[photo by: Lindy Hearne]
Jimmy LaFave’s hometown of Wills Point, Texas, is actually less than sixty miles from the Crossroads Stage here in Winnsboro, Texas. That is certainly close enough to say that Jimmy was “Home” on Friday night, playing to “His people.” [pictures] These are terms Jimmy himself used to describe some of the feelings dancing around inside this great singer/songwriter/musician/entertainer, as he shared some thoughts & some stories of the past with his band and those lucky enough to be in the audience that evening! There was a great vibe & energy bouncing around the Crossroads Performance Hall that night! Jimmy & his band tapped into that source, and truly delivered an inspired performance! The only set list present was between Jimmy’s ears, and I believe he allowed that to change throughout the night, playing tunes inspired by the tune/story before, and trying to satisfy the requests coming from the appreciative crowd. At times it felt like Woody Guthrie’s spirit was up on that stage with Jimmy & the band. There will never be another performance quite like the one delivered last Friday night! That’s an easy statement to make, since Jimmy is one of those musicians that prefers NOT to play a song the same way twice, which allows for creative MAGIC to show up during his shows–magic you can’t get listening to a CD! In honor of where they were performing, they even did a rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues,” totally unrehearsed! It was AWESOME, and guitarist Phil Hurley totally SHREDDED IT!!
Crossroads Music Company was honored to have Jimmy back for a return visit! ~Gus Gustafson
“Never a Moment” performed by Jimmy LaFave a couple nights ago!
