Kacey’s brand of humor was perfect for the cozy, intimate atmosphere we had for the concert.  Kacey was very polished, yet very informal.  We heard stories, we had conversations, and most of all, we laughed.  Some of the biggest laughs came when Kacey sang, “I Could Get Over Him If ICould Get Under You,” and “The Red-Headed Man Who Would Not Move.”

Another hilarious moment was when Kacey interrupted a song to “attack” Ed Witman for making noise with his water bottle.  Of course, Ed was rewarded later when he won the Best Cowboy Hat Contest and received an autographed copy of Kacey’s latest CD, “Donald Trump’s Hair.” 

Along with the laughter, Kacey mixed in a few serious songs, including a few from her tribute album to Mickey Newberry.  The most poingnant moment of the night (at least for me) came when Kacey sang Mickey Newberry’s “Amen for Old Friends” and dedicated it to Jack Putnam and Diane (Cone) McSwan, two of our “old friends” who passed away in the last month.  Goodbye, old friends.  We’ll miss you.

Thanks to everyone who attended and a special “thank you” to those who brought food or drink to share.  We had a great time.

So plan to attend the Kacey Jones concert on May 16 and wear your favorite cowboy hat.  It might just win you a prize.

“The zany and brilliant singer-songwriter, Kacey Jones, has another gem to her credit.  Donald Trump’s Hair will be released nationally in May on IGO Records.  Try listening to The Redheaded Man Who Would Not Move or That’s Why I Keep Him without laughing out loud.  Christmas in Rehab may just become a new holiday tradition, while God Save the Queens blends a driving beat with clever lyrics to pay homage to drag queens.”
——Roderick Harrington / El Dorado News-Times / 3/20/09

“Kacey Jones is one of the brightest musical humorists in America.  Stand-out tracks on her new album are “I Wanna Be Up Front Like Dolly” and “Whatever Happened to Kenny Rogers’ Face.” Yuk, yuk, yuk!”
—-Brad Fischer / Nashville Music Guide - 4/6/09

“Humor in music is nothing new however, when you mix in wit and underlying sarcasm, it adds a whole new depth to it, and Kacey Jones is one of the best at adding this type of subtlety to her humorous music.  Her new album, “Donald Trump’s Hair,” sees her raspy voice wrapping around a variety of musical styles that walk the border from country to lounge styled jazz.  On the debut single,  “I Want To Be Up Front Like Dolly,” Jones sings in praise of Dolly’s personality but is really only throwing you for a loop as she leads you into a song about Dolly’s “assets.”  With no subject too big to tackle, this is one of those albums where if you get the humor…you are going to love it!”
—–Jeff Kurtis /Today’s Country Music Magazine  - 3/16/09

Join us on Saturday May 16 and enjoy Kacey Jones’ unique brand of music and humor.  It’s guaranteed to be a good time.

According to Kacey’s bio:

“Audiences have been laughing with Kacey Jones for decades.  She’s been laughed at outside the Nashville city limits by the likes of People Magazine, USA Today, GAC & CMT Television, and on National Public Radio as Garrison Keillor’s guest on “A Prairie Home Companion.” With KACEY JONES there’s a lot to laugh about.

Her new CD, “Donald Trump’s Hair,” is the hilarious follow-up to her previous comedy album, “Nipples to the Wind.”  Scheduled for national release in May, 2009, “Donald Trump’s Hair” contains fifteen tracks, including thirteen new songs written or co-written by Jones.  The debut single, “I Wanna Be Up Front Like Dolly” will be featured in the April 2009 edition of Country Weekly Magazine.  Her newest creation is ‘stacked’ with clever appeal, establishing the vocal talent and comedy genius caught in the grooves.

In the hard work-a-day world of carving a national name as one of the brightest musical humorists to break through in years, Kacey Jones is used to breaking the mold.  Singer, songwriter, musician, producer, publisher…all distinct descriptions that fit a unique piece of this puzzle. When completely assembled, the one that emerges is of a delightful, born and bred in the San Francisco Bay Area, madcap redhead who sees the world at large with laser perception and a funny tilt.

“I’m a singer-songwriter-musician first,” says Jones, “I enjoy making people laugh in the tradition of musical humorists such as Tom Lehrer, Mae West, Roger Miller, Dan Hicks, Jerry Reed, and Sophie Tucker.” I also enjoy a good ballad…that’s why I recorded my tribute to Mickey Newbury.” (Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury – IGO Records, 2006).  Jones’ interpretation of Newbury’s beautiful, melancholy songs achieved critical worldwide acclaim.  She even enlisted Newbury’s close friend, Kris Kristofferson, to play a cameo role in her music video, SanFrancisco Mabel Joy.  “I love when people laugh so hard at my funny songs that tears roll down their cheeks,” says Kacey, “I also love to see their eyes well up when I sing a ballad that reminds them of someone or something they’ve loved or lost.  Tears of laughter, tears of sorrow…they’re all good.  They let us know we’re alive.”

If it all seems off the wall, it’s totally sane in the world of Kacey Jones. Hers was, after all, the brilliant mind that conceived one of Nashville’s most unique and revered cult acts, the all-girl group, “Ethel and The Shameless Hussies,” who broke above the waves in the late 80’s to mainstream nominations as “Comedy Act of the Year” on MCA Records. As lead singer and lead comedy writer, Kacey put the Shameless Hussies on America’s national radar.

In 1997 Kacey signed with Curb Records and recorded one of the few original music-with-comedy-albums ever released by a female artist in Nashville. “Men Are Some of My Favorite People,” considered a classic by collectors, yielded two music videos, “1-900-Bubba” and “I Hate Your Lousy, Rotten, Stinkin’ Guts But, I’m Not Bitter.”

