Written by Eddie Ferranti – November 02, 2019
It is always nice when you get a tip on a gig from a reliable source and it works out. This happened recently when our fellow HMR buds, Ellen and James, told us about Beat Root Revival who adorned the stage at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston. They had caught them in Taos, New Mexico at the Big Barn Dance in 2019 and said they are the real deal. The duo consists of Ben Jones on bass and guitars and Andrea Magee on bodhran, guitar, and flute. They call Austin, Texas home now after coming over from the UK and Belfast. They have found a niche in Texas for their hook laden rocking blues sound with a Celtic flavor to it. Relentless touring has paid off for them to even open for the likes of Brian Setzer and Brian Wilson. Very nice company indeed.
BRR is touring on their latest album, “Up”, which they featured this evening at a close to packed house in this acoustic masterpiece of a venue. To say that they stormed the stage is putting it mildly. Tunes like the title cut ”Up” which is catchy as hell, “Come On Over”, and “Instincts” set the joint on fire. Energetic and bombastic come to mind as adjectives to describe their trading off of lead singing with harmonies beautiful and smooth as silk. “Hold On” featured thoughtful lyrics about making sure to do what you want in life before that last sandwich! They definitely had a 60’s vibe to them all the way down to Andrea’s bell bottom pants. It has been five years since they came to the USA to chase their dreams of playing music instead of being a high school teacher like Magee was. Ben was never at a loss for words and possessed a quirky sense of humor that tickled the audience a bunch.
An absolutely stunning moment was their rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, which found Andrea kickin’ up her heels as Jones shred his guitar. An amazing and passionate cover that brought goose bumps was followed by another with Jimmy LaFave’s “Never Is A Moment” done in a cool upbeat style. By the way, it should be noted that Bill Kirchen thought so highly of Jones that he brought him on stage to play with him at the early show this night!
Catching shows like this makes me appreciate what we do. A couple of talented individuals leave jobs across the pond, embark on crossing the USA from Seattle to Boston, and end up in our neck of the woods bringing heartfelt boldness to their songs just for us. You have to see them live to get the bigger than life feel permeate from the stage like there is a full band. They spoke of never giving up on your passion. Talk about practicing what you preach. The stretch run featured smoking hot “Sit Me Down Woman Blues”, growling vocals and snappy licks on “Won’t Go Down”, and a yet another clever cover of “Something In The Air” for an encore. I cannot say enough about their positive attitude which was on display all evening. January 9,2020 they will be back. Grab you some of that attitude your own self will ya?! God bless LIVE music. SUPPORT IT PLEASE…….