McEuen and the String Wizards bring country sound to Bedell Hall

John McEuen, a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, took the stage at Bedell Performance Hall on Saturday night and delivered a show that featured memories of the band�s road to success.

�I had a dream years ago, growing up in Orange County, that if I worked really hard, someday I�ll get to play Cape Girardeau,� McEuen said. �Here, it seems like everybody plays the banjo.�

Much of his success, he said, was owed to the Ozark bluegrass of the Dillard family of Salem, Missouri, who debuted on �The Andy Griffith Show� in 1963. He called Rodney Dillard his lifelong mentor in music, and said he considered changing his last name.

�I�m here today because Salem, Missouri, spawned the Dillards, and I�m very grateful for that,� McEuen said.

Rodney Dillard joined the musician on stage as a special guest, contributing vocals guitar and mandola picking for a few songs, including �What Have They done to the Old Home Place,� a Dillard classic with the lyrics �Why did I leave my plow in the field and look for a job in town?�

John McEuen and Friends perform "Mr. Bojangles" during a concert Saturday at the Bedell Performance Hall in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

McEuen�s band, The String Wizards, consisted of two former Nitty Gritty Dirt Band members, Les Thompson and John Cable, and 25-year music partner Matt Cartsonis. The energy they brought to the stage with their brand of acoustic bluegrass was palpable with songs such as �Mr. Bojangles,� the Dirt Band�s first top-10 song.

The show incorporated a multimedia aspect, in the form of photographs and recordings from the band�s heyday, when they recorded the album �Will the Circle be Unbroken,� which was nominated for two Grammy awards in 1973.

It featured the voices of the country legends that recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on that album: Earl Scuggs, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Jimmy Martin and Mother Maybelle Carter.

The group�s rendition of �Keep on the Sunny Side� was led with Carter�s voice from the recording studio saying, �I know on the old record I started it like this.�

One audience member who didn�t want to give his name traveled from Louisville, Kentucky, for the performance. He said his interest in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was rekindled about a year ago when he stumbled onto an old CD.

�It�s about a five-hour drive,� he said. �I listened to the CD the whole way here and I�m going to get a new one to listen to on the way back.�

He said he first heard of the country-rock group while he was in the military and seeing the performer live could now be checked off his bucket list.

Before the show, Mark Pettet of Cape Girardeau said he began following the group in junior high school and the concert tickets were a Christmas present from wife, Lori, and sons John and Geoff. Mark said he had seen the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert in Cape Girardeau in the early 1980s, and McEuen and the other members of that band are some of his favorite musicians.

Pettet said the only instrument he can play is the radio, but his two sons had a unique take on the night�s performance, as both are musicians, playing guitar and stand-up bass.

During intermission, Mary Friese of Friedheim called the show excellent and said the photos and film shown on the screen behind the artists helped to tie the whole show together.

�You feel likes he�s here with you, on a personal level,� Friese said.

During the concert, McEuen also acknowledged the connection formed between him and the audience.

�Anybody that comes out to see me must be cool,� McEuen said.

McEuen said the Dirt Band began as a jug band, jamming together at a music store in southern California.

�We learned by playing along with the records that lined the walls of the store,� he said. �We were just like the Dillards, only we didn�t know how to play.�

The crowd responded strongly to McEuen and The String Wizard�s four-part harmonies and country riffs on songs �Dismal Swamp� and �Dance Little Jean.� When one member of the audience requested �Fishin� in the Dark,� McEuen said with a laugh, �Security, throw him out.�

McEuen�s younger self, from the old footage of the band playing festivals in the mid-1970s, wore buckskin clothes and kept his hair and beard long. The modern version supplied the same energy, jumping around the stage as he ushered sounds from banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

McEuen said he soon will be releasing a book, titled �The Life I Picked,� that details his experience as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and a generation of musicians that redefined American culture.

McEuen and The String Wizards will play two shows in Arkansas in early February before continuing the nation-wide tour through May.

Pertinent address:

Bedell Performance Hall, Cape Girardeau, Mo.