Town Mountain Brings a Foot-Stompin’ Good Time to Charlotte
Lines In The Levee Tour Sells Out The Visulite Theatre
Has the Visulite Theatre officially turned into a honky-tonk? It certainly was for at least one night as Town Mountain stopped in Charlotte Friday evening and absolutely threw down. The Asheville-based band is out on the road in support of their latest record Lines In The Levee and brought their unique blend of bluegrass, country, and Americana to a sold-out crowd at the Visulite.
The evening got started with singer-songwriter and native Kentuckian Cole Chaney. Cole took the stage guitar in hand and right from the start I knew I was witnessing something special. From the very first notes, Cole’s voice resonated over the venue with a sweet, soulful sound packed full of emotion. His music is pure and speaks to your soul from his powerful homage to Kentucky “Back to Kentucky” to the spiritual awakening of “Spirit.”
Throughout the set, Cole took a few moments to share some stories and one, in particular, stands out as he told the tale of his grandparent’s first getting together with his grandfather leaving for Vietnam and coming back to win his grandmother’s love. Of course, the next song was dedicated to his grandmother, “Charlene,” a beautiful, musical story of that love. It was a stunning set and magical to see what can be created with one man and his guitar. If you get the chance to see Cole, please go and refresh your soul.
After a short break, the theatre lights dimmed and the six members of Town Mountain took their respective spots on the stage to shouts and whoops from the capacity crowd. The beer was flowing and people were cheering because it was about to go down. One of the things I love the most about Town Mountain is that they don’t fit neatly into any one box. They bring an assortment of musical vibes from bluegrass and traditional country to Americana and folk and even a bit of funk and rock and tonight we were going to experience it all the Town Mountain way.
Their set featured some songs off the new album including the title track and “Comeback Kid” which fit right in with fan favorites. We all got our groove on with “Down Low” and we all raised a glass to the Delbert McClinton song made famous by Emmy Lou Harris as we sang “Two More Bottles of Wine.” The fan interaction was off the charts and at any time you could hear a “Hell Yeah!” or a “Come On Boys!” as everyone was having a great time. The band brought Cole Chaney out on stage to do a little Steve Earle before capping off the night with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” which was fantastic. I’m pretty sure The Boss himself would have approved and probably joined the boys on stage had he been there.
Now, none of this would have been possible with just any band, but the members of Town Mountain are all incredible musicians, world-class in every way and they play together seamlessly. Add in the epic jams between mandolinist Phil Barker and fiddler Bobby Britt and you have a musical melting pot of epic proportions.
What a show! We sang at the top of our lungs, stomped our feet, and danced like we were at the local juke joint. Thank you Town Mountain for showing us all how much joy music brings to our lives. If you missed the show, don’t worry the band is out on the road all spring with their next stop in Columbus, Ohio this Wednesday. The tour is selling out fast so don’t miss out.
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