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... by Joanne Corsano ... joanne@picturelake.com

The Lonesome Brothers
click thumbnail to see a photo gallery
of the concert

Jim Armenti, guitar, vocals; Ray Mason, bass, vocals; Keith Levreault, drums; Scott Hall, keyboards.

Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.

All Jacked Up

All Around You

How about two shows in a row that couldn't be more different. After seeing a former Beatle last night, this time around we didn't have to go through any metal detectors, and this time the performers themselves greeted us with a big smile and invited us to sit up front in the premium seats. This longstanding Pioneer Valley musical combo has been playing a weekend at the Hyland Orchard during their apple picking season for many years.

This year, besides the essential trio of Ray Mason on bass, Jim Armenti on guitar, and Keith Levreault on drums, we had the extra treat of Scott Hall sitting in on keys. I'd heard Scott before -- twice, actually, celebrating Ray Mason's 60th birthday and the Lonesome Brothers' 25 anniversary at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Sept. 10, 2010, and then again at a Lonesome Brothers concert on Feb. 15, 2020, just before the pandemic. But this was the first time I'd had the chance to talk to him. He loves playing with the Lonesomes, and took a little bit of gentle teasing from Ray for the fat notebook he has kept for a lengthy bit of time with notes on how to play along with a couple of hundred spontaneous Lonesome Brothers tunes. His keyboards added a lot to the songs. We also met his dad going back to the car after the show, who had enjoyed hearing his son play in this hick rock band!

As for the music, it was just grand. They call it diesel therapy, giving a nod to the bit of country, and all those car songs, that are in there, but Jim particularly rocks out quite a bit, and Ray's not shy about exposing his tender side. They're both clever at putting words and melody together, and I've never heard a Lonesome Brothers song I haven't liked. Everything was especially nice topped off with Keith's drumming and Scott's keyboarding. Songs about parties, about procrastination, songs about girls, about swamptown girls, songs that took you for a ride, songs down by the water, water that's off of a duck, a requester who's shy, a red rover, a guy named George who's frozen, songs all around you, about drinking in dreams, and to top it all off, a rockin' explanation of everything we just heard in the form of NRBQ's "It Comes To Me Naturally." These guys have been at it for three and a half decades bringing a toe tappin' good time to western Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley; this is the seventh time I've seen them together (along with many times seeing Ray as a solo artist or with the Ray Mason Band) and I hope I'll get that chance many more times.

Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Ray, his band, and more Lonesome Brothers.