Doug Van Pelt

Marty Stuart

Packing in the old wooden pews of Central Presbyterian Church were plenty of old and young rockers that truly appreciate the blues scale and the strong imprint that Gospel music has had on Americana and rock and roll. After a late start, Stuart and his bandmates began with an a cappela rendition of an old hymnal standard and then plugged in their instruments to fill the room with electricity. Some danced in the aisles as the romping, clap-along music rocked. Especially notable were Stuart's guitar playing and the slide and lead-playin' accompaniment by Kenny Vaughan. After closing with a Pop Staples number, the stage hosted a real-time hootenanny with Billy Bragg, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Stuart, and many others.