Further proving that her talents could produce more than just a few good laughs, Kacey entered the studio with legendary cult artist, Kinky Friedman, only to emerge as the producer of his critically acclaimed project, “Pearls in the Snow.” Featuring Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton and others, the album reached the # 1 spot on the Americana radio chart in 1999.  In 2000 Kacey and Delbert McClinton recorded the duet, “You’re The Reason Our Kids are Ugly.”  The single and video stayed at the top of the European country chart (#1) for nine weeks.

Movies were next to fall under her spell.  Kacey contributed three original songs to the soundtrack of the multi-award-winning cult film and TV series, “Sordid Lives” starring Beau Bridges, Olivia Newton-John, Delta Burke, and Leslie Jordan. Could Broadway be next?  “Nipples To The Wind” has what it takes to get to Broadway…I look forward to that!” says Kacey.

Kacey is the “Official Songstress of The Sweet Potato Queens” an organization with 75,000 members worldwide, born out of six best-selling Sweet Potato Queen books (Simon & Schuster).  She’s also a favorite of the “Red Hats” and has been a featured performer at their regional and state conferences.  What’s next on her agenda?  Heads-up, Donad Trump, you’re at the top of Kacey’s list!”

Join us on May 16 for an evening of music and comedy featuring the hilarious Kacey Jones.

April 10, 2009 Tornado

This tornado hit the Riverview area in Murfreesboro (Thanks to Kevin Miller for the photo):

We will be rescheduling the Watson & Nash concert as soon as we can.  We spoke to Shay Watson and he was very gracious in being willing to reschedule.  He even suggested we make the rescheduled concert a benefit for the tornado victims.

We’ll let everyone know the new date as soon as possible.

Watson and Nash

I’m really excited to be hosting the singer/songwriting duo of Watson & Nash to Boro House Concerts on April 11.  The duo is made up of Nashville-based Shay Watson and Joe Nash.

Watson and Nash first got together more than a decade ago.  They met at a songwriting workshop and struck up a friendship.  At the time, Shay was touring with his band, Ten Mile Drive, and Joe was working on a solo career.  After Shay’s band broke up, he started pursuing a solo career, but all the while he and Joe would get together to write songs.  In 2007, Shay and Joe put together a band.  The band didn’t last, but the idea morphed into a duo.  Shay and Joe have been together ever since.

Watson & Nash list their major influences as The Eagles, Bruce Hornsby, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, and Bruce Springsteen.  They also list John Mellencamp, who they’ve worked with, as a major influence.  In addition to Mellencamp, they’ve worked with artists like Holly Dunn, Jolie Holland, Trisha Yearwood, T. Graham Brown, Gretchen Wilson, Little Big Town, and many others.  Their sound is “Organic American pop/rock meets country.”

We’ll be starting our evening with social hour at 7:00 pm and music will begin at 8;00 pm.  As always, the suggested donation is $15/person.

Here’s a little peek into what you have to look forward to:

Andrew is also a terrific singer/songwriter.  His songs come from a very well-thought out need to say what needs to be said.  He’s an intellectual songwriter.  Whether he’s writing about a Civil War soldier, a West Virginia coal mine, or a polluted river in eastern Tennessee, his word are carefully chosen and his music is evocative of the time and place he is singing about.

Saturday night, we had a small, but enthusiastic crowd listen to Andrew McKnight sing songs from his five CDs.  We were treated to an excellent evening of songs and storytelling. 

For each concert we host, there are always one or two moments during the evening that really stick with me.  Andrew’s story about his friend whose family could not live on their land due to the pollution of the Pigeon River that runs through their property hit home with me while he was singing the song “The Other Way.”

Another special moment was Andrew singing “The Road to Appomattox.”  I have a special affinity for Civil War-era songs and Andrew did not disappoint.  I especially enjoyed the lyrics “On the road to Appomattox, where bullets whine like bees, cut blossoms from the trees,” which recalled the Battle of Shiloh where there was so much shooting that there were no blossoms left on the trees by the end of the battle.

Now that I think about it, I really liked Andrew’s song “Bad News” and his version of “Crossroads” by Robert Johnson.  Both songs were excellent examples of acoustic blues, and Andrew’s slide work on “Crossroads” was terrific.  Wow, that’s four really special and memorable moments!

Andrew spent the night with us and at breakfast Sunday morning, he showed Shelby (our daughter) a few tricks on the guitar.  Shelby is an aspiring guitar player and Andrew’s instruction was really helpful.  Shelby spent an hour or two after Andrew left practicing what he had taught her.

Andrew was another example of the fantastic music and musician we have had as part of our house concert series.  If you weren’t able to make it, be sure not to miss Nash & Watson on April 11.  If you were there, you know how great it was.  Next time, bring a friend (or two).

JohnSmith

Last night I had the opportunity to host JohnSmith at the Greenman Music Hall inside the Viroqua Public Market.  Wow!  What a night.

Approximately 70 people showed up to listen to John and his former partner, Dan Sabranek.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout and I think it may have been the best JohnSmith concert I have attended to date (I’ve seen John play several times, both solo and with Dan).

The only glitch all night was the shortage of seating, which to be honest, wasn’t a bad problem to have.  With the addition of a few tables and chairs, we were in good shape.

Thanks to John and Dan for a great evening of music.  It was fantastic.

Also, John has taken over fundraising responsibilities for the PEG project, which builds schools in impovershed areas of Guatamala.  If you are interested, see John’s site at www.JohnSmithMusic.com or go to www.PEGPartners.org.  It’s a great organization and a great cause.