Like many of this country’s most talented musicians and songwriters, Darrell Scott doesn’t get a lot of play on mainstream radio, but the savvy music fans of Western North Carolina packed Asheville’s Grey Eagle on April 1 for a show that spotlighted the remarkable talent of the burly bearded man currently from Nashville.

A few fans were lucky enough to see Darrell the night before as he made a special surprise appearance at White Horse Black Mountain in the benefi for Japan featuring Tony Trischka, Tim O'Brien, and Akira Satake. Darrell also was in town a couple months prior playing as part of Robert Plant’s Band of Joy. Darrell mentioned at the beginning of his show how much he loves Asheville.

Darrell’s music is typically categorized as Americana, which mostly means he doesn’t fit easily into any other genre. As a songwriter, storyteller, and vocalist, he may remind some of such great 1970s performers as Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor, but his songs have more grit and you can feel his Kentucky roots coming through.

Nashville folk singer and guitarist Rayland Baxter opened the show with a seven-song set, including the tune “Mountain Song,” which is on the new SXSW4Japan compilation CD. Rayland announced at the outset that when he was growing up he had gone to summer camp for five years in Black Mountain and was happy to be back in the area. After his low-key set, it was time for the main act to take the stage.

Darrell Scott is a no-nonsense kind of guy and kicked off the show immediately with some great guitar work and the song “After All.” Rather than songs with clean-cut verses and choruses, Darrell plays rambling tunes with lyrics that wrap around instrumental breaks. In concert, it’s sometimes hard to tell when one song ends and another begins as they sometimes weave together seamlessly, as was illustrated with “The Dreamer,” “For Suzanne,” and “Colorado,” the last two from his most current album, A Crooked Road.

Still touring in support of that CD, Darrell also played the album’s title track in addition to “Long Wide Open Road” and “The Open Door.” Most songs over the course of the evening were performed on guitar, but Darrell did take a seat at the piano for a few tunes including a cover of the Townes Van Zandt classic “Pancho and Lefty” and his version of the time-honored “Wayfaring Stranger.”

Whether a popular audience sing-along (“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive”) or an intense song with socio-political implications and commentary (“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”), Darrell is a songwriter’s songwriter. His imagery and details are masterful and his musicianship is top-notch.

He performed a new song called “Passing” that encapsulated his talents and skills:
In the morning I’m awakened by possibility
No angry god is welcome at my door
And I know that I stand for more than you can see
Oh I will not lie in silence anymore
And I know that I am dying, I know you are dying too
The soul that we’ve encased comes unfastened
And we fall and we fly forever to the great unknown
Hallelujah, jubilee, we are passing
We will only be remembered for the one we came to be
Hallelujah, jubilee, we are passing
Just passing …

And in an instant, or so it seemed, a great night at The Grey Eagle had passed.