May 1, 2008 issue
John Rush Celebrates 10 Years of Booking Music in Boone
Story by David Brewer
For a short time in the late 1990s, the building now occupied by Tupelo’s in downtown Boone was a restaurant and bar called Turtle’s. Having recently located from Kentucky to the High Country so he’d qualify for in-state tuition, John Rush was new to the local music scene.
Rush describes his first night at Turtle’s as a revelatory experience. A bluegrass band whose name has long since been forgotten was tearing up the joint, and dozens of college kids were boogieing the night away. Rush was amazed.
“There were 20-year-old kids sneaking into the bar to see a bluegrass band,” said Rush. “To see college kids getting pumped about really great music got me really excited about live music.”
Soon after his Turtle’s bluegrass experience, Rush began noticing a trend among the people he encountered in town.
“It seemed like everyone in town I met was in a band,” said Rush.
Rush began running into the likes of Jake Eckert (now with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) and Josh Day (currently drumming for pop singer Sara Bareilles) of Papa Gumbo, David Via & Corn Tornado (MerleFest songwriting champion) and the people from Acoustic Syndicate and the Snake Oil Medicine Show at places such as Cottonwood Brewery. To boost their burgeoning beer business, the folks at Cottonwood decided to begin having music and asked Rush to be their person in charge of booking.
In addition to Cottonwood, Rush eventually took over booking responsibilities for Rafters, Geno’s and Murphy’s, immersing himself in the High Country’s fertile music scene. From bluegrass and blues to jambands, DJs, break dancers and funk freak shows, Rush has booked them all.
Since March 1998, Rush has booked untold hundreds of shows with bands from all over the United States, not to mention every local act that could strum a chord. Some of the players have gone on to national stardom, while others still sweat under the lights at Murphy’s every few weeks.
No person in High Country has been more supportive of live music than Rush. To celebrate his 10 years on the job, the High Country Press sat down with the Murphy’s bartender to reminisce about some of the most memorable shows Boone has ever witnessed.
Old Crow Medicine Show @ Cottonwood Brewery
“Those kids were so broke,” said Rush, not missing a bit of the irony. “They would play acoustic in the corner of Cottonwood Brewery. You had to get within 20 feet just to hear. Now they’re pretty darn famous.”
The Avett Brothers @ Murphy’s
“They just had that super-high energy you just had to stop and watch,” said Rush. “All 30 people at their first show at Murphy’s had a blast.”
Sound Tribe Sector 9 & Count Clovis @ Rafters
On their way to being one of the jam scene’s brightest stars, STS9 paired with Asheville’s Count Clovis for an electronica-fueled blowout at Rafters. Several members of Count Clovis are now in the band Toubab Krewe.
Amazing Four-Night Run @ Rafters
The closing of Rafters in 2001 left a gaping hole in the music scene that has yet to be filled. Rush fondly remembered a Friday to Monday run of shows that featured the Larry Keel Experience, original Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli, a Sunday co-bill featuring New Orleans band The Juice and Digable Planets MC Doodlebug and a Monday co-bill with The Juice and Vermont players Viperhouse (future members of Trey Anastasio’s solo band).
Tater & Break Dancers @ Murphy’s
Hi-test hillbilly pickers Tater have been regulars at Murphy’s for years. However, a show last year proved to be one of the most cross-cultural experiences ever at the bar. With a DJ show taking place downstairs, a group of break dancers cleared tables and chairs in the dining room for some serious spinning. Find evidence of this madness on the YouTube website.
Snake Oil Medicine Show, Larry Keel & Papa Gumbo NYE @ Geno’s
“Nobody had ever really done a big New Year’s Eve show in Boone and people thought didn’t think it would work because they thought everybody would be out of town,” said Rush. “We sold 600 tickets.”
Little Rascals Brass Band @ Murphy’s
In the tradition of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Rebirth Brass Band, Murphy’s hosted New Orleans outfit the Little Rascals Brass Band.
“There was this 15-year-old kid just ripping it on the trumpet, walking down the bar at Murphy’s,” said Rush. “Two years later they were playing Bonnaroo.”
St. Paddy’s Day Shows @ Murphy’s
“Everyone gets to be Irish for one day a year,” said Rush. “That could be a whole separate list.”
Most of those wannabe Irish make their way to Murphy’s. In recent years, Possum Jenkins has held the St. Paddy’s crown following a run of shows by Stewart & Winfield in the early 2000s.
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