ED HENRY: Springfield Exit in Winchester

Springfield Exit performing at the George Washington Hotel in Winchester, 20 November 2014 (with Tracey Rohrbaugh and Scott Brannon)

20 November 2014: Winchester, Virginia

      Sometimes last minute decisions are the best decisions. It was one of those afternoons where I was itching to hear some good bluegrass. David Lay left me a message earlier in the week that Springfield Exit would be playing in Winchester at the George Washington Hotel. They've been playing there regularly for almost a year, monthly, but something would always come up and I'd have to miss it. And besides, it's hard to get out on a Thursday night and extremely difficult to get to Winchester from my Vienna, Virginia location considering the traffic insanity of having to traverse Loudoun County at evening rush hour. I love Vienna. A good place to hunker down while the rest of the world goes berserk all around us. I hope the day will come when the Mayor and Town Council finally vote to build a Chinese-style, 30-meter high brick wall around our town borders. There would be guard towers on each end of Maple Avenue (Rt. 123) and everyone cutting through our town to get home (or try to escape parts of Rt. 66) would be charged a Viet Cong road tax. I'll have to bring up my plan for public debate at the next Town Council meeting.

      You always hear about these people who make a last-minute decision not to get on an airplane or they make a wrong turn in the road and it saves their lives. Life is like that. It might be a stretch to talk about bluegrass music in the same fashion. But back to last-minute decisions. I've been to too many bluegrass events to realize that being there was one of the best things I could have done that afternoon or evening. Old saws come to mind such as "You only go round once in life" or "I was there" as in seeing the Rolling Stones or Luciano Pavarotti. I love to get involved in conversations with the bluegrass crowd. The talk usually revolves around past performances, seeing something happen, or old memories. It's great to be able to sit there and say, "Yeah. I was there!" My basic bluegrass addiction problem is hating to miss something. That's why I have to keep going back to the Source for the constant medication. When I got back into bluegrass after years of ignoring it, one of those first authentic doses of realism came to me in the form of experiencing Scott Brannon and the Scott Brannon Band one Saturday night out at the Lucketts Old School House in the tiny village of Lucketts, Virginia. And then later on at the annual Lucketts Fair I ran into Springfield Exit. Linda Lay sang a Patsy Cline-channeled version of "Sweet Dreams." I was hooked. The bluegrass needle was in my arm and I was off to the land of Jimmy Martin and Don Reno. Lately the addiction has also taken me back to classic country; something I never paid much attention to.

      The late afternoon traffic isn't all that bad once you pass Purcellville going west on Route 7 toward Winchester. Amazing how the bedroom-commuter housing developments end once you get to the top of the hills overlooking the expansive beauty of the Shenandoah Valley. And you want it to cease. Stop right there. No more housing developments beyond this beautiful Virginian vantage point. I'm reminded to slow down on Rt. 7 with all the flashing blue lights of cop cars catching the non-vigilant. An easy ride into Winchester and easy parking on the street along side the old George Washington Hotel on Piccadilly Street. It's a cold late Autumn evening and dark already at 5:00 pm. The pedestrian-thoroughfare re-designed downtown area of Winchester is deserted, cold and bleak. The surprise was yet to come as I surveyed my location; that moment of serendipity that I'm attempting to explain; my ultimate bluegrass high. I got to Winchester in better time than I expected so I grabbed a bite to eat at a little cafe near the Hotel. That was a mistake. There was plenty of food offered buffet-style as part of the admission price at the bluegrass performance but I didn't know that beforehand. I'll know it the next time I go out to the George Washington Hotel. At 6:00 I ambled over to the hotel and went into the bar-entrance figuring well, if it's bluegrass it'll probably be in the local saloon. After all, I hang out in enough smelly beer-joints in Maryland to know that there's never anything elegant about the bluegrass scene. The bar was empty (a nice looking bar!). The wait-staff told me "Oh no. Go upstairs to the Grand Ballroom!" and gave me directions to reach it. I passed glass cases full of old, historic stuff reminding the customers of faded glory days for the hotel. Everyone in the hotel seemed eager to please.

