Grand Ole Echo is Celebrating Season 20 at The Echo

 

Grand Ole Echo is celebrating their 20th season of Americana and country music at The Echo. A couple years back, Los Angeles Magazine wrote up an article about how country music is a growing scene in the local music community. That is likely true, but even when country music wasn't at the forefront of the community, the Grand Ole Echo stood tall. 

Taylor Kropp kicked things off in the late afternoon, playing on The Echo patio on a chilly May Sunday. Kropp and his band played three outdoor sets: opening the festivities and then playing between the indoor sets. The most amusing moments happened during the opening set, because technical difficulties are always fun to write about though it is torture for the musicians and sound team. Kropp early in the set mentioned, "I might have lost the monitors there." Someone in the audience responded, "They're right there in front of  you." Of course, it was a bad omen. The sound guy had to come up on stage and figure out microphone and various other problems soon after. At one point, a radio station blasted from the speakers -- I always find that amusing when that happens. But hey, Taylor Kropp and his band handled it like pros as they did some improvisation on stage without the vocals. I would argue that the final song of their opening set veered away from country and towards jazz. 

Taylor Kropp at The Echo

Matt Hill & the Black Spurs opened it up indoors. His first song "Tijuana Rolex" had a special meaning for him. He mentioned that before the smart phone, people used to carry timepieces and they were often passed down to the younger generation. The song was about when his grandfather's Rolex was given to him. He closed out the set with "Just My Imagination." With a bit of worry about going past his slotted time, he asked if there was time for that final song, "Do we have time for one more? Each night when I say my prayers, I ask that I can play one more song." 

Matt Hill & the Black Spurs at The Echo

Back outdoors, Taylor Kropp's technical issues were all resolved. Upfront, a young child was on the stage. When his bassist came running over (was part of the Black Spurs), he asked, "Did I get replaced?" No, but the young child was there to introduce the band for their second set. 

I've been a fan of The Doohickeys for a couple years now. I first crossed paths with them at the Americana West Music Fest and I swear at the time they had an Instagram following in the hundreds. They've exploded since then for sure. Their set opened up with a Star Wars opening to introduce the fact that it was May 4th. They had the crowd yelling out their band name and cheering throughout the set. I'm rather sure every song got a cheer from the crowd. 

Trucks were a focus of the set with songs called "I Wish My Truck Was Bigger" and "Can't Beat My Old Beater." For "Can't Beat My Old Beater" they got the crowd to sing along. They played my favorite song "This Town Sucks" (you can read my NFV Song Spotlight of that song here). It is Haley Brown's song about her hometown of Liberty, Missouri. I recently learned that Annie Jets (BreeAnn Getman) also came to California from Missouri. I wonder how close they lived to each other? I've got to say the one song I protest is "I Don't Give A Damn About Football." I'm a football fan. Boo. They made sure to let people know that their song "All Hat No Cattle" was written before Post Malone's "Back To Texas" which uses the same phrase. Amusing moment of the set was when a miniature saxophone was brought out for a song.    

The Doohickeys at The Echo

Caravan 222 closed it out with perhaps did the best tribute of the night. They gave a call out to Ben Reddell (founder of the Grand Ole Echo) and then covered his song "12 Bar Blues." For "Together Again" co-lead singer Emilia Donovan took the spirit of Linda Ronstadt to new heights. The band got some oohs and ahhs when the accordion came out for a handful of songs. And that steel guitar got some country prominence throughout. Their final song of the night "Saturday Nite" had me forgetting that I had to go to work the next day.

Caravan 222 at The Echo

Hope you all consider supporting Grand Ole Echo in its 20th season. It runs each Sunday night until (I believe) September. I can say that May 18th will be a pure traditional country night as Emily Rose and the Rounders will headline. 

Matt Hill & the Black Spurs Setlist: Tijuana Rolex, Strong Woman, Somethin You Wanna Say, White Lightnin, Good Time Runner, Ain't No One to Wait For, Two of a Kind, Cosmic Western Destiny, Just My Imagination

The Doohickeys Setlist: Star Wars Intro, Mr. Fix It, I Wish My Truck Was Bigger, Too Ugly to Hitchhike, Can't Beat My Old Beater, This Town Sucks, I Don't Give A Damn About Football, All Hat No Cattle, You Can't Dance, Good Riddance (Green Day cover), Rein It In Cowboy.

Caravan 222 Setlist: Mezcalito, The Rose, Juarez, 12 Bar Blues (Ben Reddell cover), Race is On, Together Again, Wild Hearts, Middle Finger, Sage and Sand, Saturday Nite.