Every year at the Basement East, Andrew Leahey puts on a charity tribute to the iconic supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys, a band that consisted of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. The annual concert supports the charity, East C.A.N., which supports animals in the Nashville community. According to their website, East C.A.N. “facilitates neighbors helping neighbors as [they] all find, foster, and nurture stray and abandoned dogs.” The show featured many Nashville artists, including legendary musician John Oates of Hall & Oates. Andrew Leahey & the Homestead provided backing for the guest musicians. The house band consisted of nine incredibly talented musicians, most of whom provided backing vocals for the guest artists. The band was clearly well rehearsed and tackled learning so many songs with ease. Learning thirty different songs by six different artists while also scheduling rehearsals with several guest musicians is a laborious task, but Leahey manages it every year for a good cause.
The house band opened the set with an energetic cover of George Harrison penned “If I Needed Someone.” The jangly guitar melody got the crowd moving. Andrew Leahey took lead vocals, accompanied by the harmonies of his backing vocalists. The band moved through a variety of excellent covers, including an electric performance from Langhorne Slim of The Traveling Wilburys’ classic hit “End of the Line.” The show continued with a variety of fantastic guests and performances. The house band was on fire, perfectly nailing each and every song as if they were the original performers. Bobby Bare Jr. gave a stunning rendition of “Telephone Line” by Electric Light Orchestra. His soaring vocals matched Jeff Lynne’s perfectly. The cosmic harmonies from the accompanying musicians complimented instrumentation in a beautiful way. Mike Grimes, co-owner of The Basement East, stepped onstage to sing two songs. He captured the audience’s attention with his surprisingly well toned voice. He kept the energy going. Towards the end of the show, the musical powerhouse that is John Oates finally took the stage. To see one of the greatest artists of the 1980s performing on such a small stage is a real privilege. He played some fiery lead guitar while singing lead vocals on two covers.
The final act of the night was a searing rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the duo Striking Matches. The whole house band, plus the insanely talented Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis, brought the house down with this performance. Zimmermann and Davis engaged in an exhilarating guitar duel, reminiscent of the guitar battles held by George Harrison and Eric Clapton when performing this song back in the day. The show finished with an explosion of sound, signalling the end of another successful tribute to The Traveling Wilburys. Here is a link to East C.A.N.’s website! https://www.eastcan.org/.
- Ashley Bendorf
Photos Courtesy of Emily Duncko (For Bell Music Magazine)
