By Mark Plotnick & Jim Summaria
Photos: Jim Summaria
Concert Review
Artists: Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar
Where: Fitzgerald’s, Berwyn, IL
When: Thursday, August 29th
By Mark Plotnick and Jim Summaria
Photos: Jim Summaria
For a century, the Berwyn building on the 6600 block of West Roosevelt Road has been many things to many people. But as the live music venue Fitzgerald’s - named after the owners in 1980 - one aspect stays constant: the impressive stream of eclectic acts that appear year after year.
What makes Fitzgerald’s special? As Chicago musician Dag Juhlin puts it, “The music is in the [venue’s] bloodstream. It is a place that is revered by musicians.” And let me add - an atmosphere that implores its faithful patrons to leave their troubles outside because good times await inside.
This is why so many acts like renowned slide guitar maestro Sonny Landreth return repeatedly. Based on my count, Landreth has played Fitzgerald’s nearly every year since 2002. And for the third time in three years, his touring partner is lap steel virtuoso Cindy Cashdollar. And yes…that’s her real surname.
Geography Makes for Strange Bedfellows
Although his life began in Mississippi, Sonny Landreth is Louisianan through and through. His solo recording career spans fourteen albums from the early 1980s to present day. The prestigious performers he’s worked with include Clifton Chenier (Sonny’s mentor), John Hiatt, Jimmy Buffett, Mark Knopfler, Kenny Loggins, Peter Frampton, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Vince Gill, Robben Ford, BeauSoleil and Eric Clapton – the latter calling Landreth “one of the most advanced musicians on the planet.”
About 1,400 miles separate Louisiana from Woodstock, NY – a hip music community in the state’s Hudson Valley. It is where Cindy Cashdollar was born, raised and returned in 2015. For twenty-six years, she lived in Austin, TX. Eight of those years were spent playing Dobro (a brand of resonator guitar) and laptop slide guitar with the western swing band, Asleep at the Wheel.
During that period, Cindy earned five Grammy awards. Her skills as a slide player on steel guitar and laptop earned her a spot (as the first woman) in the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame. And last but not least, The Country Music Hall of Fame welcomed her as a “Nashville Cat,” an honor given to supporting musicians who make significant contributions to other performers in the studio and on stage. She is the music world’s version of Wonder Woman!
Although Cashdollar has recorded only two solo records under her own name, she has contributed to the works of Bob Dylan (his Grammy winning album Time Out of Mind), Dolly Parton, Paul Butterfield, The Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks), Rod Stewart, Rick Danko and Levon Helm (of The Band), Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Marcia Ball, and the Prairie Home Companion band featured on National Public Radio’s long-running program.
And as expert at her craft, Cashdollar has produced instructional DVDs and held teaching workshops.
Musical Soulmates
In a way, these geographically distant musicians are soulmates. Their instrumental skills and influences intersect like a Venn diagram. Both have found inspiration in slide guitar. Landreth explains, “Listen to the old Delta blues records where they are using the slide to emulate the human voice. To give [the guitar] more expression. More soul. As time has gone on, I’ve realized the potential it has for different genres.”
Cashdollar confirms: “The sound of slide guitar in general is very emotional, and playing with a slide is almost similar to singing, the way you control pitch and vibrato.”
Landreth and Cashdollar are musician’s musicians: innovative players who can adapt to many styles. Their understanding of melody, different tunings, and playing in many keys are reasons they are sought out by others. They can complement a partner’s song or step out on their own with a stirring solo. Their influences are a melting pot of Americana roots music: zydeco, Creole, bluegrass, folk, country, western, rock, and blues.
Although Landreth is rooted more in the blues, Cashdollar’s respect for the genre runs deep: “I would have loved to have been present at any of the early Muddy Waters recording sessions.”
Landreth and Cashdollar love their gear. Their choice of slides, guitars, amps, strings and foot pedals are essential to the tones and textures they create. And they can fingerpick with the best!
Early Influences
At an early age, Cindy was exposed to a diverse group of musicians who lived and played in her hometown of Woodstock, NY. These encounters changed her life. Among these musicians were Bob Dylan, local bluegrass legend John Herald, Odetta, Happy Traum, Art Tatum and John Hammond, Jr. “Hearing so many kinds of music in my teens was like a soundtrack of early influences.”
Landreth started out on trumpet, but his instrument of choice soon changed when he saw Elvis Presley on television. But it wasn’t Elvis’ playing that interested him but rather Scotty Moore and his guitar.
At age 17, he saw three concerts that were life changing: B.B King, Jimi Hendrix and Zydeco King Clifton Chenier. The young man became a member of the Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana band. It was here where he learned to survive musically by playing late into the evening without breaks and having to learn a variety of keys, rhythms and styles.
The Concert
When touring together, Landreth and Cashdollar customarily perform seated. Some might define their performance as “laid back,” giving the false impression of lacking energy. Rather, the two made difficult music look effortless and their performance was akin to a “back porch” concert given to a few neighborhood friends. Tonight, Fitzgerald’s was sold out with “neighborhood friends” who came to see these two gifted musicians.
