Photos by Tom Russo

We’ve all seen the clips of a delighted gal opening a little blue box, expecting a ring inside; that was the tenor of the crowd at Levon Helm Studios last Friday night: excited, optimistic. We didn’t expect the Hope Diamond inside in that box, but that’s what we got.

It all started with the opener, Jenna Nicholls, a new talent to this writer. Her impressive liquid vocals ranged effortlessly from the depths of the muddy Mississippi to the high crystal clarity of a Catskill mountain stream. We’ll look forward to more from this newcomer.

The show sold out for the main act, however, and Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar did not disappoint. The two artists perfectly blend Yin and Yang—male and female, guitar and slide, vocals and instrumental, new and old material, blues and Americana—to create an uplifting musical experience. Like a spectacular sunset, you can identify many different shapes and colors across the sky, but it’s the overall effect that inspires awe. That said, standout tunes included Landreth’s poignant version of Bobby Charles’ “Done a Lot of Wrong Things,” and the instrumental closer, “Sey Seychelles,” the track Landreth and Cashdollar recorded for Cashdollar’s amazing Waltz for Abilene CD.

Mid-concert, old-timer John Sebastian stepped up to lend harmonica to the headliners, adding a few carats to the evening’s surprise box. Clearly delighted to be onstage with Landreth and Cashdollar (a Woodstock neighbor and old pal), Sebastian huffed through a couple of songs and got up to leave but was persuaded to stay longer, much to the delight of the crowd. The former Lovin’ Spoonful star and songwriter then sat back down in the audience, foot-tapping and head-bobbing along with the rest of the crowd, clapping ’til Landreth and Cashdollar came back for a very welcome encore.

— Suzanne Cadgène