more info about the Gatorbone Band . .

We saw a nice concert by a folksy-bluesy-jazzy group called the Gatorbone Band down at our local folk venue, the Sandhill Stage, seven or eight miles out of town.  The complete name is The Sandhill Stage at Prairie Creek Lodge.  A rich man bought a large piece of prairie and forest, someone said 125 acres, built a big lodge and gave it to the city.

Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SandhillStage.

The Gatorbone Band, which we sought out because of an enthusiastic endorsement by Jack Williams, was three men and one woman playing a generous assortment of acoustic instruments, notably an acoustic-electric bass that looks like a baby cello crossed with a Gibson electric, played by Lon Williamson (husband of the band's leader, Elisabeth Williamson, who also plays guitar).  The lead guitar (Gabriel Valla) was amazingly fast with a flat-pick, his left hand a blur of lightning chord changes.  The fiddle player (Jason Thomas) picked up a mandolin and joined Valla in a two-mandolin race that was amazing.

For central and northern Floridians who like folk, this might be the best place outside of St. Augustine.  Tickets are twenty bucks; beer and wine are whatever you want to tuck into the Mason Jar.  (I guess they can't "sell" alcohol.)  It's a comfortable venue with expert sound management by Bob McPeek.  We've been there about a dozen times, often for bands we've never heard of, and have never been disappointed.

Joe