John Cowan never seems to change. His voice and energy today are no different than the early "haydays" of New Grass Revival. After watching two shows over the weekend it became apparent to me that those vocals and bass riffs were as good as ever.

We made the show at Denton's Boiler Room on Friday night and were a little surprised at the room. Small, smokey and not much of a crowd. After setting though two bands that I am at a loss for words to describe, John and the guys came out with a "blow me away" version of "Callin' Baton Rouge." It was at that point I knew it was going to be a thrilling performance. I always said that he's got way more soul than anyone I've ever heard, and he once again proved it.

His band lineup was very solid even without a banjoist. His guitar player must surely make the whole group gel, not only because of his abilities but his tenure. Jeff Autry tells me that he has been with John for going on 7 years now. John Frazier on mandolin, Shad Cobb on fiddle and Bryon Larrance on percussion round out the band. All very accomplished musicians with a passion for performance.

After Friday night we ended up on Saturday at the Granada theater in Dallas. The show was an opening act for Slaid Cleves cd release party. The Cow Band got enough time for all of about 8 songs (they should have been the headline), but it was well worth it. I appreciate the guys spending time with us after the show. We got to talk about instruments, past performances and Telluride. Man what a weekend!

Thanks John. Talk to you soon.