Kingston Trio Delights Landmark Audience With Classic Folk Music

The sold-out concert took place on Friday, November 11th, and marked the second time that the renowned trio had performed at Landmark on Main Street’s Jeanne Rimsky theater.

The Kingston Trio has been together (in one form or another) since 1957. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s almost SIXTY years since the band was formed. The original 1957 trio included Bob Shane (who is still involved, and occasionally plays with the band), Nick Reynolds, and Dave Guard. The release of their song “Tom Dooley” in 1958 began the popular folk music culture, influencing such performers as Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez. Over the next several decades, the lineup of the Kingston Trio changed, but the sound did not. The tight harmonies, clean vocals, and energetic guitar strumming that were the hallmarks of their performances have lived on in every incarnation of the group.

The current lineup consists of Bill Zorn (who first joined in 1976), George Grove on banjo (who joined at about the same time), and Rick Dougherty, formerly of the Limeliters (who joined the group in 2005). Dressed in their signature matching striped shirts, the three men took the stage armed with acoustic guitars, and in the case of George Grove, a banjo.

I have been listening to the Kingston Trio for my entire life. Indeed, they’ve been together longer than I’ve been alive. Like many in the audience, the Kingston Trio was the soundtrack of my childhood, and for that reason I was especially thrilled when they began their performance and sounded exactly the same as they had decades ago. The trademark harmonies, the entertaining stories, the sheer joy in the music – all those qualities are still there.

They played the songs that the audience knew and loved, including “The Sinking of The Reuben James,” “The New Frontier,” “Tom Dooley,” “Scotch and Soda,” and “M.T.A.” In addition, they played songs off their “new” (2012) CD, Born at the Right Time, including “La Migra” with some beautiful guitar work by George Grove (who is a multi-instrumentalist). The audience loved the charming stories, mostly told by Bill Zorn, including the one preceding the “Sloop John B” when he said “they stole it from US” (referring to the Beach Boys).

But the very best part of the evening were the two closing numbers, which turned into giant sing alongs as 400 plus audience members sang Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” followed by Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” These songs seemed as relevant today as they ever had before.

The Kingston Trio are as wonderful as ever. According to Bill Zorn, they tour 30 weeks a year. If they are playing near you, don’t hesitate to see them.

This show was part of Landmark on Main Street’s Fabulous Folk series. The next in this series is Kathy Mattea on Feb. 12, 2017. For more information, visit www.lanmarkonmainstreet.org

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