Well, you said you wanted him back, and back he will be. Where? At the NF Coffee House in the great room of the Senior Center Complex (33 Rt. 37). If you’ve yet to come to one of our shows, it is a perfect room for the singer/songwriter to strut their stuff in our comfortable, intimate candle lit table setting, the raised stage making every seat is a good one. The professionally mixed sound means you’ll hear every nuance and never find yourself reaching for the earplugs. A great place to see a polished and seasoned performer like Bluesman Toby Walker. More about Toby in a minute.
Opening the night will be a touring New England ensemble, Pesky J. Nixon. A great blend of instrumentation creates a musical backdrop to an eclectic potpourri of songs ranging from recognizable covers to material that they’ve picked up in their travels playing the northeast folk scene. A veritable blend of urban balladeer, rowdy southern bluegrass and contemporary folk, adorned, I might add, with the most head turning harmonies, this is one hell of a way to start the show.
Blues raconteur Toby Walker is the real deal. Bringing with him a unique blend of styles encompassing traditional finger picking and slide, ragtime, country, bluegrass, rock and roll and jazz, Toby serves up an evening of what I would call complete entertainment. Whether talking tales of his time on the road (and this man has gotten around), giving a historical perspective of a particular tune he’s about to play, paying homage to his own musical heroes or just letting loose with some spur-of-the-moment humor, there is no time spent idle during a Toby Walker show. And that, I would have to say, does certainly embellish what it is you actually came to hear…..some flat out awesome blues guitar technique. So good is this man’s synthesis of styles that he has been instructor at Jorma Kaukonen’s (that’s Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane) Fur Peace Guitar Camp for 6 years to which Jorma has stated, “Flat out…you’ve got to hear this great musician…I’m blown away!” So, if your one of those who have implored us to bring him back, or I, through this article, have maybe piqued your interest, get yourself out to the NF Senior Center this Saturday and see what everybody’s been talking about.
And, hey, you can enjoy a moderately priced meal before the show, cater by Bruno’s Restaurant. Grab some tickets in advance by stopping by the Senior Center during the week or go to our website, www.grrovininnewfairfield.com The shows are still only $10. Such a deal!
Groovin’ in New Fairfield, a volunteer driven group of music lovers, functions under the program umbrella of NF Parks and Rec and in close partnership with the NF Senior Center to which we are grateful. We’re always looking for help. If interested, contact us through our website or step up and say hi at one of our shows.
By Jeff Main