The Seldom Scene Tickets

A festive night of good Blue Grass, great additional artists, and good food!

For $50 (ticket price plus fees), we really got our money's worth with three wonderful acts. Nora Jane Struthers opened with her sweet vocals and wonderful guitar talent. We enjoyed her duo partner and hearing her sing with her dad. Eastland String Band really got the place pumped with their go-get-'em style. Excellent vocals by Savannah and husband. Fabulous fiddle by Nate, and excellent guitar work by John. While the other two bands played lots of their new material to be able to sell albums, the Seldom Scene played many favorites, including my personal favorite, Wait a Minute. Their harmony still excites me, although Ben seemed pretty quite through most of the set. I listened to them at the Birchmere in its first incarnation, and truly enjoyed seeing them in the current location, my first opportunity to visit here.

The Seldom Scene is using the name when it should have been retired at the death of John Duffy. The main band on NYE should play more than 1 hour and 10 minutes. 2 opening acts, disgraceful. Ben Eldridge is an average banjo player and should learn another song than Lay Down Sally. They ought to change their name, cause this band is NOT the Seldom Scene.

Always fun and still great after all these years. Sound system in the small venue of the Birchmere doesn't need to be quite as loud as it was.

Seldom Scene has done nothing but gotten better over the years.

These two groups provided a great mix of old time bluegrass and a more contemporary bluegrass. I was hoping that they might come out together at the end for a real great finale, but it didn't happen. That would have topped off a fantastic night of great music!

After a forgetable performance at last year's T-Giving show (seems like they phoned it in), the old Seldom Scene was back with energy - thanks in part to the guest perfornamce of Chris Eldridge -- who is young and talented and seems to inspire his dad and the rest of band --perhaps they are showing off, are trying to keep up or just reminded why they do what they do. I almost didn't go this year, but decided to give them one more chance. Glad we did. Dry Branch Fire Squad is always good. Not only the folksy stories but the great old time Blue grass tunes. They are the main reason we came back this year and they did not disapoint.

LEGENDS OF THE POTOMAC HAD SOME OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE MUSICIANS I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WAY MORE OF THIS GROUP. SELDOM SCENE PUT ON A REALLY GOOD SHOW, AND DUDLEY CONNELL IS AN OUTSTANDING PERFORMER, ALONG WITH THE OTHER VOCALISTS...BEAUTIFUL HARMONY. THE SELDOM SCENE STILL HAVE IT !!!

The Seldom Scene and Legends of the Potomac both put on excellent shows. Lots of great songs about leavin', waitin', prayin', and ridin' on trains. Both bands have great energy and show a genuine love for the music and their fans. The Birchmere is a great spot to see music. It feels huge when you walk in and try to find a seat (get there at least an hour before show start), but once the lights go down it becomes much more intimate. The beer and wine selections are good. The food, however, is barely above bar food. Go for something deep fried or you'll be disappointed.

I have seen the Seldom Scene play many many times, even in the old Birchmere but this past New Year's Eve was wonderful. We loved the encore with everybody on stage and of particular note is new up and coming Dead Man's Hollow. Loved their historical bluegrass stories, bought all 3 CDs. We'll be there next year on New Year's!

The Seldom Scene and Legends of the Potomac, with Mike Auldridge and Darren Beachley, both put on great shows. But whose idea was it to open with this group called Dead Men's Hollow -- a weak act all around? I don't think they belong on the Birchmere stage.

The show started w/ the Dillards, who (unfortunately) spent nearly as much time talking as they did singing. They sounded pretty good, given how old Doug and Rodney are, but they really wanted to tell more stories than anything else. If you really enjoy hearing stories about the Andy Griffith Show, or if you really dig old-time, canned schtick and corny jokes, then you might have enjoyed it. I was actually pretty bored w/ it. The Seldom Scene, on the other hand, were awesome. They had a good banter w/ the crowd, but kept the talk to a minimum and focused mainly on the music. The music was great, and they were cool about taking requests. All in all, I think most folks (at least the ones I talked to) left feeling like they heard too much of the Dillards, and not enough of the Seldom Scene. If the Dillards had just been an opening act, and maybe played four or five songs, the show would have been great. One star for an hour+ of the Dillards, and 5 stars for the Seldom Scene, average out to about four stars overall.

The Seldom Scene were fantastic as usual. The Dillards need to retire.

Both acts were musically superb and foot-stompin' enjoyable, but time on stage should have been reversed. The Dillards (opening act) performed far longer than the Seldom Scene (headliner) thereby leaving a number of the Seldom Scene's "classics" (for those of us who have been following the group for 20+ years) unplayed. A considerable amount of the Dillards time on stage was spent in homespun banter with the audience which was amusing for a while but wore thin about mid-way through their set. Dillards should have played more (they were excellent when they did) and yakked less. Seldom Scene should have stayed on stage longer. Still, a delighful show and evening overall.

Harmony was perfect. Dillards were fun and entertaining. The Seldom Scene did not disappoint with there great sounds and harmony. I recommend it to all.

I have seen the Seldom Scene numerous times starting as far back as when I was a child. I am now a mother of 4 who has grown up with rock n roll, country, blue grass etc. I forgot what fun it was to sit and enjoy a good band. I love the fact that we were able to be so close to them to actually see them (not just a blurb). As always their music and voices were excellent. I hope that some day my children will learn to appreciate such wonderful talent. I enjoyed hearing songs from when I was a child and some that I have heard recently. As always we had to purchase more cd's since we play them till they wont play no more. Keep up the excellent music!!!!! You all are awesome!!! Blue Grass lives on!!!!!

It would be hard to explain how I feel about the Seldom Scene...they sing my heart. I love their easy way with each other & the audience. Veteran Ben Eldridge is pure joy; have been a fan of Dudley Connell from Johnson Mt Boys days...all are just the greatest & I can sing softly along with most of their material. A little just makes me want more. The Dillards are pretty much roots music to me, too. Their getting the audience participation was a pleasant surprise & a lot of fun...I was there with someone who isn't as much of a music lover as I am & she preferred this group, perhaps because she remembered them from Andy Griffith, but they were just flat good.

Dillards were funny and great ! They took me down memory lane. Would pay to see them again. Seldom Scene were good but have to say Dillards beat them.

Excellent show. Both bands. Great venue. Worth seeing again.