They started promptly at 7:00 p.m. with the thumping, arcing surf music instrumental by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones “Miserlou” and then the Hank Williams bumptious classic “Tear the Wood Pile Down” that featured soloing from the man Marty Stuart calls “Cousin” Kenny Vaughn and Stuart himself, too.  

Next came a Beatle-esque rendition of “Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore” featuring a dancing bass part reminiscent of “I Saw Her Standing There,” from “Professor” Chris Scruggs, who Stuart pointed out was country music royalty. The last name is a likely clue.

Stuart and the Superlatives’ rendition of “I’m Tempted” was an Orbisonized phenomenon with Stuart’s able pipes in fine form. For “The Whisky Ain’t Working,” a 1991 number he recorded with Travis Tritt and won a Grammy for, Stuart got the audience involved, singing out that memorable chorus. 

Throughout the night Stuart and Vaughn traded thrilling solos.  Each Fabulous Superlative also got chances to show off his vocal command, including drummer Harry Stinson who sang and drummed at the same time.  

As one would expect of the man Ken Burns called “the president of country music,” Stuart told stories in his engaging way between tunes, evoking the scene of himself as a boy running off the Flatts-Scruggs tour bus before it could stop up in Heber Springs when he saw his parents and siblings waiting for him and, more recently, sending songwriting collaborator Wyatt McCubbin home with a guitar once owned by the great Jimmy Rodgers and assigning him to write the train song that turned out to be “Some Trains Just Won’t Wait.”  

All in all, the concert was one I’ll never forget, so well-played and sung with commitment and passion. Interim Hempstead Hall Executive Director Katie Daniels was happy as well with this first big concert of 2025: ” We were thrilled to start off our year with such a bang that was Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives. He put on an absolutely electric and unforgettable performance.  There are many more events like that one coming to Hope, AR by way of Hempstead Hall so keep an eye out. We can guarantee that if it's at HH, it's going to be good!”