Rosanne Cash live at Strathmore in North Bethesda review

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As a seasoned gamer with a profound appreciation for music, I must say that Rosanne Cash’s concert at the Music Center at Strathmore was nothing short of a masterclass in Americana music. Her performance was a beautiful blend of old and new, a testament to her deep-rooted connection with the rich tapestry of American music.

This week, Rosanne Cash found herself in Washington D.C., as there was a significant event happening – the unveiling of a statue honoring her father, country music icon Johnny Cash, in the United States Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Tuesday. Coincidentally, they were already scheduled to be in town, so Rosanne Cash and her husband John Leventhal took advantage of their presence by performing an energetic 1 hour and 45-minute concert with their six-piece band at the Music Center at Strathmore, located approximately 15 miles north of the Capitol Building in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Initially, Cash kicked off her performance by playing a few numbers from her Grammy-winning album, “The River & the Thread,” released in 2014. Subsequently, she moved to another album, “The Wheel,” which was released way back in 1993. This particular album holds a unique significance in Cash’s discography. It marked her transition following the end of her marriage with singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell. Several songs from this album reflected her nascent relationship with Leventhal, whom she later married.

What’s more pressing to discuss is that Cash’s contract with Columbia retained the rights to her album for three decades. Now, with those thirty years elapsed, she finally owns it. Collaborating with Leventhal, they have remastered and re-released this revamped version through their label Rumblestrip Records. To commemorate this event, Cash performed three songs from The Wheel, such as “You Won’t Let Me In,” “Tears Falling Down,” and the powerful rock track titled “The Wheel.

Rosanne Cash is still teaching fans lessons about the richness of American music

Cash revealed that the unveiling of her father’s statue would occur, followed by the performance of “The World Unseen,” a track from her 2006 album Black Cadillac, which was in memory of Johnny. By the end of the song, she was on the brink of tears and needed a brief pause to regain her composure before moving forward.

During the performance, four of the musicians started to depart one by one, eventually leaving only Cash and Leventhal. Initially, Misty Boyce on the keyboard and Sam Katz on the bass were the ones who left. The remaining group played a song titled “That’s All I Know About Arkansas” from Leventhal’s first album.

Beyond collaborating with his spouse, Leventhal has penned songs, performed alongside, and produced numerous prominent figures in Americana music for over four decades. He’s garnered six Grammy Awards during this time. However, as Johnny Cash presented his song, “It took him seventy years to release his debut,” Leventhal described it as a blend between the Malian guitar player Ali Farka Toure and the Stanley Brothers. To me, it seemed like a unique mix of swampy bluegrass funk – assuming such a genre exists.

Following the departure of the other musicians, it was just Cash and Leventhal left on stage. We belted out three consecutive covers – “Long Black Veil,” a song I had practiced as one of the 100 country classics my father had shared with me, the Don Gibson classic “Sea of Heartbreak,” which Cash had previously collaborated on with Bruce Springsteen, and an absolutely mesmerizing rendition of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” Leventhal started us off beautifully with his acoustic guitar.

Upon their complete comeback, they performed a soulful electric anthem, “She Remembers Everything,” which Johnny Cash co-wrote with Sam Phillips, and “The Only Thing Worth Fighting For,” a song penned with T Bone Burnett and Lera Lynn for the second season of True Detective. Cash expressed her affection for the song, yet admitted she hasn’t seen the series as it is reported to contain graphic violence that does not align with her preferences.

She recognized her ex-husband Crowell’s exceptional songwriting skills, yet she muted the crowd’s enthusiasm as she prepared to perform “When the Master Calls the Roll,” one of his compositions.

The peak of the night occurred when Cash and Leventhal performed solo in the center stage. Their casual yet hilarious conversation was a standout moment. However, other band members also had their shining instances. Guitarist Kevin Berry’s pedal steel enriched around six songs during the event, and he and Leventhal delivered electrifying dueling solos on the rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Tennessee Flattop Box.

As a die-hard fan, I was thrilled when the band wrapped up their primary performance with the cherished anthem “Seven Year Ache.” They didn’t stop there, though; they came back for more, treating us to an encore of Bob Dylan’s “Farewell Angelina,” a song that Joan Baez first recorded over five decades ago. Rosanne Cash has an impressive repertoire of her own songs, but her performances are always a tribute to the deep roots of American music. That legacy was instilled in her by her father, and she’s been passing it on to us ever since.

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2024-09-23 16:00