On Nov. 9th the 500-seat auditorium at the new high school in Frostburg was packed with fans eager to hear Kathy Mattea. This was her final stop on her tour to promote her new CD, "Coal."

The country folk star took her performance gently into the "message music" direction by spicing her menu with a few "Coal" songs. She opened with "Dark as a Dungeon" and then added an up-tempo version of Jean Ritchie's "The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore" with the guitars and mandolin imitating a fast-moving train.

 

The three band members showed their instrumental expertise on several numbers with the slap bassist getting the loudest applause for his solos. Her steady finger-picking steady sideman guitarist, Bill Cooley, drove most ensemble numbers.

The coal theme continued with a finely performed version of Billy Edd Wheeler's "Coal Tattoo" and Jean Ritchie's "Blue Diamond Mines." At the suggestion of someone in the audience, she added Billy Edd Wheeler's "The Coming of the Roads."

Mattea satisfied her long-time fans by including, "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses," "Love at the Five and Dime" and "Where've You Been?" http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/kathy-mattea/whereve-you-been/623656/lyrics.jhtml

She says she enjoys her job and showed it in her relaxed delivery, her playful introductions of songs, and the mixture of material -- including a fast, bluesy version of "Gimme Shelter."

In her encores, she sang Hazel Dickens' "Black Lung" as an a capella solo with almost the same pathos that Dickens can deliver. What a concert! It was a crowning touch to the weekend.