It was a wonderful night of country and bluegrass music at the Pony Express Pavilion on Saturday as Dr. Ralph Stanley led a corps of superb musicians through the third performance in the Capital Music Series.
Dr. Ralph was the big name, but Saturday night he followed a pair of musical acts that were far above the usual opening performers.
First up at the Pavilion was the Clark Family Experience from Virginia. A very young group, they warmed up the audience with solos by the mandolin player (no names, it's getting to be normal for groups to play without identification in programs) and the steel guitar player (steel in that there is a metal plate on the base of the guitar).
Mandolins ruled Saturday night and the Clarks brought a fine player with them -- tall, lanky and devilishly skilled. The group received a standing ovation for the largely filled Pavilion.
And the closing number from the Clarks was one they composed last night on the bus.
It sounded a lot like the Beatles "Yesterday," but it sounded just fine.
Second opening act was Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, traveling under the rubric of Martha White. Vincent explained that Martha White was a bakery back when ... but it doesn't matter.
This was a group that enjoyed close harmony, not only in music but in physical relationships; the group bunching up whenever close harmony was required. This was quite a switch from the usual random spacing of musical groups on stage.
And The Rage violinist was simply something else. His fingers danced over the neck of the violin giving way to endless cascades of harmony.
Dr. Ralph Stanley, of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," the main attraction, added the soul to the night of bluegrass. He received standing ovations from the audience, beautifully deserved. He's a little man physically, but a giant musically.
His accompanying group, the Clinch Mountain Boys, brought to the pavilion a new level of bluegrass.
The only problems were a generator puffing exhaust in the crowds and feedback over the speakers at the starts of Dr. Ralph's performance. Otherwise it was raw music pouring forth.
And the crowd simply loved them all, including Dr. Ralph's grandson, Nathan, joining the seven performers on stage.
Great night, great music, great fun. And right here in Carson City. Awesome.