Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The prolific life of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist John McEuen includes mounds of music with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band dating back to 1966, solo projects, productions, soundtracks and even a couple of books.

Although many have climbed the charts and taken home Grammy Awards, the group’s collaborative collection of traditional tunes, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” is arguably the most revered, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary with a photo book and a multi-media tour that brought the country/bluegrass legend back to the Old Town School Of Folk Music.

McEuen warmed up the crowded house all by his lonesome, feverishly picking on both the banjo and acoustic guitar, along with interjecting a bit of humor, such as inciting a sing-a-long to the “Beverly Hillbillies” theme song.

“Soldier’s Joy” and “Turkey In The Straw” were additional examples of his nimble abilities, especially at 76-years-old, but he never slowed down for 90-minutes of both catalogue rediscoveries and several “Circle” cuts.

Besides performing on his own, McEuen was frequently backed by The Circle Band, consisting of fellow Nitty Gritty co-founder Les Thompson on stand-up bass and newcomer Danny Knicely on multiple instruments, plus local talents Jodee Lewis and Michael J. Miles, respectively on vocals/guitar and banjo.

Together, they harmonized and improvised their way around such notables as “Some Of Shelly’s Blues,” “Mr. Bonjangles,” “Cannonball Rag,” “Wildwood Flower” and “Blue Ridge Mountain Home,” often breaking out some serious solos.

The evening was also filled with behind the scenes stories about recording with the illustrious, now late likes of Mother Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Merle Travis and Jimmy Martin, alongside vintage photos from those sessions and a few audio conversations from the studio.

Outside of being in the actual room where that history was made, there was nothing like hearing “The Sunny Side Of Life, “Wreck On The Highway,” and of course, the communal title track at the Old Town School, all of which not only landed the primary album in both the Library of Congress and Grammy Hall of Fame, but the hearts of all those on hand and millions more.

For additional information on John McEuen, visit JohnMcEuen.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Old Town School Of Folk Music include Will Sheff and Okkervil River (Nov. 5); Los Gallos (Nov. 9); Abigail Washburn & Wu Fei (Nov. 10); Kathy Mattea (Nov. 11); Paul Thorn (Nov. 12); Desafío Candente (Nov. 16); Erwin Helfer, Lluis Coloma & Chicago Gospel (Nov. 19); Zoë Keating (Nov. 20); Harmonía del Parnàs (Nov. 23); The Nut Tapper (Nov. 27) and Matthew Tembo (Nov. 30). For additional details, visit OldTownSchool.org/Concerts.

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