Buddy system in effect as 3 Girls show expands format at Kate Wolf festival

The all-star quartet ensemble 3 Girls and Their Buddy has been touring all over the continent this summer, but their stop at the recent Kate Wolf festival in Northern California’s redwood country was notable in that they broke format and played four individual sets instead of a single round-robin concert.

While all of the three female singer-songwriters are formidable talents, what became clear is that the true star of the show is Buddy Miller, who was on stage for every minute of every set and whose own solo shot was a confirmation that he is a powerhouse country music entertainer.

“This is the first solo gig I have played in several years, “ he told me after the show. “Besides this tour, I’ve spent much of my time as part of the Allison Krauss-Robert Plant tour,” he said.

Earlier this year, Miller underwent heart bypass surgery after suffering a mild heart attack during a 3 Girls performance. You wouldn’t have known that for all of his vocal power and endurance he displayed. His set began with accompaniment from Bay Area acoustic bassist Chris Kee, followed with two songs each with his bandmates, and finished with two songs and an encore with the whole ensemble.

The highlights included several hard-country originals from his Hightone Records CDs from the 1990s, gospel-flavored shouts from his 2004 Universal United CD and one great number, “Gasoline and Matches,” from his latest release, with Patty Griffin taking Julie Miller’s vocal.

A moving moment came as he talked about his surgery as a lead-in to honoring recently deceased songwriter/producer Stephen Bruton with a rendition of Bruton’s “Heart of Hearts.”

With his complete package of clever songwriting, tasty guitar licks and powerful country voice, it is a wonder to me that he is not a regular on top of the country music charts. But I guess he wears the wrong kind of hat, his trademark ball cap as opposed to big hair and Stetson.

The Saturday afternoon set was just one of four with Miller and the girls over two days at the festival. Miller told me that he didn’t know how the plan came about for the artists to play individual sets. “I pretty much just get on the bus,” he said. “But it is great that the audience is getting an extended show.”

The other sets unfolded like this. Shawn Colvin delivered a solid set of originals and covers. She duetted with Buddy on “Keep Your Distance” and talked of their early association in a 1970s country band. She introduced her daughter Callie. Emmylou and Patty joined for the second half of the set. “Road to Kingdom Come” and Tom Waits’ “Hold On” were highlights. It was great to see Colvin performing now as a mature artist and surrounded by her talented friends. Bravo.

Patty Griffin played the late show Saturday night. Emmylou and Shawn joined for the end of the set, but mostly it was the Patty’s solo material with Buddy’s restrained guitar and vocal accompaniment. She mixed up the set between her folkie and bluesy compositions. After my long day, I appreciated the uptempo stuff, including two new songs from an upcoming gospel-inspired release. She described herself as a lapsed Catholic in introducing it, but at times she can deliver like a full-on Baptist.

Emmylou Harris closed the festival Sunday night with a full set of her material from through the years. With Miller’s influence, the pure-country stuff was outstanding. Buddy capably filled in the Gram Parsons vocal on “Grevious Angel” and “Love Hurts.” She did some other covers, but one thing I noticed is how much of her material is her own songs—“Michelangelo,” “Jupiter’s Rising,” “Strong Hands” and lots more. The high point came towards the end of the set with her version of Kate Wolf’s “Love Still Remains.” She said that she had recorded the song in the late 1990s but that she couldn’t remember having played it live before. Griffin and Colvin stepped up and the full ensemble delivered a fine sendoff to the festival that hosted their one-time expanded show. For an encore, she chose more sweet harmonies on Sinead O’Connor’s “This Is to Mother You” to send festival-goers off into the night.