REVIEW OF THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021 CONCERT

by Rodeo Marie Hanson

CHRISTMAS WITH LIZ LONGLEY, SCOTT MULVAHILL & BILLY CROCKETT
AT BLUE ROCK—ALSO TONIGHT, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17

The Holidays have several thematic elements and reason for celebration—all of which are abundantly clear with Blue Rock Studio’s Christmas concert featuring singer-songwriters Liz Longley, Scott Mulvahill and Billy Crockett. From reminiscing about family to reflecting on special childhood memories, Longley, Mulvahill and Crockett do the next best thing to performing in your living room—with a very special gift in the form of a live streaming concert event from Blue Rock Studio on December 16 and 17, 2021.

As the livestream begins from Blue Rock’s Arlington Texas ranch studio, the camera pulls back to reveal a few bar stools and fireplace with hanging socks providing the quintessential singer-songwriter Holiday theme setting. Acoustic guitar, upright bass, keyboard and three artists on stage—complete the list of elements required for the stripped-down show. Head shots of people occupy the seats, a kind of virtual audience for the trio and reminder of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Each artist takes center stage, performing a song, highlighting their unique abilities and original material.

With his shock of salt and pepper hair, sport coat and jeans, Billy Crockett could be anyone’s creatively-inclined cool uncle. A singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist session player, Crockett plays his role to the hilt and is the glue for the festivities keeping the banter going—and inviting us to join him, Longley and Mulvahill as a kind of 21st century extended family. Crockett’s voice is rich with emotion and life experience which shines through on his cover of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and “The Rose.” Strumming his acoustic guitar, he reminisces about working out harmonies with his father on a piano bench before singing the song. An accomplished musician, Crockett introduces us to the hand pan drum, an instrument similar to a steel drum with only a 20-year history, injecting some island reggae flavor into Christmas.

Crockett is the glue for the festivities keeping the banter going—and inviting us to join him, Longley and Mulvahill as a kind of 21st century extended family. Crockett’s voice is rich with emotion and life experience which shines through.

The upright bass is an extension of singer-songwriter musician Scott Mulvahill. Mulvahill is fully invested in that bass and his original compositions. On “Begin Againers,” Mulvahill plucks and pulls both the strings of his bass and your heart, delivering conviction with his cool jazz style of playing. A self-proclaimed child of the 90s influenced by Raffi’s Christmas Album, Mulvahill demonstrates his comfort with the acoustic guitar on the Roger Miller penned “Old Toy Trains.” Bangs hanging over his glasses, the child now grown, Mulvahill has come full-circle bringing that song to a new generation—some of whom might be inspired to learn how to play an instrument. “Celebrate Me Home,” a Bob James and Kenny Loggins’ cover and “The Lord Is Coming” illustrate how Mulvahill earned a spot working with Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, while showcasing his hipster crooner vocal style. He is like that laid back brother you always wanted to have.

 Mulvahill plucks and pulls both the strings of his bass and your heart, delivering conviction with his cool jazz style of playing.

Peering from behind the keyboard, Liz Longley possesses the ability that every great songwriter needs to acquire—she can take a story and make it her own. Putting her stamp on “Feels like Christmas,” “A Little Magic,” and “Gettin’ Away For The Holidays,” with a vocal approach that is unassuming, Longley provides a touchstone to the lyrical content of her material. In between songs, she talks about having 35 cousins, cookies and the relevance of family and home as an integral part of what Christmas means to her. Longley’s songs connect because everyone can relate to them, which is one of the reasons why her album Funeral for My Past was successfully crowd funded. A recipient of the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship Competition, who has written songs for movies and television, Longley’s material provided the often-under-represented female perspective from that very talented sister or cousin every family has.

Liz Longley possesses the ability that every great songwriter needs to acquire—she can take a story and make it her own. With a vocal approach that is unassuming, she provides a touchstone to the lyrical content of her material. Longley’s songs connect because everyone can relate to them.

Eclectic is the word that best fits my music preference. My credo is a good song does not necessarily need to fit like a peg into a genre. Checking out an artist for the first time, whether it’s a recording or live performance, brings with it limitless possibilities—just like any new relationship, with the expectation that the music will both connect and resonate with me. This concert offers a glimpse of musicians in their own element and is a testament to the true giving spirit of Christmas. It is guaranteed to spread some cheer your way with new material destined to become classics, sprinkled in with traditional songs—a great stocking surprise before the big day.

www.BillyCrockett.com
www.Instagram.com/billycrockettmusic
www.Facebook.com/billycrockettmusic/
www.youtube.com/billycrockett
www.bluerocktexas.com
www.Twitter.com/bluerockstudio
www.ScottMulvahill.com
www.Instagram.com/scottmulvahill
www.Twitter.com/scottmulvahill
www.Facebook.com/scottmulvahill
www.YouTube.com/ScottMulvahill
www.TikTok.com/@scottmulvahill
www.LizLongley.com
www.Facebook.com/lizlongleymusic
www.Instagram.com/lizlongley
www.Twitter.com/lizlongley
www.YouTube.com/LizLongley