When Alicia and her band chose to visit Ashland on a beautiful autumn weekend to perform a house concert, every effort was made to sell out the show. As it turned out, not only was the evening show a sell-out but an added afternoon performance was packed as well. What a truly remarkable visit, a memorable show, and the Saturday event wasn’t the only highlight.
The following day Sooney & Nick hosted a celebratory farewell party in their backyard and neighbors had a chance to meet some newbies. With a warm afternoon sun backlighting the landscape’s autumnal palette, a group of us gathered on the platform to make the most of it.
The Viani Family Band performed a final time on Nick & Sooney’s sleeping platform in the back yard on Paradise Lane. (l > r) Pete Kartsounes, Sooney, Nick, Mark Karwan, and Alicia. One of our neighbors thankfully captured a segment of their rendition of John Prine’s Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.
Later that night, the music continued indoors, and in the following clip, Pete & Alicia put the final touches on the legendary Doc Watson tune, Beaumont Rag.