Our third concert of season 1 whisked the Clements Brothers into town from Vermont on a frigid, snowy night. We were on pins and needles before opening time as we sorted through sometimes conflicting weather reports to decide whether the show should go on. We concluded that it should—and we were hugely relieved that the weather gods were kind, as the worst of the storm held off until post-performance.
The snow did not deter the crowd from turning out: The Reed Room was full of high enthusiasm for the music and happy convo among old and newly made friends. It was another sell-out show enjoyed by a warmly appreciative crowd.
There’s nothing like siblings singing together. The brothers—George on guitar and Charles on upright bass—delighted the audience as they mixed original compositions with covers of songs by popular artists, from John Prine (“Fish and Whistle”) to Townes Van Zandt (“Loretta”).
“Dandelion Breeze” from the brothers’ CD of that name (released in 2023) sounded a soulful note. The bluesy “Call It a Night” from that same album recalled their early days as they sought to break into the music world in New York, crossing paths with similarly drifting souls along the way. In their poignant rendition of “Never Alone,” they shared a moving tribute to their father, the late Andrew Clements, a well-known author of children’s books and a musician himself. The melancholic Paul Simon composition “American Tune,” a meditation on shattered dreams, spoke to current events despite having been composed decades ago. Two instrumentals with a Swedish flair provided lively, lovely variety.
It was an evening of amazing music and uplifting community spirit. We look forward to more next month, when we will host Alice Howe & Freebo on Saturday, March 15 (https://newsongbedford.org/concerts/).