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KVNF Live! The Congress with The Blackberry Bushes String Band, 7/16/15

Jim Mimna

2015 Ridgway Summer Concert Series, Week  3 - The Congress with Blackberry Bushes String Band

Founded by Scott Lane and Jonathan Meadows in Richmond, VA, The Congress brings notions of genuine musicianship and inventive songwriting to a modern world of dubious, cosmetic sound. Anchored by Jonathan's throw-back, soul tenor vocals and Scott's immersive guitar licks, The Congress is a band of real musicians, with real instruments, playing real music. Keyboardist Chris "Bernie" Speasmaker masterfully accents each tune with everything from throaty Leslie riffs and New Orleans dixiecrat piano to pounding electro-funk lines. Denver native and conservatory-trained badass Mark Levy holds down the drums with elegant precision and explosive dynamism.

Their brand of Rock & Roll is neither nostalgic nor progressive; It occupies the space between vintage sounds and the hyperbolic cynicism of our post-modern world.

The Blackberry Bushes are a Northwest Acoustic Americana and Bluegrass band whose sound falls somewhere between Gillian Welch and The Infamous Stringdusters. Their songs evoke the natural world, with themes of imperfection and impermanence. The instrumentation is precise and improvisational, reminiscent of the virtuosic bluegrass greats. The Bushes have that rare magic that allows them to fuse voices from many genres into an  acoustic instrumentation that retains distinct threads of sonic color. Elements of jazz, classical, pop, old-time and bluegrass saturate this modern string band sound that is buoyant, bold, and like their thorny namesake, rooted and growing, growing, growing.

Recorded Thursday, July 16, 2015, Ridgway Town Park

The_Congress_1st_set_7-16-15.mp3
<i>The Congress, 1st set</i>

The_Congress_2nd_set_7-16-15.mp3
<i>The Congress, 2nd set</i>

A native Texan, Jeff was bitten by the Colorado "bug" after graduating from UT-Austin. He arrived in Paonia on the October full moon of 1978, and has been involved with KVNF since its earliest days. His first KVNF show was "Sunday Night Live," which featured live musicians performing in the original Garvin Mesa garage/studio.