This band’s influence of folk, Americana, and bluegrass music is sure to make any jam-band follower giddy. Never have I seen a band play with so much energy and zest, nor did they tire for their 60-minute set. The more energy the band projected, the more energy the audience exuded. Allie, the band’s fiddler, stole the show with her amazing skills, especially while playing the song “Girl With Short Brown Hair.”

 

After this Chicago band left the stage, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers quickly stepped up to the plate, playing a good mix of old with the new. True to his nature, Hornsby sat at his piano while a mixture of instruments from mandolin to washboard was played by the Noisemakers.

 

As an added treat, he invited Allie of Cornmeal to bring out her fiddle and join in on the concert. Hornsby paid homage to Ricky Skaggs on several occasions, including when he played his infamous “Mandolin Rain.”

 

Despite this Nitefall on the River concert being moved indoors from the Simon Estes Ampitheater to the much dryer Val-Air, it was an amazing evening.

 

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