Six train cars and six string bands performing on a moving train is the perfect classroom for anyone who wants to learn about bluegrass and its role in American roots music. That classroom is next week’s Durango Bluegrass Train, a festival on the rails and a celebration of string-bands.
Performing are The Fretliners, Lightweight Travelers, High Country Hustle, Humbletown Duo, The Brothers Santos and the Alex Graf and Eli Emmitt Duo. The six-band bill will showcase traditional blue- and jam-grass, front porch-picking country, and cuts from the bluegrass songbook played with a flair of flatpicking and jazz, the latter courtesy of Graf and Emmitt, who remain steadfast and forever students of the guitar.
If you go
WHAT: Durango Bluegrass Train featuring regional bluegrass bands
WHEN: May 28, 29 and 30
WHERE: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, 479 Main Ave.
TICKETS: $165, plus fees
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangobluegrasstrain.com
The two Durango-based guitar players’ other musical projects find them plugged in as they dig into jazz, soul and jam, styles that find their way into sounds when they pick up acoustic guitars and play bluegrass.
“I remember distinctly when I first heard of Eli and finally sat down to play with him, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can play all these fiddle tunes, all these bluegrass tunes, and then we could play like Pat Metheny,’” Graf said. “Wherever that meets in the middle to be able to play those styles of music like jazz and bluegrass, that was awesome.”
“I think it was very cool because I think we both came into bluegrass in a different way,” Emmitt said. “I was raised in bluegrass and then Alex came from the jazz sort of realm. He’s very studied in that, so I was really excited to play with him for that reason.”
Vocally, they’re a fantastic pair, as they are two voices that complement each other, and when speaking to both musicians, they’ll finish their sentences with praise of the other.
“When I hear some really good singing, I think of Eli," Graf said. ”Anytime I want to put myself in the spot with singing, and I have Eli to back me up, that’s a good song to do.“
“I feel like our voices work nicely together," Emmitt said. ”It’s always fun to try to figure out harmonies and practice these things together, because you never really know what’s going to come about.“
Then there’s the guitar playing. The duo have plenty of original songs that can be part of the repertoire, but they’ll also dig into the guitar player canon from a number of genres. When they both play, it’s a show of guitar theatrics, the challenge in those theatrics is making room for the other when playing solos.
“Playing two guitars in a bluegrass duo that’s very picky, that can be really hard. It’s easy to be super busy, you know? Especially if we’re both strumming really hard. So its kind of an arrangement challenge when I hear a tune where everything is in its right place, and then we have to find the right place for everything for the two guitars in a new setting,” Graf said. “It’s like a fun challenge. So I think a lot of what we do also is just rearrange.”
Durango has seen annual success in the blues train; the new bluegrass train is just another way to add a twist to music that many enjoy at festivals. The duo are stoked to be part of the bluegrass train’s inaugural outing, and the possibility of people jumping on the train for more than one run.
“It’s a really cool format,” Graf said. “I mean, just the idea that it’s a go up, go back and, and if you liked it enough, you could see us two nights in a row. And you got the beautiful scenery and a train ride.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
