Aunt Maudie’s at 1207 Main St., in Over-the-Rhine is remembered — beloved, really — for attracting a youthful, raised-on-Rock audience to live traditional Bluegrass in the 1970s. It helped set the stage for Americana’s current popularity in Cincinnati.
While Aunt Maudie’s is long gone (the site is now the home of the Cincy By the Slice pizza spot), Brandon Scott has begun having shows in the building’s upstairs space using the name Maudie’s. And he uses the label “Aunt Maudie’s Night” when bringing in Bluegrass-influenced Americana acts.
He has an excellent one in Grace & Tony (White), a husband-and-wife duo from Loretto, Tenn. Both stringed-instrument players, they have released one well-received album, November.
Tony is the brother of The Civil War’s John Paul White, while the duo’s music is a country cousin to that of Shovel & Rope’s Michael Trent and Carrie Ann Hearst in its evocation of “Punkgrass.” They sing out strongly and play thoughtful, clever compositions with a high-energy, heavy-strumming, swinging ebullience that embraces Southern roots but also shows a love for the exciting, concise music of The Ramones.
November’s kick-off (and kick-ass) tune, “Hey Grace, Hey Tony,” is an irresistible call-and-response affirmation of their musical vision as well as their bond to each other, and the record continues with rousing compositions like “Holy Hand Grenade,” “Electricity Bomb” and “The Chameleon.”
Saturday’s show also features Louisville’s Misty Mountain String Band, a quartet whose vision of contemporary Bluegrass is expansive enough to include performances with the Louisville Philharmonia Orchestra.
GRACE & TONY and MISTY MOUNTAIN STRING BAND plays Maudie's Saturday, Aug. 30. Find more info here .
