A&E

The Crooked Road On Tour brings fun night of music and flatfoot dancing

By Max Newman ’16

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Hamilton College Performing Arts hosted a three-part concert last Friday, Apr. 8, that featured performances of traditional Southwest Virginian music. The concert included banjo tunes from Julie Shepherd-Powell, original songs from singer/songwriter Sandy Shortridge and a collection of songs from The Whitetop Mountain band that have remained in their family for generations. 

According to its website, The Crooked Road is a “330 mile driving trail through the mountains of Southwest Virginia that connects nine major [music] venues and 60 affiliated venues and festivals.” The idea  began in 2003 and resonated immediately with surrounding communities that truly considered music to be part of their daily lives. A non-profit, The Crooked Road is funded by these communities as well as other regional and national endowments and commissions. Events and concerts are held year round.   

As a music-filled trail, The Crooked Road serves not only to celebrate the great mountain music of Virginia, but also to keep the music alive as it continues to move through both the oral and now recorded traditions. The program that came to Hamilton, The Crooked Road on Tour, is meant to educate all interested persons on the historical significance of the music and to attract them to experience the music of the Appalachian region first-hand. 

The night began with a short introduction and a video illustrating the historical significance of the region’s music. Many of the songs from the region were brought over in the 1700s by Scottish, Irish and English immigrants. When technical difficulties cut the video short, the Crooked Road representative said, “Well the heck with that. How about some live music?”

Out came the first opener, award-winning flatfoot dancer Julie Shepherd-Powell. Shepherd-Powell warmed up the audience with a couple of banjo tunes, during which she showcased the traditional clawhammer technique that Professor of Music Lydia Hamessley can often be seen playing in Cafe Opus. Though the performance seemed stiff at first, the audience caught on to the inclusive nature of mountain music as Shepherd-Powell played and moved to classic tunes like “Chilly Winds.” She closed her performance with a showcase of flatfoot dancing, much more of which was to come later on in the night. 

Shepherd-Powell was followed by singer/songwriter Sandy Shortridge. Shortridge performed original titles about her life in the mountains. She  used just an acoustic guitar to share intimate accounts of her family members’ lives, most memorably including “Journey to the Light,” in which Shortridge shared her father’s experience as a coal miner. 

Following the song, Shortridge shared what her father told her: When the day was done, he would look up and see a tiny white speck of light way off into the distance—they would climb and climb, and the light would slowly get bigger until they reached the top. Shortridge took that imagery and wrote a song re-creating the emotion she imagined he had felt in the pitch black coal mine. Her last song was lighter about life on the mountains, including a chorus about the cold spring water. 

The final act featured the renowned Whitetop Mountain Band. Led by the young and energetic Martha Spencer, the band also included her mother Emily Spencer (banjo/vocals), her father Thornton Spencer (fiddle), Ersel Fletcher (guitar/vocals) and Debbie Bramer (bass). First they played a barnyard song, complete with the yells of farm animals that was meant to wake up and energize the crowd. 

This fun tune was followed by a tune with the line “I am going down this road feeling bad.” Yet the band made this mountain song comical and rhythmic with various performers on vocals. 

As audience members gradually began dancing in their seats, members of the Whitetop Mountain Band began taking turns flatfoot dancing. Though they showcased various styles, Martha Spencer truly stole the spotlight with fast-paced, twisting-and-turning moves that captured the audience’s attention. 

The most powerful element of the show was its inclusive nature. The band encouraged the audience to get up and dance, as well as join them on stage. Though that never happened, it points to the culture of The Crooked Road music. Performances are not meant to be concerts in the traditional sense, but a location where people gather to have a good time and dance. 

Because of the music’s inclusive nature, the concert’s placement in Wellin Hall might have been more of a hinderance than a benefit. If the concert had been held in the Barn, not only would audience members have been physically closer to the performers, but there would have been room to dance with them. If the concert took place later in the spring or early in the fall, the concert could even have been outside. 

Granted, the main purpose was of the performance was to get a taste of music from The Crooked Road. The audience was certainly impressed, and hopefully the concert will be featured in a more inclusive environment if Hamilton is lucky enough to have them visit again. 

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