Bela Fleck, Abigal Washburn & Arrested Development Jam in Asheville

Orange Peel, voted one of the top 5 music venues in America by Rolling Stone Magazine, had a great happening April 17th 2008! The folks of every age, race and class were fired up to volunteer their services and hours of their life to support our voting process in America. It was simply amazing! Banjo master Béla Fleck, singer/songwriter Abigail Washburn and cellist Ben Sollee, Arrested Development did powerful sets! (If I must say so myself :-) It is one of my FAVORITE places to play and the people of Asheville are so full of the right kind of energy that this country needs more of! They are international in their scope, they are conscious about their lives and the lives of others. They love the Earth, and they are not afraid of learning about politics and getting involved! Washburn sang some songs in Mandarin, the trio also played renditions of songs that marked the social-political revolution of the sixties — such as Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Béla Fleck played an amazing variation of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” He told the audience that before Obama came on the scene, it had been 15 years since he had cared about politics. The young Mayor of Asheville, Terry Bellamy took the stage for a few moments between sets, opening her remarks with the famous quote from Ghandi, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Mountain Xpress writer, Mannie dalton, said
(Arrested Development) The group had people jumping, clapping and swaying for the remainder of the evening, raising the energy in the house to new levels. At one point, I told the crowd it was the first time in my life that I’d been excited about politics. I see clearly that “Obama’s hopeful vision has single-handedly inspired a generation of Americans who were thoroughly disillusioned with politics and politicians.”

No comments: