Now then...where was I? Oh, of course! I was just about to tell you of Maura O'Connell's CD release party at Nashville's Station Inn.

It was June 18, 2009, and it was hot in Nashville that night. The music inside the little bluegrass/folk music club was even hotter! Maura had collected many of her family and friends, along with some of the very best performers in the music world, to introduce "Naked with Friends," her latest CD and a real winner!

The CD is a cappella (voices without other musical accompaniment), featuring Maura with Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Tim O'Brien, Darrell Scott, and Jerry Douglas. The style and song selection in the album may be a real departure from the usual Maura O'Connell sound, but it is amazing. Maura confesses that it was somewhat of a challenge, but listeners are in for a real treat.

Joining Maura onstage for different song selections was the Settles Connection, who are five fabulous singers: Odessa, Calvin, Wayne, Shirley and Todd, who is actually a 'Suttles'. Odessa, Calvin, and Wayne are children of the late Walter Settles, of the Fairfield Four. You cannot even imagine the richness of their powerful sound!
You must hear The Bright Blue Rose and Shipbuilding, to appreciate this incredible group of singers.

Dave Francis was also in the house! He goes back to Maura's early touring years. He played guitar and sang on The Blacksmith. John Mock and Don Johnson performed on guitar and bass, respectively.

For extra good measure, Maura brought along three Irish women to accompany her on several songs: Siobhan Kennedy, Fiona Prine (wife of John Prine), and Deirdre Kerr assisted with I Know My Love and some Gaelic songs this writer couldn't begin to pronounce.

Here are some highlights from the show at the Station Inn, and you will notice some familiar favorites along with the newer songs: To Be the One, I Love You in the Middle, Anach Cuain, Arrow, Some People's Lives, The Bright Blue Rose, Shipbuilding, This Beggar's Heart, The Weakness in Me, The Blacksmith, If My Love Knew, Blue Train, Summerfly, Galileo, Western Highway, and the oft-recited Irish Blessing, which was set to music by Jonell Mosser. An enthusiastic standing ovation came next for the efforts from everyone! Two encore numbers followed: Holly Near's Hay Una Mujer Desapercida, and Crazy Love. The Settles Connection, Irish friends, and all instrumentalists, plus the audience, joined Maura in singing Crazy Love. It was quite a moment!

We will just conclude by saying, "Get 'Naked with Friends,' and you won't regret it!"

Additional Information:
www.stationinn.com
www.mauraoconnell.com

AT times like that I wish I lived near Nashville! That sounds like a great night!

I am really enjoying the album more and more with each listen and I think it seems like it would really be fun live...

Sounds like a in incredible time!

Maura, please take this on the road, and please visit the NYC area.

Wow, what a night for the Nashvillians (Nashvilleites??), you lucky souls!

Thanks for the cool review Bluegrasshack!

Craig Shelburne was there, too, and wrote a nice blog entry about the show:

http://blog.cmt.com/2009-06-22/maura-o% ... -treasure/

The show was off the chart, best ever, grand slam, still recovering a week later. Clearly takes the number one spot for all time best Maura shows that I have ever attended. The Station Inn gets the top spot for all time live Maura venues. The only thing better than the S.I. would be her kitchen table which is where they did the rehearsal the night before per Mac/Maura. The Bright Blue Rose and Shipbuilding had us all teary eyed. Can't even describe how great the sound was with The Settles Connection on stage w/Maura on those two songs. We also got a treat with Poetic Justice from Stories which has been MIA from the setlist. Please keep playing that one!

Have a great time in Ireland! Please let me know when the next gig is w/The Settles Connection. Monette and I are going to fly out for the show.


Best,

Pat

Pat,

Dont you live in CA? Did you fly out for the show?


This album seems like it is perfect for a live set. I am looking forward to her next concert in NY.

Mike

Pat, you take the prize as the best of MO's fans; great to hear you were at the Station Inn CD launch, I wish we were there too, the venue sounds great; you're fortunate to have gotten there.

Maybe we'll have a NYC area show!!!!

Hi Mike and Bob,

So lucky I have clients in Nashville/Knoxville! I try to get out there at least twice a year. You both should fly down to Nashville for a Maura show at the Station Inn. It's always a convention of the best people on the planet. Looks like a will be in NYC at least 2 more times this year too!

Still trying to process the last show. Going to be hard to top that one. HUGE!

sounds really cool!!! I would love to go to Nashville to see her (and certainly might in the future)...Gotta wait until my son gets a bit older..


This album really seems like it would be phenomemal live! I remember that everytime she did "The Blessing" live it blew me away....As good as it was on the album, it was 10 times better live... I can only imagine how great the showwas!

I would love to hear her in Ennis, County Clare this Friday...I am sure that they will go wild for Ennis' Prodigal daughter. Forget about U2, Maura is in the house!

Any plans for a New York show, Mac?...No pressure, no pressure.

Anyhow, I am glad you had a great time Pat.

Mike

I don't have anything to do with booking, but I think the best way to tour this record would be to do a double-bill with Maura and the Settles Connection. It would knock people out.

The Station Inn show was one of the best shows I've seen her do.

Happy Fourth of July to all.

Mac

Ok, now here I am acting as a music booking agent person or something, but Music Without Borders is a NYC show producer (I think he owned Tramps in Manhattan, now closed) where he produces shows in various locales, one of which is the Rubin Museum in Manhattan and the Series is called something like Naked Soul in the Rubin Museum, a blurb is set forth below.

I will contact them to see if NAKED can be part of the NAKED SOUL SERIES:

Coming up at our Naked Soul series at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC are Alison Brown (7/31), John Gorka (8/7), Rodney Crowell (8/14) and Al Stewart (8/21). More info at www.rmanyc.org.

We're happy to partner with our friends at Theatermania where members receive discounts to Broadway Shows. Click here to join and you may win tickets to a Broadway show. It's free!

Please join us on Facebook by clicking the link below. We'll be sending out updates on new shows as they're confirmed plus we'll be doing ticket giveaways as well.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

All the best,
Steve Lurie
President, Music Without Borders



Nakedly yours,

P.S. Seeing MO in Ennis now that would be the ultimate hoot!

actually that lineup seems good

Mac, there isn't a video or audio or even clips or anything of the Station Inn CD release party is there??

and I am just curious to know how the show in Ennis went!

The show was an amazing thing. I can't list all the guests, but I'll give it a try.
(I know I'll miss some, so I hope the Clare Champion or Clare People will have a review up soon.)

John Prine, Tim O'Brien, Artie McGlynn, Ciaran Tourish, Mike Hanrahan, Charlie McGettigan, Declan O'Rourke, Maura's sister's Aine Derrane and Alisheen O'Connell, her niece Orla Derrane, regular collaborators Don Johnson and John Mock and a lot of others.

It was truly a beautiful evening; the Glor theatre was packed with 530 +, SRO.

Maura was radiant, spending something like three hours onstage, covering songs from the beginning to end of her career, along with solo performances form the guests. She did duets with Prine on Angel from Montgomery, In Spite of Ourselves and one other song (I can't remember the third, sorry!).

The atmosphere was a real love-fest for Maura; believe it or not, it was even better than the Station Inn show. The after-parties at O'Dea's pub and The Old Ground Hotel were jammed and went on until 6AM.

I've got to go; hopefully a real journalist will post a review soon.