Taco stand troubadors & 2 generations of Croces

Town Mountain is one of those bands that has paid its dues and won over the Durango audience through the years, much like the Gourds and Leftover Salmon. The band first came here in 2007, on the heels of winning the RockyGrass band competition. Ever since, they’ve played a couple of Meltdowns, plus the odd Durango Acoustic Music or Hank show.

The hard-driving, traditional bluegrass quartet returns to this sleepy little mountain town at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays the Henry Strater Theatre in the latest KSUT 40th anniversary concert alongside opening act Last Nickel.

“We’re stoked to be going back to that awesome Rocky Mountain state,” lead singer and guitarist Robert Greer told me last weekend. “It’s been too long.”

Greer and banjo player Jesse Langlais are the only constants in Town Mountain’s history, both having been on board for the group’s 2005 debut record, “Original Bluegrass and Roots Country.” They formed in the fertile musical soil of Asheville – a western North Carolina town that could be a sister city to Durango. 

Town Mountain plays a show for KSUT’s 40th anniversary series at the Hank, Friday at 7 p.m.

“I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Durango,” said Greer. “Durango and Asheville are very similar. Both towns have this really strong cultural foundation in supporting the arts, theatre and music of all different styles. Both are in beautiful, mountainous areas. They also feel utopian.”

Like-minded musical souls abound in Asheville. Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range and the Jon Stickley Trio all call the area home (Stickley, in fact, briefly played bass for Town Mountain). Infamous ex-Durangotang Travis Book recently moved to nearby Brevard with his songwriting wife, Sarah Siskind, and their children.

With a bevy of IBMA awards under its belt, Town Mountain has been busy in the studio the past year. First, it released a two-song CD single to celebrate another band’s golden anniversary. “We’re all really big Grateful Dead fans,” Greer said. “The 50th year of riding that train … about the only two things we can agree about driving down the road is which Dead tune to listen to and Mexican food.”

The taco stand troubadours chose “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and the Dead-inspired cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” to record. “‘Half-Step’ has long been one of my favorite Dead tunes,” said Greer, who mentioned that it lent itself to nontraditional bluegrass instrumentation like drums and pedal steel guitar. “It’s a drum-worthy tune, a little more complex in the rhythm. It’s really fun as a rhythm guitarist having someone hitting a snare.”

It also introduced Mountainheads to multi-instrumentalist Jack Devereux, who played pedal steel on “Half-Step.” Devereux will accompany the band as a fill-in on the Colorado trek while longtime fiddler Bobby Britt checks out potential masters programs in Europe.

Also joining the group in Durango is new bassist Adam Chaffins, a past member of the Deadly Gentlemen. “We’ve been going through bassists like Spinal Tap goes through drummers,” he joked. “Adam adds a nice bow technique to some of our tunes. He also takes a rippin’ bass solo as well and will sing lead on a tune or two.”

The core remains the triple songwriting threat of Greer, Langlais and mandolin player Phil Barker. “We’re just trying to make good music,” he said. “We write a lot of original music in this band. Phil and Jesse are very prolific writers. I write, and Bobby contributed a couple of fiddle tunes on this record … they all write songs with me in mind to sing.”

Greer described his singing style as rootsy, leaning toward country-blues. “It’s just kind of the way it comes out,” he said.

Town Mountain enlisted roots music royalty to produce its latest album, “Southern Crescent.” Dirk Powell, who is well-versed in Cajun, bluegrass, old-time and Americana, brought the band to his Louisiana home to record. “There’s nothing pretentious about that studio,” Greer said. “It’s a room made with old cypress wood and vaulted ceilings. It was the first time we’ve ever made a record where at least a couple of us weren’t in isolation. He’s a total player’s coach in the studio. He’s very laid back and wanted to capture the groove as much as anything.”

The result is a set of 11 originals plus an encore of the popular “Whiskey With Tears” from the debut album.

The Community Concert Hall’s season concludes with A.J. Croce at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Rolling Stone once called Croce “one of the greatest young songwriters.” Son of the legendary Jim Croce, A.J. didn’t perform his father’s songs until 2012. From that night, “Croce: Two Generations of American Music” was born. The father’s songs, like “Time in a Bottle,” “Operator” and “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” are performed alongside ones by the son. A.J.’s 1995 album, “That’s Me in the Bar,” is considered a classic in its own right. The multimedia show includes photos and clips of Jim’s life projected behind the band while it plays.

Durango Chorale Society closes its season with “Cabaret!” at 6:15 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Arts Center. The $50 ticket includes hors d’oeurves and entertainment. The songs, which range from Broadway to folk music, will be performed by both DCS and special guests like the Durango Chamber Singers, the Jewel Tones from Telluride, and the Cabaret Combo.

Zia Taqueria will host a benefit for Durango DEVO at both locations Saturday and Sunday. A percentage of Zia’s weekend sales will go to help DEVO in its 10th year to continue its mission of “building lifelong cyclists on ride at a time.”

Finally, Taste of Durango returns to Main Ave. from 11 a.m. ‘til 3 p.m. Sunday. Buy tokens and sample some of the best food and drink in town. Proceeds benefit Manna Soup Kitchen.

This week’s Top Shelf honors the three Durango beers that took home medals at last week’s World Beer Cup in Philadelphia:

1. Steamworks, Steam Engine Lager, gold, American-style amber.

2. Carvers, Irish Stout, silver in classic Irish-style dry stout.

3. Ska, True Blonde, bronze in English-style summer ale.

Tomorrow night it’s Tupelo, then on to Durango? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.