Posted by Jenny
Hi friends, thanks for visiting. One of the wettest and dreariest winters we’ve experienced in North Carolina has finally blown out with the March winds. And what better way to lift out of the winter doldrums than with some good ol’ blues music? That might sound like nonsense until you realize we had the pleasure of enjoying
Doc Watson and
David Holt together live in concert at Edgecombe Community College on 3/19/2010. Both men are incredible singers and pickers; Doc with his influential flat-picking style and David with his finger picking on guitar, banjo, and steel guitar. With these two picking and singing songs like “Ready for Times to Get Better,” “Railroad Bill,” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” you can help but smile.
David Holt and Doc Watson
What’s funny is that since David works with librarians, he knows David Holt not from his music but his story-telling. Holt didn’t tell too many stories that night but Doc told a few. He said to the audience, “I don’t rehearse performances. I just get up here and play. I’m just as informal here as I would be if you were at my home in my living room.” And he is. Someone let out a whoop of excitement in the middle of one song and Doc politely scolded them saying, “Shh, you want to hear it don’t you?” Later he playfully joked in the middle of flat-picking a lead from a Carter Family tune, “Bet Maybelle can’t pick it like that!”
We had a great night enjoying the concert and we were tickled to take home an autographed poster to add to our growing collection. We’ve got lots of great visual reminders of our favorite performers and concerts. Little did we know we’d be seeing David Holt again so soon.
A month later we saw a billboard on highway 70 in Goldsboro advertising a performance by David Holt and
Josh Goforth at the
Paramount Theater. We couldn’t resist going since it was so close to home and we were lucky enough to get seats right in the front row. This show was just as exceptionally good as the last, but had a very different format. Holt would hold up large pictures of elderly musicians who taught him new tunes and styles of music and tell the stories of how they met and what he learned from them. Interestingly enough, many of them lived beyond their 90’s and their music still lives on in Holt’s vibrant performances. We even heard lots of instruments we’d never heard played before- like the stump fiddle, and even the paper bag. And of course, Holt delighted the audience with his tales, both tall and true.
Backstage with David Holt and Josh Goforth
Before this night, we honestly hadn’t heard of Josh Goforth- but we’re glad now that we have. He has just as much charm and talent as David Holt and is yet another musician fluent in several instruments. Seeing the two of them perform together was definitely a treat. We waited patiently in line after the show and had the pleasure of meeting them both- and getting another one of those autographed posters! It’s always nice to meet musicians who are as kind and gracious as they are talented.
