Woody Hawley Series show last night: Hank Williams Tribute

There was a packed (full) house last night at the Walker auditorium of the Clay Center for the third run of the Hank Williams Tribute by John Lilly and Robb McNurlin (and company). John and Robb have been doing this tribute since the 2003 50th anniversary of Hank's death on Dec. 31st near Oak Hill. The first years they did the show down in Princeton. The first year, the two of them took "the death ride" - with John knowing exact details of the incident in Oak Hill. They are great story tellers, weaving many stories into the excellent renditions of a wide range of Hank songs throughout the evening. They each also played two of their own songs "in the style of" Hank, and switched off the lead vocals and stories. The backing musicians were solid and contributed to the great appreciation of the impact of Hank's songs on much of music since. Ron Sowell of the Mountain Stage band joined them for two ending songs with some wailing harmonica. I saw the Light; and mind your own business. They wove through the most famous of Hank songs, and gave quite a variety of ones deeper into his song list. A very enjoyable evening.