The summer of '79 redux
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 21, 1999) - Imagine a summer concert season with the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young all out on the road touring. Imagine that along with them the nation's arenas and summer sheds presented the likes of Rod Stewart, John Mellencamp, Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Chicago, the Doobie Brothers, Steve Miller, Styx, Foreigner, Journey, Bad Company, Cher, Jethro Tull and the J. Geils Band.

A baby-boomer's fantasy of what it was like circa 1979? Think again. All these acts and others of their generation will be on the road this summer. As the curtain goes down on the 20th century, summer concertgoers will be treated to a kind of greatest-hits package of the rock era, with aging rockers crowding out younger acts and in many cases commanding well over $100 per ticket.

Alas, as of now, other than the redoubtable and irrepressible James Taylor - who will perform two shows at Tanglewood on July 3 and 4 - the stampede of rock 'n' roll dinosaurs will bypass the Berkshires this summer. Tanglewood seems to have pretty much opted out of the pop-music concert business, and the National Music Foundation has revamped its approach, opting for much more modest box-office fare than in the past. As a result, resident musical paleontologists will have to travel to Mansfield, Boston, Hartford, Albany or Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to get their fix of Jurassic rock.

Housatonic singer-songwriter Robby Baier keeps racking up the honors. Fresh from his nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Debut in the Boston Music Awards, Baier was voted top artist of the week two weeks ago by the Billboard Talent Net, an online showcase for unsigned recording artists associated with the music-industry trade publication Billboard.

In addition, Baier recently wowed Suzanne Vega's audience when he warmed up the crowd for the well-known singer-songwriter at the National Music Foundation. He was also a featured performer at the 1999 EAT'M Music Conference (Emerging Artists & Talent In Music) in Las Vegas this past week.

Baier's excellent debut CD, "SoulTube," has garnered great reviews from the Album Network, Metroland, The Noise, Northeast Performer and Performing Songwriter. Two songs from the album, "Seriously" and "Right On Track," are included in the soundtrack of the upcoming movie "Shaded Places," starring Molly Ringwald and Christina Applegate, which will open later this year.

Baier has begun work on his next CD, with release slated for next fall. He plans to tour locally and nationally during the summer. Catch him while you can.

Critic's Picks: The venerable blues-jazz singer Mose Allison fronts his trio at the Van Dyck in Schenectady, N.Y., tonight with two shows at 7:30 and 10….Groove-jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter is at the Iron Horse in Northampton tonight at 8:30. Hunter's show, with drummer Adam Cruz, will mimic the format of his great new duet album, the aptly-titled "Duo" (Blue Note), recorded with awesome drummer Leon Parker. If the album is any indication, expect to hear a broad range of material, from Afro-Cuban ("Mean Streak") to shuffle-swing ("Belief") to standards (a dark, moody, almost psychedelic "You Don't Know What Love Is"). The duet format is a perfect showcase for Hunter, a virtuoso of style and technique on eight-string guitar, which combines the role and sound of bass and guitar in one instrument and musician, one who in this case happens to be an endlessly inventive virtuoso….Singer-songwriter Mary Lou Lord is at Bennington (Vt.) College on Saturday night.

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[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 21, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]