[ATTENDED: August 14, 2016] Langhorne Slim
I had planned to go to Musikfest early on Sunday to catch Kississippi who I missed at XPNFest. But as soon as our child care plans fell through, I knew that that early show was out the window–missed them yet again. I wasn’t even sure if I’d get there in time to see Langhorne Slim, but he went on a few minutes later than scheduled, which worked out perfectly for me.
I didn’t know Langhorne at all. I thought he was a country singer but he’s more folkie, which I liked. And he’s from New Hope, PA which makes us practically neighbors.
Musikfest had been plagued by thunderstorms this year. Earlier shows had been cancelled or cut short because of them. And like the other nights’ forecasts were mixed–from 0% to 100% chance of thunderstorms during the show. I arrived just as Langhorne was coming out on stage and he introduced The Avett Brothers. Scott and Seth sang a fun and spirited rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” to try to keep the rain away and it pretty much worked.
Langhorne joked that that was the last we’d see of The Avett Brothers that night. And then he proceeded to play a number of songs just him and his guitar.
He’s got a really nice voice–powerful and sonorous. And his songwriting is really nice too. I didn’t know any of the songs, but it was cool to see that he had a pretty good fanbase who did know them. In fact, he said that although it was assigned seating, perhaps people could come up to the front for his set and get close so he felt like he was doing a real concert. And a bunch of people did.
I don’t know the names of the songs he played, but he did a very touching song dedicated to his grandpa (and all the old people out there) called “Song for Sid.” He also played a pretty ballad called “Wolves” which was inspired by the book There are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves by James Cavanaugh. And a real crowd pleaser called “I Love You But Goodbye.”
For two songs the Avett Brothers’ bassist Paul DeFiglia, came out. He had been in Slim’s band for years until he joined the Avett Brothers as a touring member. They sang two old songs that Paul had recorded with Slim. One was called “Be Set Free.”
Two photos of that because I love seeing the giant Steelstacks behind them.
Then Slim brought the mic stand to the front of the stage and sat down on the edge where he sang the last few songs.
He was personable and charming and he told some funny stories and made some good banter between songs. And after the show he went to the merch table to talk to people and sign things, which I though was pretty cool.
He was a perfect choice to open for The Avett Brothers.
Oh, and his hope for the rain holding off worked pretty well. It did rain a little bit at the end of his set–just a sprinkling, and despite the threatening clouds, that’s all we had all night.
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