CMT Blog: Archive

It was short but sweet for The Infamous Stringdusters this weekend. A last minute call to play on the Opry forced a hasty retreat from Merlefest, but that didn't stop the band from packing four days' worth of picking into two. On Thursday morning, we played a middle school for the school outreach program (Go Falcons!) then dashed down to the festival for our 5:45 mainstage set. That was our only set of the day, so I got a plate of Southern cooking and a good seat for Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives. It had been awhile since I had seen him, but Marty did not disappoint. I put him at the top of my must-see list for this summer.

A festival wouldn't be complete without a late night pick, and after Marty's set, we staged a particularly good one at the Addison Hotel, room 405, that ended about 5 a.m. I couldn't possibly list all the players that came in and out of that jam, but the constant rotation of musicians kept the music dynamic and interesting. The best part of festival season is the picking. At any bluegrass festival you'll find the musicians backstage singing songs and picking tunes at all hours of the day and night. It's how we socialize; with our instruments over a song that everyone knows.

Merlefest has a reputation for putting bands to work and our Friday was no exception. We played a full set in the early afternoon, rehearsed with Tim O'Brien for an hour before our Cabin Stage set with Jim Lauderdale, then went straight to our Creekside Stage set with Tim. This January, we spent two weeks in the studio working on our new self-titled record with Tim (out June 10th on Sugar Hill), so it was a reunion of sorts. We worked our way through nearly every phase of Tim's catalog and wedged in a few 'Dusters tunes. I hated to see it end and the goodbyes dragged on longer than necessary, but by 7 p.m. we were headed home in a late night dash for our beds in Nashville. Short but sweet.

Photo credit: Ted Lehmann