Southern Rail Rocks the Rose Garden

“Bluegrass is one of the great American musical inventions,” said singer Jim Muller in between songs. That invention was on full display Saturday night at the Rose Garden Coffee House, where Muller and his four-piece band Southern Rail played two 50-minute sets for an audience of about fifty people.

Running through originals as well as American classics by the likes of Merle Haggard and Bill Monroe, Southern Rail showcased just how diverse bluegrass can be. With just a guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, and their voices, Southern Rail played everything from bluegrass standbys to instrumental ballads to an a capella hymn.

“It’s a demanding music,” said Muller. Veterans of the genre, Southern Rail has been playing in one form or another for 33 years. As the band frankly put it, “we’re about half as old as bluegrass music itself.” Muller and his bandmates encouraged the crowd to support Bluegrass by going to live shows and attending bluegrass festivals.

“If you’ve never been to a festival, it’s an experience,” said bassist Sharon Horovitch, Muller’s wife.

It was the band’s first-ever appearance at the Rose Garden, a local coffee house is in its 22nd season of operation. The volunteer-run venue puts on about eight shows a year. They will will be hosting Vance Gilbert on May 21.