It was too bad that Old School Freight Train’s Sunday night concert in Long’s Park was brought to a screeching halt by a thunderstorm. The Charlottesville, Va., band did its best by avoiding songs mentioning rain, but nothing could halt the storm’s relentless onset. OSFT did get a chance to perform a few selections from their wide-ranging songbook, including, among others, the old-timey “Porch Swing,” George Harrison’s “Something,” the delightful Celtic-grass “Mr. Parshif’s Jig” (written by band mandolinist Pete Frostic) and closing with a R&Bluegrass performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” which brought out the dancers in the audience. Also on stage were guitarist and lead vocalist Jesse Harper, Darrell Muller on upright bass, guest fiddler Lou Price (apparently a last-minute substitute, since Harper said there was only enough time to pick him up at the train station and they hadn’t had a chance to rehearse). I did not manage to catch the drummer’s name, unfortunately.
In the picture at right: Lou Price (left) and Jesse Harper.
For more information: the band’s Myspace site.
