Don Henry’s birthday bash at the Bluebird

One of the very best ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve eve is to attend Don Henry’s birthday bash at the Bluebird Café in Nashville. Last night was no exception. Henry, a Grammy award-winning songwriter, throws his own birthday party each year, inviting talented friends and co-writers. A highlight: Bobby Braddock dropped in to perform his George Jones classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today.
Tom Kimmel. Henry’s bandmate in the Waymores, sat in for a couple songs from that group’s upcoming CD. One of the songs was a direct nod to the Byrds, but both songs had that upbeat ’60s folk-rock feel to them — and that’s a good thing.
Craig Carothers and Danny Flowers joined Henry in the round. Carothers played a new song called “There is No U in We.” Like other Carothers songs, it’s dark and cynical, but also very melodic and funny. Flowers opened the show with his “Tulsa Time” and closed with his “East Batcave Shell Station Blues.” That’s some range.
The Bluebird was packed on a Thursday night; it’s my guess that this is that this show has become a tradition for a lot of folks. It’s really the best part of Nashville: incredibly talented people playing and singing as if they were in their living room and the audience consists of friends that just happened to have to pay a cover.