acoustic high-falutin' weekend

April 09, 2015  /  Robbie Fulks

As a tribute to my father-in-law, who on CBS-TV's Amazing Race program remarked to my son admiringly of a fellow contestant, "She's a smart girl -- she went to one of those falutin' colleges," I will be falutin' around the midwest this weekend with 4 other smart fellows. There's Robbie Gjersoe, the goofball multi-instrumentalist and Rodney Dangerfield impersonator, who is going to play resonator guitar this outing; Todd Phillips, bassist and co-founder of such enterprises as the David Grisman Quintet and the Tony Rice Unit; Shad Cobb, radically unassuming fiddler whose musical chops are matched only (symmetrically speaking) by his computer expertise; and Don Stiernberg, of whom -- enough!

We'll be in Milwaukee Friday, at Shank Hall, then on to Stoughton Wis.'s pretty opera house on Saturday. In Stoughton we could use a few more tickets sold, if you don't mind. Email for them here: 

OPERAHOUSE@CI.STOUGHTON.WI.US

On Sunday our show in Peoria is, I'm fairly sure, private. Then on Monday we're over to the Hideout. Our set there will be heavy on songs I wrote, but we'll also do quite a few bluegrass songs and off-the-cuff stuff. I've seldom worked my residency with four players so heavy, so please come and clap and offer diet tips.

Farther on down the road, I'll be playing with a trio at Jammin' Java of Vienna, Virginia (outside D.C.), and this estimable club is interested in bolstering its bottom line with your advance-ticket cash infusions. If you're thinking of coming to this one, please just go ahead and buy tickets while you're thinking, and decide later. The link is:

 

http://jamminjava.com/event/736459-robbie-fulks-vienna/

Today is my beloved son Preston's 18th birthday. He's got to choose in the next couple of weeks among four colleges that have accepted his dogeared application: Bennington, Bard, Berklee, and Lewis and Clark. If any readers have personal experience with any of those institutions that might bear on his consideration, holler! Meanwhile Preston will be noodling on a sleek mahogany Guild guitar that I bought for him at Evanston's Guitar Works yesterday.

UPDATE: Our Sunday Peoria house show is in fact open to all rubberneckers. For more information please contact Brad at rkbly78@gmail.com .