Rachel Hale (middle) of Prescott sings as guitarist Jack Hawkins (left) accompanies her and (to her right) Lance Carpenter, Mae Estes and C.J. Solar look on at Hempstead Hall Saturday night.
Early in the Hope for the Holidays concert Saturday night, Prescott singer songwriter Rachel Hale said, “We thought it would be fun to bring a Songwriter’s Round to Hope, Arkansas.” And assuredly that is what she and the other three artists--Mae Estes of Hope, Lance Carpenter of Ozark and C.J. Solar of Baton Rouge--brought to Hempstead Hall from Nashville, Tennessee where all four live and work now.
Black-hatted C.J. Solar mentioned before his first song of the show that his mother and maternal grandmother Betty McHenry, longtime fifth-grade teacher at Edith Brown whose roster in the fall of 1982 included me, both long-time Hope residents were in attendance. Though raised in Baton Rouge, Solar's Arkansas ties certainly qualified him for inclusion in the show if his talents alone did not, but they certainly did.
Starting with Rachel Hale, who acted during the two-hour show as host, the four took turns playing their own songs. Hale began with the seasonally appropriate “Can You Hear the Sound?” a rhythmic depiction of the oncoming spirit of the Christmas holidays approaching “with a little bit of Crosby so iconic.” Lance Carpenter applied his big, assuring voice to a song whose lyrics were from the point of view of one of the southwest Arkansas farmer’s favorite things, a faithful tractor, “Back in My Hay Days.”
Mae Estes answered with what she said could be considered a New Year’s Resolution song, “I Quit Smokin’.” which boasts of a false lover’s wiles losing their power. C.J Solar played the song “Blue Bandana,” about meeting a fetching lass at Merlefest whose invitation to follow her on the music festival circuit the singer regrets turning down. Now he’s wised up and will be trailing her from New Orleans to Newport to Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo for a sight of her Blue Bandana. But like Keats' Grecian Urn lover, he seems destined never to embrace her.
The evening proceeded this way, through about seven rounds of songs and the writing quality never flagged. Neither did the singers’ voices or guitar chops. You also got a great sense from the artist’s stories of songwriting as a social activity. Seldom was the case of a song arriving in one scheduled session complete. Instead, verses had to wait sometime son choruses. Collaborators contemplated might be needed and might not be. Friends, husbands and wives’ encouragement was sought or received. Songs turned down by publishers were embraced by audiences and brought to Hope for even more applause.
To attend Saturday night was to become convinced something in Hope’s water generates preserving, honest music talent and to hope it keeps returning to show off what it takes from other places, whether Nashville, Juilliard or the North Pole.
The proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Southwest Arkansas Arts Council, which helped organize the evening.
