MusicCityNashville.net: Saturday Night Showcasing at AmericanaFest with David Starr and Fanny Lumsden at the City Winery

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Saturday Night Showcasing at AmericanaFest with David Starr and Fanny Lumsden at the City Winery

by Rich and Laura Lynch

After a long week of almost non-stop music this year's edition of AmericanaFest wrapped up for us on Saturday, September 17, 2022 as we saved some of the best for last when we checked out showcasing sets from two very different acts - David Starr and Fanny Lumsden at the City Winery.

Saturday Night Showcasing at AmericanaFest with David Starr and Fanny Lumsden at the City Winery

Erik Stucky and David Starr at the City Winery Lounge in Nashville.

David Starr from Colorado is one of our favorite singer-songwriters ever since we "discovered" him just before the wheels fell off the world a week before the pandemic hit when he was in Nashville releasing his praiseworthy platter of music Beauty and Ruin that featured co-production and appearances from John Oates and Jim Lauderdale. Starr played several songs from the album including the title track and a personal anthem of triumph "Rise Up Again" whose title also adorned one of his fine sounding guitars.

David took time to thank the listeners for coming out to the upstairs lounge saying it's always more fun when there are people in the audience. He should know having just come off of an opening slot for America in his home state with his friend Erik Stucky for over 1000 fans. Stucky rejoined Starr in Nashville adding backing vocals, significant instruments, leads and melodic jamming on his mandolin providing texture and creating a bigger sound that just a solo performance normally generates. Starr is a fun artist to support because he is now releasing a new track every month so there is always new music to look forward to. His latest "Poison The Water" was not played on Lafayette Street but does find him channeling his best angry Don Henley as he champions an important environmental cause.

"Poison The Water" and the Prawn Stars.

Opening on the downstairs stage was Fanny Lumsden and the Prawn Stars - a large seven piece band who made the trek to AmericanaFest all the way from Australia. The friendly and bubbly Fanny reported that she used the down time due to the pandemic to start a family and make a lot of music. If there was an AmericanaFest award for "most committed" she should probably get that because it took a lot of effort to get to Nashville with her group and children in tow.

In Nashville, Fanny's band came out onstage wearing garb similar to the look made famous by the late and much loved Steve Irwin and his "Australia Zoo" giving them a unified and quirky appearance offset by Lumsden's striking pink one-piece that provided a focal point as she took center stage. In Australia, she is an award winning artist who regular tours the continent with her country music that contains a fair amount of pop and rock elements as she sings a combination of serious ("Fierce") and not so serious ("Peed In The Pool") songs. At the City Winery Fanny Lumsden and the Prawn Stars were seriously good as they begin their quest for wider global recognition.