In conjunction with our article on Honey Wine and CCD we traveled to Sperryville Virginia in order to taste the Mead products of Smokehouse Winery. The winery is located at the Blue Ridge Foothills and the drive along Rt. 211 is one of the most scenic that you will find in central Virginia. Upon arriving at the winery and entering the historic log cabin we regretfully found that they only had samples of their Traditional Mead and not the wide array of concoctions we had anticipated: Metheglin, Melomel, Cyser, and Braggot. The later is only a week away - but this served as a valuable lesson to call ahead of time. Our regret was easily overcome. The Traditional Mead is outstanding - possibly the best we tasted on the east coast. Truth be told, the only non-east coast honey wine we've tasted is from Missouri's Pirtle Winery. Smokehouse's Traditional Mead is labeled as semi-sweet, but this is more dry than sweet. It is made from honey fermented with champagne yeast and well water. These ingredients produce an awesome honey wine - one that we enjoyed the whole bottle later that evening.The second factor which alleviated our regret, was that we learned that owner, John Hallberg, is a musician and hosts several concerts at the winery. On Memorial Weekend Saturday (May 24th) he hosts the Shenandoah Shindig which includes local bluegrass favorites the Woodshedders and Furnace Mountain. He will also host a similar concert in August; but look out for October, when Larry Keel is scheduled. This is one show we will not miss.
, with the title track a playful love song that the two wrote together - about each other. "Nashville" was a great song that anyone who has spent a day at 
. The first show was Thursday April 24th at 
, 
, and If I Could Teach My Chihuahua to Sing. It could have been that both Ely and Guzman seemed more relaxed the second night; having a day to rest from the stresses of air travel and security lines and\or the affects of sipping a locally produced wine, 
and in the states, where his last release, 
, spent weeks in the U.S. Americana Top 10 chart. And Eaglesmith is probably the most popular non-Texan performer around Austin; who else can have a three day music festival named in their honor at historic 
, highlights the daily struggles of southern farmers; but if you really want to hear the him rock listen to 
. Or better yet, he plays anywhere between 150 and 200 shows a year - so attend one of these events and purchase one of his bootleg CDs. Eaglesmith also organizes or participates in several music festival throughout the year as well as two musical train trips. Where else can you become a Fredhead and watch polar bears on the same trip. Check his 
is a good CD to play during a party. Funny, good vocals, and smooth acoustics.
. As good as Earle sang and played, his sidekick Cory Younts almost stole the show playing the mandolin, banjo, and harmonica - at times two harmonicas at ounce. These two are perfect compliments both musically and as a comedy team - with Earle playing the straight man and Younts the comic. At times as I watching their performance I wondered if this is how the old Sun Records tours felt. And on the ride home I repeated the performance by listening to 
. South Georgia Sugar Babe and Hard Livin' are instant classics. This CD will stay in the rack for awhile.
. At the end the band was still energetic - coming back for an encore even after you could tell they were wiped and even huddling to catch their breathe before playing T for Texas to satisfy their fans.
, 
, and 
), including Austin Nights, but mixed in a few songs from their next release. Wait to you hear this CD - these news songs were rockin'. By the end of the night, the entire club was dancing and when they covered The Blaster's Marie Marie - it was a frenzy. What a night.
, but this is the first time I heard Eddie Angel. What a treat. Eddie and Mark alternated songs - from a fast dance tune to a slow lady's choice, with lots of Tex Rubinowitz. But always the guitar playing was outstanding. The music reminded me of old Danny Gatton shows and I was starting to get nostalgic to the old Washington music scene when Eddie started playing "University Boulevard". That did it - I started reminiscing about the days when you could see Tom Principato on Wednesday, Bill Kirchen on Thursdays, Whop Frazier whenever, and Danny Gatton on the weekends. My neighboring listener, Ed, declared that those days are long gone, although he did know a few choice spots where you could still hear great music. My new Washington D.C. historian and planner. Remember when....
and Bill Kirchen released 
last year. But if you want a feel for Monday night, try 
