Last Night: Sleepless Nights Gram Parsons Tribute

By Hiya Swanhuyser Sat., Jan. 16 2010 at 5:37 PM

Categories: Last Night

Pin It

9th Annual Sleepless Nights: Gram Parsons Tribute Concert
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010
Great American Music Hall

Better Than: Ninety percent of all other tribute shows.

Eric Shea and Molly Tuttle are all-stars of the local country music scene -- their taste is infallible, they smile a lot, and they love love love Gram Parsons. Their ninth annual Sleepless Nights tribute concert was proof of all of the above, as band after band let Parsons' sweet hippie melodies roll out over the audience.

It was a class act from the second I got there -- a band onstage was singing the Byrds' version of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," not an easy harmony to nail. Running into Sweet Chariot's Noelle Cahill, I asked which band it was.

"That's the Parties, and they're killing." she said quickly, so that we could both get back to listening. Paula Frazer and Elisa Randazzo fronted a beautiful band that appeared to have the ghost of Parsons himself on drums while Frazer nailed "Hickory Wind." The Real Sippin' Whiskeys got some excellent Gram/Emmylou harmonies in there.

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.