IT was the turn of bluegrass music to take the spotlight when Washington DC act Wayne Taylor took to the stage with his four-piece band, Appaloosa.

Taylor, pictured right with his band, possesses a fine musical pedigree and impressed from the moment he went into the song Gonna Ride My Appaloosa.

While bluegrass music is known for its up-tempo tunes, Taylor and the boys didn’t fall into the trap of over-playing, as they blended reflective odes Cold Cold River and freeflowing Dirt Road with a Gordon Lightfoot-sounding Girl From the North Country Fair.

Taylor and the band’s greatest skill was arguably their ability to bring old-fashioned down-home country values to the table and served with organic produce you can pay a king’s ransom for.

Special mention must go to the exquisite dobro of Dave Giegerich on a splendid rendition of Wabash Cannonball, while right-hand man Emory Lester not only picked some mighty mandolin, but with Mark Johnson (banjo) formed with Taylor a tight three-piece harmony unit.

As time began to win the battle and encores were imminent, they did justice to old favourite Everybody’s Talkin’ and turned heads with a superb version of When I’m Gone (500 miles).

Opening for them were localbased up-and-coming Mothers’ Ruin, who were down to a three-piece for the night and, as always, did all that was asked of them.

Maurice Hope