Dirt Band closes concert series

The legendary Nitty Gritty Dirt Band closed out this year's Sisters Starry Nights Concert Series on Saturday, April 8, with a set that demonstrated why the band is one of America's longest-lived and best-loved groups.

Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden and Bob Carpenter gave the music a "front porch" feel -- if your front porch is a place where one of the best songwriters in country music and one of its rising stars drop in for a jam.

Hanna's wife, songwriter Matraca Berg and platinum-selling singer Deana Carter joined the band, and Hanna's son, Jamie Hanna, who has been touring with The Mavericks, contributed guitar work and vocals.

A responsive audience clapped and sang along with familiar favorites such as "An American Dream," "Mr. Bojangles," and "Workin' Man (No Place to Go)." They rose in a standing ovation after Fadden rattled the rafters with a harmonica solo that came on like a steam train.

Berg and Hanna sang a duet on "Make a Little Magic" in honor of the late Nicolette Larson. Berg offered "Wrong Side of Memphis" before being joined by Carter, who scored major hits with Berg compositions on her debut CD "Did I Shave My Legs for This?"

The pair sang Berg's lovely "Strawberry Wine" and previewed a recently co-written song "Inside Your Love."

Sisters Middle School students Marisa Abegg, Reilly Burdick, Kelly Cundiff, Krystal Fitter, Misty Macauley and Kerani Mitchell, under the direction of Jill Storie, donned fishing garb and joined the band for the frolicsome "Fishin' in the Dark."

Undeterred by a sudden loss of sound in the final chorus of the song, Hanna and his band-mates came down to the edge of the stage to lead the crowd in an "unplugged" sing-along.

With sound restored, the band and the kids closed the show with "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

Comedian and juggler Michael Davis primed the audience with an opening act that brought the crowd to its feet in a standing ovation.

Davis combined astonishing juggling tricks with wry, self-effacing humor that left more than one audience member rubbing sore ribs.

The concert concluded the fourth season of the Sisters Starry Nights Concert Series. The series, which is a benefit for the Sisters Schools Foundation, is excptected to raise a total of $150,000 by the end of this year's run.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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