The award-winning bluegrass star captivated fans Friday. Check out the Local Spins review by West Michigan fiddler Keala Venema, who performs with Whorled, Candid Antics and others.
Bluegrass Setting Sun: Alison Krauss and friends enchanted Meijer Gardens on Friday. (Photo/Steve Baran)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Local Spins asked West Michigan violinist Keala Venema, who performs with area bands such as Whorled, Candid Antics and others, to provide her take on the Meijer Gardens tour stop by Alison Krauss & Union Station on Friday. Scroll down for a photo gallery.
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Alison Krauss has built an impressive legacy as a female-fronted bluegrass act that’s accessible while also maintaining traditional bluegrass integrity.
That captivating knack was on full display Friday at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park as autumn pushed for an early arrival with brisk temperatures greeting attendees and performers.
Krauss led her band, Union Station, with tasteful fiddling and crystal clear vocals that soared through the amphitheater in charming fashion.
Smooth song transitions kept audiences enraptured, with a classic bluegrass stomps leading directly into a beautifully executed rendition of Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground.”
Fan favorites such as “Everytime You Say Goodbye” were supported by soaring three-part harmonies, backed by a rock-solid, multi-instrumental band — Ron Block (on banjo, guitar, vocals), Russel Moore (on guitar, mandolin, vocals), Barry Bales (bass, vocals) — each accredited as phenomenal songwriters.
The soloists consisted of Grammy Award-winning fiddler Stuart Duncan and iconic Dobroist Jerry Douglas. The highlights: seeing Douglas stun the crowd with a solo rendition of “Spain” by Chick Corea and Stuart Duncan leading an Appalachian fiddle tune with an incredible soaring solo.
Opener Willie Watson warmed up the stage with personable stories, bravery against the devil, and took us to all out West armed with a guitar and his trusty sidekick Sami Braden on fiddle. – By Keala Venema
PHOTO GALLERY: Alison Krauss & Union Station, Jerry Douglas, Willie Watson at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Steve Baran
