Feature Article September 4, 2002
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
Clarendon Station at Snow Road: with special guest Don Cochraneby David BrisonThe crowd which gathered at the John Thomson Hall in Snow Road on Sunday, August 25 to hear the Abrams family sing and play overflowed outside the former Oddfellows Hall onto the lawn. In order to get good front row seats, it was necessary to get there by 12:30 (the concert started at 2:00). More than 70 didnt get inside at all, but set up their lawn chairs outside and enjoyed the sounds coming through the door and windows.
The regular monthly concert featured Clarendon Station (the house group), supplemented by the fiddling Abrams boys James and John, along with a special appearance by Don Cochrane.
Clarendon Station is working hard to improve their brand of bluegrass music, and it shows. The harmony vocals, with Brian Abrams, father Wayne, and mother Mary, are tighter. The group has been joined on the mandolin by Bob Burtch, and he is a welcome addition. The fiddle work of Shawn Kellett is being featured more Shawn was joined by the Abrams boys on a special rendition of Orange Blossom Special . The boys were wonderful, but Shawn clearly still has a few tricks he can teach them (and apparently does as their summer instructor).
Clarendon Station has just returned from a showcase competition in Maine. They won beating five other bands. Wayne Abrams said that the boys clinched it for them in Maine: When they sang Big Rock Candy Mountain, the crowd went crazy.
The group is adding more songs each week. One new feature is that the Abrams boys seem to be singing more. My reviewers pick of the month is James Abrams singing Can I get an amen, a song written by Aubrey Hayme, a Nashville studio musician, who the boys met at Mark OConnors fiddle school in San Diego.
Don Cochranes group, Don Cochrane and Sweet Clover, played clubs across Canada in the 70s. The audience was familiar with many of the songs he had written and spontaneously applauded when they recognized familiar refrains from songs such as: Sweet Clover, Manitoba Im going back home to you, Hobos Lullaby, and Whistle. Don, a master entertainer, played guitar with unrehearsed back up from members of Clarendon Station.
The last summer concert will be held on September 22. Get there early if you want to sit inside!
