On my childhood Sundays, I’d join a couple of friends on seats’ edge, front pew at Bethel Baptist Church. As the piano and organ played the old familiar chords, we’d join our eager but errant voices with those of tolerant neighbors for “The Church In The Wildwood” or “Whispering Hope”. Recently seated again on a front pew, I experienced that same sense of music as an exciting, communal act in the old Nashville Baptist Church, which now serves as the Nash County Arts Center.
What began in 1995 as an effort to preserve this stately landmark in Nash County (about an hour east of Raleigh, North Carolina) has evolved into a thriving regional arts program. Since 1999, under the leadership of Barden Winstead, the Nashville Showcase Series has transformed the sanctuary into a theater of both spiritual and musical roots.
Musicians seem eager to play this unique venue, invariably expressing delight in the old church’s atmosphere (it already seems to be the region’s venue-of-choice for Buddy & Julie Miller). Area acts on the rise, such as Tift Merritt and Thad Cockrell, have been featured; but you’d almost be forgiven for mistaking this other Nashville for Austin, Texas, what with recent visits from the likes of Bruce Robison, Billy Joe Shaver, the Gourds, the Derailers — and, on this night, Alejandro Escovedo and his string quartet.
Escovedo has established strong ties to the region of late, working with producer Chris Stamey and a number of NC triangle-area musicians on Bourbonitis Blues and A Man Under The Influence. This night, a heady sense of shared commitment by band and audience shaped the entire performance.
Whether it was the atmospheric pleasures of the opening and closing instrumentals from By The Hand Of The Father, the purposeful sway of “Rosalie”, or the threatening rumble of “Sacramento & Polk”, the balance and precision of the ensemble was exemplary. Escovedo’s vocals were as soulfully articulate as ever, and this quartet seems the ideal vehicle for illuminating the lyricism and passionate drive of his music.
Leading the way were violinist Susan Voelz — a fixture in Escovedo’s early-’90s lineup who hadn’t toured with him in years — and guitarist David Polkinham, a recent recruit from Austin. Both moved seamlessly from intense soloing to equally impressive ensemble work. Matthew Fish on cello and Cynthia Wigginton on violin rounded out an exquisitely balanced group that, even as it focused on details of craft, was open to celebrate the moment. Every element came together on “Velvet Guitar”, a piece of ever-mounting tension that, with these interpreters, positively soared.
When the band returned for an intimate, unplugged performance of “I Wish I Was Your Mother” amidst the crowd, it was like a shared thanksgiving. As the musicians stepped down from the stage to join us front-pew listeners for this song, I couldn’t help but think it was what I’ve wanted from church since those long-ago Sundays.
