Monday, September 27, 1999
Duo delivers taste of homespun country music
BY BY ROBERT MIHALEK
Enquirer contributor
The Parrish Auditorium on the Miami University Hamilton campus had a Nashville flavor on Saturday night. But it wasn't the flashy Nashville of commercial country most associated with the great music city.
Rather, a quiet, homespun Nashville came to Hamilton in the form of singer/songwriters Kate Campbell and Jim Lauderdale.
Ms. Campbell and Mr. Lauderdale play similar, yet wildly different, forms of county music — Ms. Campbell's being more of the catchy folk variety; Mr. Lauderdale a more meaty, rock type.
Both write mature songs, with stories we can believe in and characters we care about.
Ms. Campbell's songs, steeped in the deep South (she's from Mississippi, grew up in Alabama and now lives in Nashville), are snapshots of quirky places and interesting people and events that mark their lives; some are humorous, like “Bowl-a-Rama,” some dark, “Signs Following,” some are stirring and beautiful, “Visions of Plenty.”
Parrish's small hall was a perfect setting for Ms. Campbell's simple, acoustic music, where her rich, honeyed voice and her colorful words took on a life of their own. Her songs are catchy and many of the 12 she sang Saturday sailed through my head the rest of the evening.
During his hour set, Jim Lauderdale was like a traveling troubadour, armed with acoustic guitar and a book of intelligent, emotionally charged tunes. His music was muscular and gritty, touching upon country rock, traditional country and old-fashioned cowboy songs. His voice was nasally, boomed with emotion and energy.
An accomplished songwriter who has written several chart-topping hits for the likes of George Strait and Vince Gill Mr. Lauderdale distinguished himself from the flash of commercial country with a refreshing, no-frills, raw acoustic set.
With bouncy melodic numbers like “Onward Through It All,” and the rootsy, “Trust (Guiding Star),” Mr. Lauderdale showed Saturday that he's ready to make a breakthrough. He would be a welcomed change to commercial country radio.
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