Concert review: Blue Canyon Boys, Jackson Earles

Last Saturday, February 8, thanks to High Street Concerts, Rogers Hall in Lyons was supercharged with toe-tappin’ talent.

The evening kicked off with Jackson Earles of Boulder, an inspired industry fledgling with a fine finished sound who is soon headed to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. On stage with Earles were Lyons legends Dylan McCarthy and Eric Thorin. About Earles’ originals, Thorin confessed that “this sixteen-year-old’s original compositions are some of the most complex and challenging I’ve ever played.”

The talent-drenched quartet of Gary Dark on mandolin, Lyons local Jason Hicks on guitar, Drew Garrett on bass, and Chris Roszell on banjo, aka Blue Canyon Boys, eagerly sashayed onto the stage after Earles. These seasoned and award-winning Bluegrass boundary-blurrers and genre-benders had the grinning sold-out audience applauding with approval.

Eyes misted during Hicks’ sweet “Rocky Mountain Stars,” and the band’s harmonic prowess in their version of Pink Floyd’s “Time” wowed the crowd of all ages.

Beyond old-timey and high-lonesome, the Blue Canyon Boys’ unique live show is a blending of maestro musicianship, crisp gentlemanly humor, and animated antics, making it a must-see experience.

When Earles’ trio and Blue Canyon Boys co-mingled for the finale, it was like a banner fireworks show, with one sizzling solo after another.

Thanks to the stellar volunteers and sponsors of the non-profit High Street Concerts, nationally-recognized acoustic music in a house-concert-like setting has been a gem for the Lyons community since 2003.