People were coming and going and trying to pay the entree fee. I saw flannel shirts and cowboy boots so I knew I was at the right place. Twelve-seat round banquet tables were the setting underneath extraordinary chandeliers that threw a nice lighting effect on the French-draped windows. By ballroom standards the venue is not large, but large enough to know that it would take a lot of people to fill it. It was filled as the evening progressed and after the first break most of the food and coffee was gone too. Wait staff stood by to help the crowd dip into the fancy line of hot chafing pans. David Lay came up to greet me as I stood there with what must have seemed a dumb-founded look on my face. I'm thinking, I should have worn a tie instead of my First Marine Division field jacket and Levi's. I don't like to bother the entertainment when I know they've got a thousand things on their mind before the fun begins, but I wanted to know the full story behind acquiring such a neat venue and like, what does this place cost for instance? I kept my questions to myself. In the end, when Dave had more time to talk, I discovered all that. Now it was time to settle in for the music.

'All that' really doesn't matter. Not when you're going to spend an evening with history. That Springfield Exit is the last vestiges of the Johnson Mountain Boys is known in the annals of those who keep track of such bluegrass music historical information. So are the accomplishments of Scott Brannon. The living history surprise of the evening was Bill Yates, who I didn't recognize at first because he had recently had major surgery on his jaw and his face was badly swollen on the left side. Tracey Rohrbaugh was there too, another key member of Scott Brannon's band. It was going to be an interesting evening, especially after David Lay announced that Springfield Exit member Linda Lay was at home with the Flu (the main reason for recruiting Scott Brannon for reinforcement). The show must go on as they say. You can view it as a disaster of bad circumstances or call forth your professional worth. It came forth in spades when Scott Brannon launched into the song "Lorena." The crowd went wild and it was all uphill from there. Special recognition is warranted for Tom Adams (banjo) who guided the evening in his role as master of ceremonies and spokesman for such an illustrious gathering. It's refreshing to hear someone who can actually enunciate and clearly name names and song titles - and do it with a sense of humor. The old language teacher is coming out of me. The evening progressed. The evening was as defined and refined as the room in which it took place. Scott Brannon took the lead and after a few numbers started bringing in the guests in the room. There was authoritative definition and strength given to the old chestnuts, such as "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke" broken up with songs by Dylan and Johnny Cash. Marshall Wilborn (what can you say about Marshall that hasn't already been said?) was introduced to do "Freight Train Blues" and got a rousing round of applause.

      The second set brought on Tracey Rohrbaugh, Bill Yates, and a young Dobro-player from Winchester by the name of Gaven Largent. From what I heard he's only 18 years. He's good. The test of a new recruit is to see if they're good enough to pick with the Big Boys; be able to keep up and not stumble on a harmony line. The Dobro is a god-awful instrument that can be annoying in the wrong hands. The proof of the pudding is the facial gestures and body language you get from the older guys when a younger man or woman is on-stage. The gestures tell you everything you need to know about a right or wrong fit. The boys were broadly smiling this evening when Gaven played, and that's a lot of positive recognition between musicians.Gaven's contribution to the evening was honestly worth the whole trip to Winchester. Other highlights were Marshall's "Sittin' On Top of The World," done exquisitely slow and deliberate, and yes, Bill Yates joining in to sing "I'll break out Tonight." That he could do it with the recent jaw surgery and do it well, was nothing less than amazing. One of the biggest responses was when Tracey and Scott joined in on their signature duet "Emotion."

Two rousing encores and two standing ovations and everyone packed up. Another night of precision bluegrass and a full house underneath the fancy chandeliers. Springfield Exit will return to the ballroom December 18th and several more times until the final show on April 9th, 2015. I asked David Lay if this was the usual crowd and he said "Yep." Most bluegrass bands would fight tooth and nail to get this kind of audience participation - any night or day of the week. It's proof of the total package of talent that is Springfield Exit.

Springfield Exit: David Lay, Linda Lay, David McLaughlin, Tom Adams, and Marshall Wilborn.

The George Washington Hotel ( a Wyndham Hotel) is at:
103 East Piccadilly Street, Winchester, Virginia.

The doors open at 6:00 with an optional dinner and the show starts at 7:00.