Mike Compton House Concert

October 22, 2011 was a big night for us Petersons and for our little house concert series. We were so thrilled, excited, and nervous to have Mike Compton join us for a house concert.

Mike is an absolute legend in the bluegrass/folk/acoustic music world, and is a master of the mandolin. He's worked with nearly everyone in the industry, including some biggies like Bill Monroe, John Hartford, David Grier, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. He was also a big part of the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the associated Down from the Mountain concert tour and album.

Well, there's a reason for all the accolades he's received and success he's had.....he's a damn good mandolin picker!!! One of the best ever, in our opinion. And for some reason, he jumped at the chance to come play in our living room. Wow, was that a big day when I called Mike up and worked out the details. Needless to say, we'd been looking forward to this show for quite a long time...

And it was one of our best ever. Mike's playing was SO good and clean and fast and interesting and AMAZING! Videos of some of our favorites from the night are here, here, and here.

And what a gracious and humble man he is. We loved visiting with him before the show, and especially had fun hearing stories afterward over drinks about how he met and started playing with John Hartford and others.

We packed the house more than we ever have (over 70 people I think...it was hard to keep track). It was so fun to meet more local like-minded music fans who seemed to come out of the woodwork for the chance to see Mike in such an intimate setting. And the jam afterward was the biggest yet! And almost all mandolin pickers....fancy that.

The best line of the night, by far, is when Mike summed up his feelings about music by saying, "I can't hardly live without it".

We feel exactly the same way, Mike. Thank you for sharing yours with us. It was an honor and a pleasure.