Song Review: Dan Tyminski - “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (Live, Feb. 28, 2026)
All is apparently well between Dan Tyminski and his former Union Station bandmate Jerry Douglas.
The two shared the Grand Ole Opry stage - though Douglas shunned the spotlight and let his Dobro sing from the back line - as Tyminski performed “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” at the Feb. 28 “O Brother Where Art Thou?” 25th-anniversary concert.
The track is now out on professional video, courtesy of the Opry.
Flanked by fiddler Stuart Duncan and mandolin man Mike Compton, Tyminski delivered what’s become his signature song - the one he certainly plays every time he’s on a stage - and seemed to have a grand ol’ time doing so. He harmonized nicely with Duncan and Compton and Douglas’ instrument frequently bubbled into the melody even as Douglas himself remained in the dark.
A fine version. And it’s even finer to know Tyminski and Douglas are on fine terms even though they’re no longer in the same band.
Grade card: Dan Tyminski - “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (Live - 2/28/26) - B+
Elvis Costello
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
2009 Hear Music
—————————————————
Tracks:
01. Down among the Wine and Spirits
02. Complicated Shadows
03. I Felt the Chill
04. My All Time Doll
05. Hidden Shame
06. She Handed Me a Mirror
07. I Dreamed of My Old Lover
08. How Deep Is the Red?
09. She Was No Good
10. Sulphur to Sugarcane
11. Red Cotton
12. The Crooked Line
13. Changing Partners
—————————————————
The MountainGrass Festival 2016 which showcases old-time and bluegrass music has just wrapped up. The event was held over three days in the picturesque alpine village of Harrietville, Victoria, Australia.
The weather was perfect. The town was both lovely and lively. The performances excellent. The people warm and friendly.
This is the fourth in a series of pictorials of the festival, all photos were taken by LTTL’s Jim Jacob. The focus is on:
The Setting
The People
The Jamming
The Headline Performers
The Other Artists
The Tradition Passes On
The coverage will finish up with an overview by LTTL’s Rob Dickens – the best performances and overall impressions.
So, here are some shots of The Headliners:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
MountainGrass Festival 2016 – The Headliners By Jim Jacob and Rob Dickens The MountainGrass Festival 2016 which showcases old-time and bluegrass music has just wrapped up.
MountainGrass 2016 will be held at Harrietville (regional Victoria) on 18 to 20 November 2016. Last year’s event was my first and it was a joyous three days, beautiful setting, great music (formal and informal), easy to get around and the friendliest atmosphere you could imagine. You can read my report on last…
MountainGrass Festival organisers have revealed a coup with the announcement that Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley will headline the 2016 event – 18 to 20 November. (Mandolinist Mike Compton has already been announced) (more…)
The organisers of the Mountaingrass Festival have announced the first artist for its 2016 event. It is acclaimed bluegrass mandolinist Mike Compton.
Compton is a Grammy and IBMA award-winning player and will be a very welcome headline act for Mountaingrass 2016. Compton helped form the renowned Nashville Bluegrass Band, played with the legendary John Hartford, recording a half-dozen albums…
I’m writing this from the road and an extravagantly happy occasion. My Mom and Dad have just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and a dozen family members have gathered in North Carolina to make a fuss over them and spend time together. They’re doing great, I’m thrilled to say. And I’m certainly reflecting on what a great gift I was given to have them as examples in life and marriage and so many other things.
One of those things, which actually does relate to the topic at hand, i.e. Music City Roots this Wednesday night, was early entrée into the world of classical music. I got violin lessons and youth orchestra and a lot of excellent concerts, plus big doses of Mozart and Schubert on the stereo at home. It’s not the typical story for somebody who now dreams of picking like Doc Watson and John Scofield, but my exposure to the heavenly mountaintop of music back then helped guide me later when I went foraging on my own down the back roads and through the wilderness of American folk and roots music. This week’s show will be something like that journey. We start with a bunch of Bill Monroe purists, move through some folky eclectica and deep songwriting to a group called the Annie Moses Band, which fuses folk and classical more explicitly than any ensemble we’ve hosted since Black Violin a couple of years ago.
It’s never wrong to start a show by tipping the hat to Bill Monroe. He’s anniversary-ready as well, since this December will mark 70 years since the amalgamation of the seminal and historic edition of the Blue Grass Boys in Nashville with Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. The Monroe Mandolin Camp gathers in the summer to learn more about Monroe and the magical miniscule instrument with which he changed the world. Leader Mike Compton has long been one of the Monroe Doctrine’s finest modern day interpreters and teachers, including long stints playing with the Nashville Bluegrass Band and John Hartford. Recently, he treated us to a set by his new Helen Highwater String Band. This week he brings some of his faculty and campers to our stage to dive deep into the music of the guy we bluegrass fans affectionately call Bill.
On a Nashville-heavy night our one out of town act is Bay Area sibling band the T Sisters. They bring verve and many years of harmonic honing to the stage. The San Jose Mercury News recently wrote this about them: “As a snappy stage moniker the T Sisters makes perfect sense for Erika, Rachel and Chloe Tietjen, who perform together as an irresistibly joyful sibling combo steeped in American roots music. But given their far-ranging creative proclivities, they could be more accurately described as the A to Z Sisters.” Sounds promising.
Singer/songwriter Stephen Simmons is returning to Roots during an incredibly fruitful and prolific period, having released by my count four albums and digital collections in the past two years. I rang him up this week and he told me that he’s always written more songs than the typical two-year CD release cycle allowed. So he’s taking advantage of the digital now to put out more music, most recently Silly, Sad & True. Stephen comes from the gritty poetic troubadour tradition of Steve Earle (he gets that one a lot) and Robert Earl Keen. Noting fancy. Just a lot of honest observation and sharing set to sturdy tunes. This has earned him a strong fan base in Europe where he goes often (“I really, really love to travel,” he says). He’s long been associated with East Nashville, but now he’s moved to the Ryman Lofts, the artist housing apartment on Rolling Mill Hill. He likes it, with its thrumming of music at most hours and artists from many other disciplines and media to inspire.
Closing out the night will be the aural equivalent I think of a bow tie worn with overalls, a look sported often by the aforementioned Mike Compton. The Annie Moses Band is a string ensemble from Nashville with more than a few striking features. They’re all brothers and sisters from the Wolaver family (Annie Moses is the name of a family forebear). They all started classical training around age four, and most of them got involved with The Julliard School in New York for some rigorous conservatory training. They all steered away from pretty sweet opportunities in classical music to pursue a family ensemble concept that they call “classical Americana.” And they’ve taken this buttery smooth, bountiful sound to Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry and a lot of places in between, racking up tens of thousands of fans and an impressive tour schedule. They’re touring in support of their new album American Rhapsody, which, inspired by George Gershwin, arranges standards like “Shenandoah” and “Summertime” in a swirling timbre fest with Annie Wolaver Dupre taking the lead vocals. It’ll be refined and down home at the same time, which as I said at the top, feels like how I grew up.
Quick Hit: WVU's Mike Compton on 2016 College Hall of Fame Ballot
Quick Hit: WVU’s Mike Compton on 2016 College Hall of Fame Ballot
Compton played for WVU from 1989 to 1992 and went on to get drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He had the ability to play every position along the offensive line during his career, including long snapper. He won two Super Bowl Championships in his three seasons with the New England Patriots.
Already a member of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, the announcement of…
