Last Country Music Concert (for the Time Being)

KPIG and Country Roots' An Evening with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder is the last concert we went to before the statewide sanction against COVID-19. To Paul's great delight, he won  tickets from KSQD to attend the show of Kentucky Thunder on March 11, 2020 at Felton Music Hall. I was invited to go along as his guest.

We had an early dinner and arrived promptly at the door at 7:00 pm. Fully aware of the social distancing, a long line of audience members kept a respectable distance from one another. Soon, the door was open, and people began to walk in. For some reason, Paul's name was not on the special will-call list. Apparently the sub-DJ at KSQD was too overwhelmed with radio procedures and calls during her shift that day. But the concert organizer admitted us in good faith and stamped our right hands.

We got two chairs in the third row which was shared by an elderly and unsteady couple. Before long, we realized that we needed to move to the center or, better still, to the front of the stage fully surrounded by Ricky Skaggs' fans. Many of them were not just standing, but swinging or dancing to the music. Moreover, the sound was far better here than in our seating area.

With our much improved sound and up-close view, I was impressed at how accomplished the whole band was. They gave the intimate audience the last and best performance before the sanctions would be lifted. They could play beautifully as a whole or individually, e.g., Ricky, Paul Brewster and Dennis Park (baritone vocals) sang in harmony or separately. Instrumentally, Mike Barnett played fiddle, Jake Workman, lead guitar, Paul Brewster, rhythm guitar, Russell Carson, banjo, Jeff Picker, bass, and Dennis Parker, rhythm guitar, mandolin, and fiddle.

As a lead singer, Ricky's voice was as smooth as old wine while his mandolin had a surprisingly wide range from gentle to white heat energetic. Perhaps fully aware that he would be away from his audience for a long time, he was reminiscent of his past concerts in Santa Cruz, his childhood and family songs, and his parental teaching about every cloud having a silver lining. When he first started to play mandolin, and it was out of tune, his father told him not to worry, "It will just sound like more people are playing."

The audience assembled was knowledgeably cognizant of Rick Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. They followed the performance closely and fondly. They were longing for more after the band ended at 8:40 pm. After two more encores, Kentucky Thunder left the stage.

So long, we will meet soon!