When you buy tickets to see one of your favorite bands, but have no familiarity with the venue, sometimes you are left wondering just what to expect. Is the building a good place to catch live music? Is it in a safe part of town? It is accessible, with parking? Are there reviews online advising you to avoid it? We’ve all had these thoughts, surely, when venturing into the unknown – and we’ve certainly discovered dive bars that prove to be gems, and highly touted concert venues that do not live up to expectations.
Back in January, this was indeed the case when we saw a show of interest. The venue in question happened to be Pale Fire Brewing Company in Harrisonburg, VA – and given that our previous concerts held in breweries had always been good experiences, we promptly purchased our tickets. Discussing with a good friend shortly after, I learned that he had attended a show at the very place and gave them two thumbs up as an enjoyable and appropriate venue for live music.
Our inaugural visit to the brewery was impressive – the band had fun, the crowd were there for the music (as well as the beer, which was good too) – and we had already liked and followed the venue’s social media page before we left the building, knowing that we’d definitely be back one day. In the blink of an eye, an advertisement for an upcoming show popped into my social media feed, and while I had zero familiarity with the artist, Maya de Vitry, a quick skim of the bio included with the listing earned my interest. Better still, the date of the event tied in nicely with some upcoming plans we had to be in the Shenandoah Valley. We now knew the coolness of the room. We were keen to know more about the artist. Easy decision – tickets bought!
Aside from learning prior to the show that Maya de Vitry (guitar/banjo/violin/vocals) was born and raised in Lancaster, PA, and now calls Nashville, TN home, other than confirming her style of music, we purposely did not seek any out to listen to – preferring instead to let fate decide our entertainment on the night of the show. Touring as a trio, with Joel Timmons (guitars/vocals) and Rhees Williams (bass/vocals), Maya’s brand of Americana music was exactly what we needed on a spring Saturday evening in Harrisonburg, VA – a show we would do over again in a heartbeat.
Approaching the closing stages of a three-week tour, the trio demonstrated some magnificent cohesion and chemistry throughout the evening – clearly enjoying playing to a packed room – and to friends both new and old. With two sets over a 1 hour and 40 minutes duration, Maya was naturally keen to share several cuts from her 2024 “The Only Moment” album, kicking off the evening with “I’m Not Going Anywhere,” and sending the crowd home with “Watching the Whole Sky Change.” The trio would weave further album cuts into their set throughout the night, offering some rousing performances of “Nothing Else Matters,” “Some Rent,” and “Odds of Getting Even.”
Prior to a performance of “Intimate,” Maya took time to not only share the origins of the song with the room but also gave us a glimpse into the world of an emerging professional musician. “This song has a line about one of the moments that really changed my life as a songwriter. I was still pretty new to singing in front of other people, and I was sitting on a porch in Asheville, North Carolina, and a friend of a friend was there, and she was listening, but not listening, this was perhaps fifteen years ago,” Maya reminisced. “I played a song for her, and she looks up from the other end of the porch and she says, I’ve been in that song, and that’s when I realized what songs do and really set my heart moving. It made me feel like it was so much less scary to sing in front of other people and sing my own words. Because my own words would become their words. It was like an exchange. We were so much more connected with these experiences.”
Having taken time to chat with several fans and friends during the intermission, Maya commenced the second set offering gratitude for seeing people wearing “The Stray Birds” t-shirts in the room – her earlier music project back in Lancaster, PA – and rewarded us all with (banjo) performances of both “Dream in Blue” and “Best Medicine” from their back catalogue. She would also take time to promote the solo work of her friend and guitarist Joel Timmons, who also has a new album release (and which we learned was produced by Maya – her first time behind the studio console). Joel would momentarily switch out his electric guitar for the acoustic variety, before performing his album track “Cottage by the Sea” – Maya adding fiddle and harmonies, and Rhees displaying some outstanding work on his upright bass.
One of the non-musical highlights – at least for me – was time taken by Maya to discuss the current tour and some of the lifestyle changes the musicians learn to adopt along the way. “We are nearing the end of a three-week tour, so we are currently fasting from fried chicken. Yesterday was a double fried chicken day. That was what was just available, we just had to do it,” she commenced. “It’s better to eat something real fast before the show than to be hungry. And when people ask me if I’ve made it in music, and what that means to me, it means that I’ve gotten really good at timing my burps.”
Pausing as the room filled with laughter, Maya would continue. “Performing is one thing, you know, like singing in tune and remembering the lyrics. But singing in tune and remembering the lyrics and being able to somehow digest at the same time is very nuanced in my profession. I didn’t know that was the kind of work I was getting into. They don’t really teach you that in high school orchestra. But we’re all three really bonded now because the last couple of days we’ve been eating the same meals. A whole Hawaiian pizza right before we play. A basket of wings before we play. And all those things, it gets deep inside of you. Not that the pizza wasn’t good. It was real good. I just can’t do it for three weeks in a row.”
Set List:
- I’m Not Going Anywhere
- How Bad I Wanna Live
- Nothing Else Matters
- What The Moon Said
- Odds Of Getting Even
- Go Tell A Bird
- Infinite
- Stacy, In Her Wedding Gown
- Dream In Blue
- Working Man
- Flowers
- Cottage By The Sea (Joel Timmons song)
- Some Rent
- Watches Out Of Diamonds
- Dogs Run On
- Best Medicine
- Margaret (*taken by request*)
Encore:
- Taking Up Rock And Roll
- Watching The Whole Sky Change
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
