“We need it more than ever right now,” Brown said. If there were a thousand Byron’s Bars creating community around music, and forging bonds, and beating down divisions, Brown mused, “we just might have a chance.” He played it again, and again, eight or nine times, Brown recalled. He sang some songs and then a large man with a small head shouted, “Play Early.” So he did. They liked the song in Early and invited him to perform at the centennial. Oooo-ee, ain’t the mornin’ light pretty/When the dew is still heavy, so bright and early/My home on the range it’s a one-horse town/And it’s alright with me. Our unofficial state bard told a story about one of our special favorites, “Early.” He, too, was an artist in residence like Moore back in the day, and spent some time at the Crossroads of the Nation. We will survive.) That’s the spirit!īrown came out of retirement to offer a few classics.
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(It was appropriate that Huckfelt covered “Touch of Gray” by the Grateful Dead: I know the rent is in arrears/The dog has not been fed in years/It’s even worse than it appears/But it’s alright … We will get by. His friends have become his family as Byron created his own community inside that haunt devoted to Jerry Garcia.
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He loses money on most shows because his patrons are too serious about the music to get drunk. The search goes on in hopes that the community can help find a solution.īyron’s has become an institution in Iowa over the past 30 years, drawing top-flight talent from across America to entertain the denizens of the cornfields. There are buildings used for storage of 50 years of knickknacks and other junk whose value as a hoardhouse is inestimable. What is available is decrepit and awaiting the wrecking ball. The problem is that small-town Iowa is being torn down. The plan is to find another building in Pomeroy. The city has responded with understanding to Buchanan’s entreaties for patience and forbearance while the Friends help sort this out. Scott Buchanan, an attorney from Algona, offered his legal services pro bono. Led by Dave Hearn of Fort Dodge and Steve Irwin of Sac City, the Friends are trying to find a new location. Everyone appears resigned that the 1893 Byron’s Bar will get tugged down by vacant, deteriorating downtown buildings attached to it. They also are helping Byron navigate a transition. The Friends of Byron’s sprang into action, organizing a Go Fund Me page that hauled in some $28,000 so far and benefit concerts, the first of which was at Fort Dodge. He was given 90 days to come up with a plan.īyron was nearly debilitated. The musicians were lined up by Chad Elliott of Jefferson, who performed with Kathryn Fox on fiddle.īyron Stuart, who tends the bar that has become a music mecca in the cultural desert of Northwest Iowa, was shocked recently to receive a letter from the City of Pomeroy telling him that his property was unfit unless he could prove otherwise. “I saw all the tie-dyes and overalls and knew I was in Iowa,” he said. Dave Moore regaled the crowd with tales of trying to find a bar in Dutch Country while doing residencies for the Iowa Arts Council.ĭavid Huckfelt flew back home from Arizona to perform. Joe and Vicki Price of Decorah earned two loud standing ovations for their intimate guitar interplay of their own unique style of Tall Corn Blues - they were radiant.
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Todd Partridge of Auburn set the tone with his song, “Broken Town,” lamenting how he wished he could have seen those better days in rural Iowa. Photo by Byron StuartĪ crowd filling the Historic Phillips Auditorium in Fort Dodge on Sunday bore witness to history as a parade of Iowa’s most beloved musicians took the stage to raise money for Byron’s Bar in Pomeroy. Greg Brown, left, with his old friend Dave Moore.