Old Crow Medicine Show may be best known for their song “Wagon Wheel“, which vocalist and fiddler Ketch Secor shares co-writing credit with Bob Dylan. In fact, they play it at almost every show they have, and will likely play it this Sunday when they make a stop in Buffalo at the Town Ballroom. They are an Old Time string band comprised of Kevin Hayes on Guitjo and Vocals, Ketch Secor on Fiddle, Harmonica, Banjo, and Vocals, Morgan Jahnig on Upright Bass, Willie Watson on Guitar, Banjo, and Vocals, and Gill Landry on Slide Guitar, Banjo, and Vocals.
As an Old Time string band, OCMS plays a type of music that is similar to Bluegrass, which gained a jump in popularity with the success of the Coen Brothers’ film O Brother Where Art Thou? which featured Bluegrass throughout. Frank Goodman of Puremusic.com explains: “Old Time and String Band music received one as well…lots of folks out there wouldn’t know how to tell one from the other, if they both had a banjo involved. And it’s really not important–if it’s good, it’s good, right?”
OCMS is so good, as the story goes, they busked their way to Nashville by impressing the daughter of Doc Watson, who came across them playing outside a pharmacy in North Carolina. That good fortune eventually led to their Grand Ole Opry debut at the Ryman Auditorium, where OCMS received a standing ovation for their performance. Later that year they released their third album, and in 2008, they put out their seventh. Their music has been featured on “A Prairie Home Companion“, NPR, and their ceaseless touring has brought them to numerous cities and festivals including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and New Orleans Jazz Festival.
So make plans for Sunday night, and bring the family too, the show is all ages (anyone under 16 can attend but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian), and is sure to be a good time.
Old Crow Medicine Show
Sunday, July 11th, 8pm
Town Ballroom
681 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 852-3900
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Joseph DiDomizio is a local writer, filmmaker, and graphic
artist. He graduated from UB with a BA in Media
Study and English, and has been writing about music, movies,
books and pop-culture for several years. A long-standing contributor to
Buffalo Rising, he has also written a couple full-length screenplays, a
handful of short stories, and been involved with the production of Nickel
City Chef, as well as several short local films. Currently he is a
contributor to The Way Of The Buffalo
podcasts, and is developing a web serial, amongst other media projects.
Photo by Aaron Farrington