Looks like Nathan has 3 strings missing from his mandolin.
At 77, Ralph Stanley knows how to pace himself.
<NITF>Touring with the Clinch Mountain Boys -- a group that also includes his
son, Ralph Stanley II, and Ralph II's son Nathan, a kid not yet old enough
to shave but plenty old enough to impress on five-string mandolin -- Stanley
served as part performer, part impresario at the Birchmere on Sunday n
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Ralph Stanley performed at the Birchmere on Sunday with the Clinch Mountain
Boys. (Andrea Psimer -- AP)
The band preceded him onstage for the opening number, giving the compact,
nattily dressed mountain-music legend a grand entrance. In each of the next
several songs, he highlighted a band member: James Shelton on lead guitar, Jack
Cooke on bass fiddle, Steve Sparkman on banjo, Ralph II on rhythm guitar,
Nathan on mandolin and John Rigsby on fiddle. Rigsby, in particular, was
versatile and expansive, consistently bringing freshness to an old style.
<NITF>When it came time to introduce himself, Stanley joked about his age:
"Folks, I can stand up here till 4 o'clock in the morning and not say enough
about this fine young man." His vocals on "Room at the Top of the Stairs"
defined "high lones
<NITF>The sometimes ragged but always true ensemble offered a planned set
before intermission and took requests afterward. Both sets were heavy on gospel,
including "A Robin Built a Nest on Daddy's Grave," surely the jauntiest song
with "grave" in the title. And Stanley further courted the underworld with
his famous, a cappella rendition of "O Death." The grim words combined with
Stanley's age-worn consonants and eerie warbled notes to bring chills. After
the final line, "Won't you spare me over till another year," Stanley sang one
more line: "Thank
-- Pamela Murray Winters
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