Linda McRae & Amelia White Live Concert @ Godfrey Daniels (Bethlehem, PA – April 25, 2025)
Now you may say Godfrey Daniels. And wonder what type of club is this? A bar? Café? Music venue? I found the establishment to be like a younger brother to New York’s Bitter End. Small functional stage, reasonable seating, good sound, lighting & a reputation in the folk circles that’s quite impressive. The club opened in 1976 by its founder Dave Fry & since then it’s played host to several musical giants.
There are footprints on the stage that belonged to Martin Carthy, Dave Van Ronk, John Sebastian, Steve Forbert, Maria Muldaur, Chris Smither, Kinky Friedman, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, John Hartford, the Fairfield Four, Colin Hay, Peter Tork & many others like Amelia White & Linda McRae…who coincidently appeared Friday, April 25th while I was there. How fortunate.
From Vancouver, Canada & now Nashville, Ms. McRae was a former member of the band Spirit of the West, who earned (2 platinum & 3 gold records). Lately, she’s been plowing her own critically acclaimed solo field. The first time working together, Linda (acoustic guitars/banjo/multi-instrumentalist) is joined by Amelia White, a fine folk singer & acoustic guitarist, for Linda McRae & Amelia White Live Concert @ Godfrey Daniels (Bethlehem, PA – April 25, 2025).
They instantly displayed their acute acoustic interplay & excellent singing, alone & together, during their trade-off of mostly original songs. The concert was a straight-run (no intermission) with Amelia starting with her moody “Beyond the Great Pause.” A peculiar positive take on how COVID affected her career. Quite clever. Amelia jokingly stated that many of her songs are melancholy, but even so, I found her performance persuasive & distinctive.
However, her song narrative “Yuma” — a tragic true story was rendered well in a folky style to an audience that sat & listened intently. The banter between songs was brief & enlightening. Linda provided some laughs with her humorous stories & dedicated a cover of an old Hank Williams song to my wife Diane, who was in the audience. Diane had earlier said to Linda that her father used to play Hank’s songs to her when she was a child. Linda gave her a nice surprise of Hank’s “Ramblin’ Man” on banjo.
This tune was followed by a sad Linda original song that I didn’t get the title of. It was loaded with images & smartly conceived lyrics. There were also some novelty songs. Linda with Amelia did an upbeat original “All Vine, No Tater” followed by the well-written “Rosie” performed by Amelia solo & reminiscent of the wonderful artist Cris Williamson.
After receiving a poem from an 80-year-old inmate in prison called “Flowers of Appalachia” Linda got permission to put a melody to his words. The absorbing song was quite impressive & moving. Amelia’s original “Dogs Bark” came on the heels of that & then Linda came back with a rousing gospel singalong: “Be Your Own Light.”
It was an intimate, diversified set with no big ensemble. Just two musicians singin’ & pickin’ in Bethlehem, PA instead of on a back porch with a bloodhound & some hooch. The finale, “You Are My Sunshine,” & the encore, David Bowie’s “Heroes,” concluded a satisfying, memorable evening of music & the launch of their tour as a duo.
Godfrey Daniels can now add Ms. White & Ms. McRae’s pictures to their walls. Next year Linda will tour Scotland & hopefully a new LP will take root for both artists.
Repertoire – “Beyond the Great Pause,” “Trippin’ Around the Sun,” “Yuma,” “All Vine, No Tater,” “Rosie,” “Flowers of Appalachia,” “Dogs Bark,” “Be Your Own Light,” “You Are My Sunshine,” & “Heroes.”
Linda’s color image: courtesy of Alan Messer Photography. Linda McRae CDs @ https://www.lindamcrae.com/
Amelia’s color image: courtesy of her website gallery. Amelia White CDs @ https://www.ameliawhite.com/
Live on-stage image of Amelia (L) & Linda (R) courtesy of John Apice.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Key to the Highway: Amelia White and here: REVIEW: Linda McRae’s “Going to the Well” Peels Back the Skin of Truth
