, who took on a variety of roles throughout the evening, including squeezing through the audience to tweak the sound board for different performers. Finally, he told the audience, Im doing the job of three men tonight, Larry, Curly, and Moe.
After Brock Zemans performance, Jenny Whitely took the stage with her band and performed all the music from her Hopetown CD, which has a mix of country and bluegrass sounds with some swing elements. Her brother Dan played mandolin, John Bowell played guitar and Jennys husband Joey Wright played bass. Hopetown is another series of great songs from Jenny Whitely, following up on her earlier work, and her voice is as strong and sweet as ever. This was Jenny Whitelys first major local performance since moving to Elphin over a year ago, and she was delighted with the support shown to her by the community. She ended her first set by singing Blue Moon of Kentucky as a duet with her brother Dan.
Luther Wright then performed a short set with a new version of his band The Wrongs with guest guitarist Dan Whitely and a fiddle player named Meghan (I dont remember her last name). Earlier versions of the Wrongs have been very hard-driving bluegrass bands and the addition of Meghans fiddle playing, and singing as well, give Luther Wright a more relaxed, melodic style that suits his song writing very well.
Finally, the tables and chairs were moved out of the way, and Jenny Whitely came back and played some her older tunes for a dance set. At the end of the evening, the audience called Jenny Whitely back for an encore, and she performed a hauntingly beautiful ballad sung a capella.
All in all, it was an evening of bluegrass and real country music that was dominated by original songs, with a few classic country tunes thrown in.
As Jenny Whitely said when she got on stage, next time we might have to get a bigger hall.
