Fur Dixon and Steve Werner at the Getty

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008

By Carl Gage 

Who could fill up the beautiful 500-seat Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center in the middle of the Sepulveda Pass during Friday night rush hour? Alison Krauss? Springsteen?The Pope?

How about the local "Travelin' American Folksingers" from Van Nuys, Fur Dixon and Steve Werner? With ever-growing audiences of fans andfriends, including high percentages of bikers and fellow musicians, the popularity of this duo continues to grow by leaps and bounds. And now the regular denizens of the Friday Nights at the Getty series can be added to that fan base as they were wowed by the talent, diversity and down-home great entertainment that filled the packed auditorium.

With their new album Travelers on the brink of release, and the current one The Pearl and the Swine selling well, there was a good supply of polished material. All of the crowd favorites were enthusiastically received and the selections from the new collection generated a lot of pre-release interest.

All of the material was well rehearsed and the performancesfrom Brantley Kearns on fiddle, John McDuffie on pedal steel and dobro, andPaul Marshall on bass were solid and enthusiastically appreciated by theaudience. And they showed that appreciation with not one, but two standingovations, a fitting tribute for an excellent show.

And, speaking of down-home, as usual, Steve invited the entire audience over to the house for a barbeque. Even with the "best back yardin Van Nuys," if he keeps it up they're going to need a bigger one. Considering the number of folks being added to their following, maybe a MUCH bigger one.

http://www.myspace.com/furandsteve

http://furandsteve.com