LOGAN – A fairly sizable crowd of county music lovers turned to the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Mar. 22 to hear recording artists Kristina Train and Miko Marks deliver a lesson about the roots of modern country music and its evolution since the mid-1950s.
The event was a crowd-pleasing salute to the “Trailblazing Women of Country” by exploring the music of legends Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.
The evening began with Train and Marks singing a duet “You’re Looking at Country,” a upbeat hit by Lynn from the latter part of her career.
After that, Marks surrendered the stage to Train, a willowy songstress who performed more melodic numbers from the trio of artists.
Those selections included Cline’s trademark hit “Crazy,” “Leaving on Your Mind” and “She’s Got You;” ”You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man)” and “Fist City” from the Loretta Lynn songbook; and the Patton hits “Here I Am,” “Just Because I’m a Woman” and “Here You Come Again.”
Then Marks returned with a string of hits with a more honky-tonk flavor.
Marks is a small woman with a great big voice and she used it skillfully to bring down the Eccles house.
She performed the Patsy Cline hits “Walking After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky” with a complete appropriate throb in her voice.
While paying tribute to Loretta Lynn, Marks flawlessly performed “Coal Miners Daughter” and “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’ (with Loving on Your Mind).”
Marks ended her set with the Parton hits “Joylene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and the much-covered song “I Will Always Love You.”
Train and Marks were accompanied by a five-piece, all female band of talented studio musicians.
The show’s musical director Megan Palmer played piano and fiddle; Morgan Blaney played upright bass and bass guitar; Heather Thomas played drums; Thayer Sarrano played acoustic guitar and keyboards; and Anne McCue played electric and steel guitars.
Finally, Train and Marks ended the night with a rocking encore performance of the Parton hit “Nine to Five.”
The next CacheARTS shows at the Ellen Eccles Theatre will be a tribute band double-header.
On Mar. 29, the “Carpenters Platinum” will return to Logan and the following evening the theatre will present “Fleetwood Visions,” a tribute to Fleetwood Mac.
Good seats are still available for those shows at www.cachearts.org
The Ellen Eccles Theatre is located at 43 South Main Street in downtown Logan.