Recently, I had the good fortune to see performances by legends and unknowns that
showed me that the future is behind us. Several weeks ago, I saw a solo piano player named Holly Bowling perform 90 minutes of amazing solo piano versions of Grateful Dead and Phish songs. Holly is a classically trained piano player who is pleasantly obsessed with Phish (having seen over 300 of their shows). Her performance was both beautiful and captivating. She reinterpreted their songs on piano in a style that would please fans of these bands as well as those who have never heard of them. Holly plays with a passion that could work in Carnegie Hall or the Charleston Music Hall. However, she would never be known for her talents if she wasn’t playing to an audience that is rabid for these bands’ music. Exposing her to fans of these bands will allow her to grow her audience while exposing fans of the piano to her tremendous talent. If it wasn’t for the music of the past, this music and this artist might not have a future! Check her out on YouTube, archive.org or at her website(www.hollybowling.com)

Last weekend, Peter Frampton began an acoustic tour of his music. This is the 3rd time out on the road showcasing his music and  talents  with an acoustic guitar. He wanted to create an intimate environment as if he was playing in your living room and the songs were in their infancy. He played our Charleston Music Hall, a venue that holds less than a thousand people. Frampton hasn’t had a serious hit in over 30 years, yet he drew about 750 fans who were treated to 2 hours or more of his stories and his songs. As a fan, I came away with a greater appreciation of his songwriting skills. I have seen him 3 times in the past (1975,76 and 2010). Every time was with the full band and all were memorable due to his tremendous guitar skills. Frampton is following a successful touring model many artists seem to be using these days. By stripping down the music to an acoustic guitar or a piano, you get to experience them as if the songs were first being developed. Frampton finds a receptive audience of baby boomers who probably wore out the grooves on their own LP back in the 70’s and 80’s. Over the last two years I have seen Jorma Kaukonen(Jefferson Airplane), Jackson Browne, Pat Benatar and Neil Geraldo as well as David Grisman and Dell  McCoury  performing  in a bare bones style to appreciative audiences. In the next two months, Richard Thompson and Eric Johnson will bring their solo acoustic shows to Charleston. Artists can literally tour the country playing  from their catalogue of songs at intimate  venues . Once you have a good reputation, people will pay  money to be transported back to their “glory days” when these songs formed the soundtrack of our lives.

Another phenomena making its mark in new music are the country albums being recorded by artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. These artists have gone out on tour playing this new music and opening themselves up to new audiences. Whatever the motivation, they and many others are finding new ways to stay relevant in today’s music scene. Darius Rucker was onto something!

While there will always be new artists creating new trends, I believe the music scene will continue to offer important artists presenting their music in a stripped down style, exposing their vulnerabilities to all who dare to listen! Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

To follow this blog,  go to  wordpress.com. You will land on “This is Reader”. On the left, under “Streams”, click on “Followed Sites”…click on “Manage” and write in Doyoubelieveinmagic…enter your information and you’re done. Youwill receive a notice when a new article is published rather than relying on a social media post.