The pair generated excitement through their complementary and dexterous guitar skills. Cashdollar conveyed a sense of focus and quiet intensity when playing, but there were plenty of moments when her face flashed a smile or an emotional grimace. Her playing philosophy is “less is more,” something bassist Rick Danko taught her years ago. She believes in “sticking to the song, the feel, and the heart of the music.” But when more was needed, Cashdollar delivered precise and imaginative bursts that left club patrons in awe.
Landreth tends to be the “busier” player. A leg and foot kept time like an old bluesman stomping on a wooden porch. The Louisianan handled vocal duties throughout the 80-minute set. He considers himself more of Tom Petty type vocalist.
The concert’s thirteen song set (two were encores) opened with a Landreth original – the title track from his 1981 album Blues Attack. According to Landreth, he woke up one morning with the song in his head and wrote it on his way to the recording studio.
Next up was the ubiquitous blues tune “Key to the Highway,” by Big Bill Broonzy. Landreth first recorded a cover for his 2015 album Bound by the Blues. That LP was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues album and earned Landreth a Best Instrumental Blues Guitarist award from the Blues Foundation. Landreth has said, “If I’ve ever had a theme song, that would be it. All of my heroes have done it and it’s still to me one of the greatest blues tunes ever written.”
The two followed with a song from Landreth’s latest album Blacktop Run. “Don’t Ask Me” was written by his Sonny’s longtime buddy and keyboard player, Steve Conn, who has played on many of his studio recordings.
One of evening’s highlights was “A World Away” from Landreth’s album The Road We’re On. One of Landreth’s favorite song types is a slow, minor key blues. “I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful.”
Another evening highlight was Landreth’s road song “Blacktop Run” from the album of the same name. When making this album, Landreth recorded specific songs that were “built” for studio play while others were more reflective of how they’d be performed live. When playing as a duo or trio, Landreth finds it rewarding to strip down songs to their essence.
Landreth and Cashdollar followed with “Juke Box Mama” -- a Landreth song with a most unusual backstory. Landreth’s friend and professional photographer, Jack Spencer, was shooting cover photos at a Louisiana Creole bar for the album The Road We’re On. One of the photos captured Landreth’s Fender Stratocaster standing up against a jukebox. It triggered memories and inspired Landreth to write the song. Although the album was already recorded, it was too good to leave out.
A nod to the late, great Paul Butterfield followed. The pair delivered a version of “Done a Lot of Things Wrong” recorded years ago by Paul Butterfield’s Better Days band. In a past interview, Cashdollar recalled Butterfield fondly, “Listening to [Paul] sing and play [blues harp] was like hearing the past and the present rolled into one amazing artist. And he had the most cynical sense of humor when observing human behavior…which always made me laugh.”
More blues followed with cover versions of “Walkin Blues” by the legendary Son House and “It Hurts Me Too,” first recorded by Tampa Red in 1940. Both songs were part of Landreth’s blues tribute album, Bound by the Blues.
Finally, those waiting for a Cindy Cashdollar song were rewarded with “Foggy Mt. Rock,” a fast-paced country blues instrumental from her latest album, Waltz for Abilene. Cashdollar and Landreth performed an inspiring cover of the Flatt and Scruggs song and for a moment, Fitzgerald’s felt like the Grand Ole Opry!
The concert’s regular setlist concluded with Landreth’s Cajun style rocker “Back to Bayou Teche.” The song’s lyrics refer to lovers separated by distance, with one longing for the other’s return to Bayou Teche - a heritage waterway in South Central Louisiana that runs alongside the town where Landreth lives (Breaux Bridge). The song concluded with the two trading inspired riffs. Not surprisingly, Landreth believes that the purest form of music is improvised. “When it flows, it’s exhilarating.” In the end, everyone at Fitzgerald’s was a believer.
Two encores followed. The first was “Prodigal Son,” another nod to Landreth’s love of the blues. The song was written in1964 by Reverend Robert Wilkins, an old former blues singer who turned minister. Landreth mentioned the Rolling Stones version from their Beggar’s Banquet album.
The show ended with “Sey Seychelles,” a hauntingly beautiful song arranged by Cindy Cashdollar. The studio version appears on her superb 2020 album Waltz for Abilene. It is highly recommended.
For fledgling musicians in the audience, there were lessons to be learned from this inspiring concert. In previous interviews, Landreth advised aspiring musicians: “Do your homework, woodshed and get your chops together. Dig deep into music history and learn the backstories of songs. And you never know who is in the audience that might lead to something.”
Cashdollar offers this advice on playing slide: “Make sure you have total control and knowledge of how to use the slide bar and get comfortable with fingerpicks…then you’ll be free to play what sounds good to you and not worry about the technical parts.”
About the Authors: Mark Plotnick is the co-author, with photographer Jim Summaria, of the books Classic Rock: Photographs From Yesterday & Today and the October 2024 release ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts
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