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Foghorning It In

Forghorn Stringband are state-of-the-art among the new wave of old-time outfits over there in the USA. Sarah Coxson catches them over here…

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’m at Kings Place, London. Foghorn Stringband play with the ease of a front porch session, despite the urbane setting. Cajun waltzes, mur- der ballads, fiery twin-fiddle tunes, Grand Ole Opry songwriting from the likes of Jimmy C Newman, a cappella British bal- lads, killer harmony singing… it’s all fair game to these ‘gold standard’ old time masters. Just as with their latest CD Devil In The Seat, the live show delivers a cornu- copia of American roots music.

Viewed through RCA Victor-tinted lenses, the four musicians flow around one central microphone mid-stage: an intuitive unbroken continuity, physically and soni- cally. Soaring fiddle and coruscating man-

dolin melodies glide into the foreground, whilst the double bass and guitar keep up the freight-train drive and momentum, melding seamlessly behind. A singer steps forward, dovetailed by another adding keening harmony vocals, and then retreats, letting the spotlight shine only on the music.

Their diverse American traditional repertoire maybe as old as the Appalachian hills but it is very much alive in the here and now in this room. The audience feed on the electric immediacy, and Foghorn themselves are alert to the karmic groove. “That last bit of our UK tour… I haven’t felt that for a long time,” reflects founder member Caleb Klauder. “To be in that kind of stride, it felt

like we were able to do anything as a band! The grease fell in all the right slots.”

The chemistry of the current two-couple line-up is tangible: original members Caleb (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Sammy Lind (fiddle, banjo, vocals) joined by musical (and actual) partners Reeb Willms on guitar and Nadine Landry on double bass, both with extraordinary singing voices. Nadine adds: “Because we don’t have a set list, we have fifteen seconds to decide which song next during the clapping. So many times on this tour, one of us suggested a song and it’s exactly what another person was thinking. We could have all started playing at once without even talking. We were all in that same zone.”

Photo: Mike Melnyk