Ross Holmes + Kym Warner = 1 Fabulous House Concert

On Friday December 3rd, we attended our first house concert featured two extremely talented musicians: Ross Holmes, fiddler for Cadillac Sky and Kym Warner, co-frontman and mandolinist for The Greencards. Regular readers will know that we admire both these bands and so this was a very exciting combination. For those who have never attended a house concert that premise is rather simple - yet it delivers a rich experience for both fans and musicians. In exchange for a slightly reduced cover charge and a pot luck entry, fans receive both an intimidate setting for live music but also direct access with the artist. For instance, my favorite part of the evening was listening to Ross describe the history of several famous violins and their designers and then discussing our favorite brands of Scotch. That's a difficult conversation at most venues. For musicians, the benefits are just as satisfying. First they do not need to split the proceeds with the venue. And second, they are assured an audience - one of the pressures of any musician when touring is hoping people will actually attend.

Holmes and Warner have played together at many private jam sessions following festivals and lately at home, since Holmes moved in on the same street. Holmes also filled in last year for a few tour dates with The Greencards, so its not surprising that the two have developed a chemistry both musically and with their stage presence. This evening they performed a potpourri of music consisting of past and future Greencard material, an original swing number from Holmes, a Gypsy Jazz number, a cover of Doc Watson, and many more songs. House Concerts are also prone to improvisation and experimentation, such as Holmes steppin' out on the mandolin or Warner breaking out the ukulele. I can't articulate enough how talented and entertaining these two musicians have become. Still can't get "More Pretty Girls Than One" out of my head. We look forward to early 2011 when both bands come back to our area starting with The Greencards at The Barns at Wolftrap on February 9th. For more information on these artists and their respective bands check out their latest CDs below as well as their websites. We also have two very amateurish videos available at the MyJoogTV YouTube channel.

Letters In The Deep - Cadillac Sky
Cadillac Sky

Fascination - The Greencards
The Greencards