What appeared appealing on paper, however, didn’t entirely come to fruition. The five-hour event served as a miniature festival. Headlined by rock ’n’ roll band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the show also featured traditional folkie Dar Williams, singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez, bluegrass-based Sara Watkins, and local pop artist Julia Peterson.
Williams and Watkins are touring together. Otherwise, the rare grouping of talent represented a one-time event.
“What a cool bill,” Rodriguez marveled. “I’m honored to be a part of it. All these ladies can play the crap out of their instruments. It’s really inspiring.”
After a pleasant opening set of lilting soft rock by Kansas City-based Peterson, Watkins dazzled attentive listeners with an enchanting solo recital of folk and bluegrass.
“I grew up in a semi-sorta bluegrass kind of world,” Watkins said of her musical upbringing. Although the member of popular bluegrass act Nickel Creek played several instruments during her solo set, Watkins’ fiddle work was particularly memorable.
Filled with longing, Watkins’ expressive voice charmed on a delicate reading of “My Friend” and a haunting version of Tom Waits’ “Pony.”
She lightened the mood with sunny interpretations of the Stone Poneys hit “Different Drum” and Robert Earl Keen’s “Feeling Good Again.” A playful rendition of John Hartford’s “Long Hot Summer Days” was even better. With just violin, voice and the authoritative stomp of her foot, Watkins created a backwoods symphony.
Rodriguez also plays a mean fiddle, but the optimism of Watkins was replaced by Rodriguez’s fierce and unflinching perspective. She betrayed her Texas roots by opening with a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Rex’s Blues.”
As that lyric suggests, Rodriguez often sounded “alone and low as low can be.” “When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing,” written by her father, David, and the original “Seven Angels on a Bicycle” were harrowing. In such moments, Rodriguez successfully combined the sensitivity of Texas troubadour Nanci Griffith and the tough street sensibility of New York’s Lou Reed.
Williams demonstrated why she’s become a mainstay on the contemporary folk circuit during her genial hourlong set.
Ongoing technical problems failed to diminish the strength of beloved material including “The Babysitter’s Here,” “The Christians and the Pagans,” “Spring Street” and “As Cool as I Am.” The accompaniment by keyboardist Bryn Roberts added a subtle sense of grandeur.
Subtlety is not an ingredient of Grace Potter and the Nocturnal’s steady climb to stardom. Its front woman looks like an Alberto Varga pinup model, and the band rocks as if it’s 1974.
Potter wails like an unhinged Steve Marriott, and the retro boogie is undeniably soulful. Although Potter and her four-piece band concluded their two-hour set well after midnight, the memory of the evening’s best moment lingered.
Rodriguez and Watkins joined Williams for a heavenly take on “Green Pastures.” “This is like an old radio show,” Williams said as Rodriguez and Watkins shared a microphone.
The full extent of their combined talent was fully realized on the gospel song. “First time ever together on stage — Carrie Rodriguez and Sara Watkins,” Williams later said.
The magical collaboration wasn’t appreciated by everyone. About half of the audience of about 400 treated the first four acts as nuisances to be endured before Potter performed. Distractions weren’t limited to the rude chatter of bipeds.
“The dog barks in time,” Watkins noted of unwelcome canine accompaniment. While the concert might have been better suited to a hushed theater, the cool temperature and rainbow-tinged sky were wondrously delightful. Rodriguez appreciated the setting.
“Oh,” she sighed. “Look at that sunset. Gorgeous!”
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