This was the show that almost wasn’t. While I was cruising the backroads between St. Louis and Evansville on my new v-twin, Al was leaving messages on the answering machine that would have made me nervous had I heard them in sequence. But my message machine plays in reverse order, so the first message from Al started with “It looks like we’ll be able to make it tonight after all.” It thrned out that Emily was fighting a bout of laryngitis, and it cleared up just enough by mid-day to make the performance.
Al and Emily Cantrell cast a magical spell with their airy, joyful acoustic songs. Emily uses her voice as an instrument on soaring vocals like a country Joni Mitchell, while Al plays off her Martin guitar with spirited fiddling and a dazzling mandolin technique–his music weaves through her words as if the two were locked in an intuitive dance.It sure was something to listen to this talented duo.