Fred Eaglesmith last night at Stuart's Opera House

Stuart's Opera House was alive last night with Fred Eaglesmith fans from far and wide. Stuart's (as always) was a great venue for Fred's fantastic show. JD Hutchinson was a perfect opening act- with the revived Realbilly Jive band, paved the way for Fred's portion of the show. JD led the band through a spirited and diverse song list in all sorts of swing, gospel-y and all kinds of originality. He's got a lot of friends and admirers in this Athens area neck of the woods.
Fred had some different band mates for this show, other than his drummer/ Merchandise gal- who is great to watch perform, singing along with the songs, smiling and enjoying herself, and really invested in Fred's songs. The two (younger) side men were very solid in their contribution instrumentally and harmonies. Fred was in great form with his story telling and wacky observations on the human condition between songs, and wove through a fabulous set list of songs including working in requests (despite his teasing of the audience about the requests shouted out). With this new unit of musicians, he really can rock out, and then can switch back to some of his acoustic/ roots stuff: the great ones about trucks, farms, small towns, etc. We'll be remembering some of the hilarious stuff he said for weeks/ months. He is a must see when he is traveling through. A look at his tour schedule is exhausting, and they must have some love for the road and the crazy stories and observations they make with each new trip. His story about the Kentucky fan who is growing Bonzai trees was a classic.
Stuart's is gearing up for the folk festival in a couple of weeks, with Willie Nelson headlining a great weekend, and a great festival, that is building every year- the Avett Brothers last year were a great memory. Iris DeMent, Greg Brown, Todd Snider, Fred Eaglesmith have all been great memories for these outdoor Nelsonville events.