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ENLARGE
Tim Stafford, second from the right, and members of Blue Highway singing the opening song at Music on the Half Shell in Stewart Park, Tuesday.
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ENLARGE
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Chuck Cook,
left, of Magic By Chuck, makes balloon animals and hats before the start of Blue Highway’s
performance at Music on the Half Shell in Stewart Park, Tuesday.
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A thick, gray sunless sky Tuesday evening didn’t stop an energetic crowd from spilling over the Stewart Park hill to hear Blue Highway.
Performance lights stood just under the cover of the yellow and white Nichols Band Shell stage cover and tarps sat near speakers, evidence that organizers prepared for the possibility of rain.
“Rain or shine, we do it,” said longtime Half Shell committee member Dwight Wood.
But rain never fell on the crowd of about 3,500 that covered the park grass as the five-member bluegrass band took the stage, filling the park with the sound of multitalented Jason Burleson, who plays banjo, mandolin and guitar; Rob Ickes, who plays dobro; Shawn Lane, who plays mandolin and fiddle; Tim Stafford, who plays guitar; and Wayne Taylor, who plays bass.
People in the audience clapped, tapped and cheered to Grammy Award-nominated band.
The varied rhythms and sound of the group’s music can be partly attributed to its three lead singers, Lane, Stafford and Taylor.
The band members drew laughter from the crowd as they joked about their lyrics, their accents and their hometowns.
More than 15 years ago, Taylor worked as a truck driver when he and a few other musicians decided to form what he called a “hometown band.” They got together without a concrete plan and recorded a demo to send to Rebel Records. They landed a record deal with the label, where they recorded their first album, “It’s a Long, Long Road,” which won the International Bluegrass Music Association Album of the Year Award.
“Things just took off after that. It’s been a great ride,” Taylor said, with an accent that revealed his East Coast roots. “It just went so much farther than we ever planned.”
The band, staring down the 15-year mark as a group, has recorded eight albums, including its most recent CD, “Through the Window of a Train,” released this year.
The members of Blue Highway usually write on their own songs and then present their work to the band. The lyrics, Taylor said, are a mixture of real-life experiences and fiction.
Lola Thompson of Roseburg sat with her husband at the peak of the Stewart Park hill looking out over the Nichols Band Shell stage.
“I come here every week because I like the ambiance of the whole thing,” she said. “The friendliness of the town, the water, the music.”
Sitting in lawn chairs to the side of the stage, Roseburg’s Mystie Timmons visited the Half Shell concert for her first time with her husband and son. She called it a wonderful family event.
The clouds didn’t scare off fifth-generation Roseburg resident Craig Blakely, who listens to Half Shell concerts every Tuesday with friends, food and family. He said he liked the cool weather as he enjoyed Blue Highway’s energy and talented instrumentation.
Taylor described the band’s sound as a combination all of the members’ personal influences, including his own classic country and classic rock flavors.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘What do you look for in the Blue Highway sound?’ And well, I’ve never thought about it,” he said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It has just been something really good musically.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
Performance lights stood just under the cover of the yellow and white Nichols Band Shell stage cover and tarps sat near speakers, evidence that organizers prepared for the possibility of rain.
“Rain or shine, we do it,” said longtime Half Shell committee member Dwight Wood.
But rain never fell on the crowd of about 3,500 that covered the park grass as the five-member bluegrass band took the stage, filling the park with the sound of multitalented Jason Burleson, who plays banjo, mandolin and guitar; Rob Ickes, who plays dobro; Shawn Lane, who plays mandolin and fiddle; Tim Stafford, who plays guitar; and Wayne Taylor, who plays bass.
People in the audience clapped, tapped and cheered to Grammy Award-nominated band.
The varied rhythms and sound of the group’s music can be partly attributed to its three lead singers, Lane, Stafford and Taylor.
The band members drew laughter from the crowd as they joked about their lyrics, their accents and their hometowns.
More than 15 years ago, Taylor worked as a truck driver when he and a few other musicians decided to form what he called a “hometown band.” They got together without a concrete plan and recorded a demo to send to Rebel Records. They landed a record deal with the label, where they recorded their first album, “It’s a Long, Long Road,” which won the International Bluegrass Music Association Album of the Year Award.
“Things just took off after that. It’s been a great ride,” Taylor said, with an accent that revealed his East Coast roots. “It just went so much farther than we ever planned.”
The band, staring down the 15-year mark as a group, has recorded eight albums, including its most recent CD, “Through the Window of a Train,” released this year.
The members of Blue Highway usually write on their own songs and then present their work to the band. The lyrics, Taylor said, are a mixture of real-life experiences and fiction.
Lola Thompson of Roseburg sat with her husband at the peak of the Stewart Park hill looking out over the Nichols Band Shell stage.
“I come here every week because I like the ambiance of the whole thing,” she said. “The friendliness of the town, the water, the music.”
Sitting in lawn chairs to the side of the stage, Roseburg’s Mystie Timmons visited the Half Shell concert for her first time with her husband and son. She called it a wonderful family event.
The clouds didn’t scare off fifth-generation Roseburg resident Craig Blakely, who listens to Half Shell concerts every Tuesday with friends, food and family. He said he liked the cool weather as he enjoyed Blue Highway’s energy and talented instrumentation.
Taylor described the band’s sound as a combination all of the members’ personal influences, including his own classic country and classic rock flavors.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘What do you look for in the Blue Highway sound?’ And well, I’ve never thought about it,” he said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It has just been something really good musically.”
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
