An amazing surprise. All I pretty much knew about Jason Eady was “Ok Whiskey”, ‘cos it was played on the American radio stations, and Courtney Patton ‘cos she is Jason Eady’s wife, who also recorded an album entitled “Triggering A Flood”. On Friday night though at “I “Vizi del Pellicano”, a very warm welcoming club located in the countryside near Correggio (RE), we found ourselves faced with two extremely talented musicians, both having really great voices. Organized by Lonestartime, for many years now specialized in bringing to Italy musical talents especially from Texas, the show lasted app. two hours, full of country, gospel and blues, with only voices and guitars as protagonists. The acoustic dimension of the show, rather than diminishing the beauty of the songs, inevitably enhanced the strength of their compositional talents and allowed Jason and Courtney to capture the hearts of the audience. Taking turns in singing, quite often though duetting, along with their guitars, which as often happens when professionals play, rather than being just two sounded more like fifty, the two artists offered us moments of great music.
It was up to Courtney to open the show, and she did so in an amazing way, with an incredible voice, which, in my opinion, without exaggeration, can easily be compared to that of Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. “It’s a Shame”, “Welcome Table”, “Twisted” are small masterpieces in which Courtney performed with uncanny simplicity, which along with her voice captivated the audience. Jason Eady on the other hand has a rougher voice which is perfectly suitable for that gospel / blues sound, typical of the Mississippi region, his native land. The songs, mainly taken from his albums “Am Country Heaven”, “From Underneath The Old” and in particular the newly-released “Daylight Dark”, are like a cross-section of that rural part of the United States, which, quoting the title of a book by Bryson, we could call Lost America. As I said, it was a nice musical moment, which on the following evening, was repeated in the province of Padua. Who could ever imagine that the great country music could end up in a small club in the province of Reggio Emilia. (Gianluca Sitta)
