Fiddlin’ around

Back on home turf before her upcoming career move to Nashville, Bay Area/ex-Chico fiddler (String Nation is among her many local band credits) and State and National Fiddle Champion Megan Lynch performed a concert of fiddle tunes this past crisp Thursday night before a packed crowd at Moxie’s.

She was joined by celebrated partner Ron Stewart (2000 IBMA fiddle player of the year and twice named Indiana state fiddle champion) on banjo, guitar and fiddle.

Often during the evening, boots were heard tapping in time to the familiar catchy tunes—including “Lady’s Fancy” (also known as “Say, Old Man, Can You Play a Fiddle?"), “Nashville Blues,” Flatt and Scruggs’ “I Hung My Head and Cried,” “Whiskey before Breakfast” and “Old Joe Clark.” Lynch’s bold tone, matched with Stewart’s expertise on all three instruments and the occasional vocals from both Lynch and Stewart, made for an entertaining evening, clearly enjoyed by the boot-tappers and the occasional hollerer ("Woo-ooh!).

Lynch spent much time chatting between songs—to both the audience and Stewart. Lynch and Stewart, for instance, brought the crowd up to date on some recent adventures they had while working as bluegrass camp teachers/counselors in West Virginia “crumbling angel food cakes and putting them in other counselors’ beds,” among other things.

Initially refreshing, the chatting became chattering as the 7:30 p.m. show stretched past the 10 p.m. mark because of so much non-music "down time," and a fair number of people started drifting out before the end of the talented duo’s set.