Bill & Jilian Nershi 8.15.13

The Golden Hotel
Golden, CO

Words By J-man
Photos By J-man & Carly Marthis
Video By Erik Thoms

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the Clear Creek was flowing and full of tubers and kayakers! Out back of the Golden Hotel the stage was set for an evening with Bill and Jilian Nershi in front of the Rocky Mountains and Front Range foothills. As the set approached more and more concert goers and music fans turned out to be apart of what would inevitably be an intimate experience with flat picking champ and String Cheese Incident guitarist, Bill and his wife Jilian. Chris Thompson, who runs the Thursday Music Showcase in Golden, opened up the evening with his wife by his side on vocals. Rounding out the opening band was a gentleman on shakers and a gentleman on dobro, who seemed to struggle with his pedals throughout the show. Following their short opening set, the crowd took a breather an claimed their space for the evening's closers. With big smiles on their faces Bill and Jilian took the stage and began what would be one long set of music!



Through covers from musicians that they appreciate to String Cheese classics such as "Black Clouds," where Billy forgot the words, to bill solo performing "Dudley's Kitchen," the duo sounded great! The musical chemistry between the talented husband and wife reflected years of practice and a sense of pure enjoyment from performing the music that they love. The harmonies we're fantastic and the addition of their daughter Lauren further contributed to the depth and beauty of the music. One of the vocal highlights came in the form of "Dear Prudence" with proud mother Jilian matching pitches with Lauren who's nervousness faded as the performance waged on. At one point Chris came back on stage to tell folks about Bill and Jilian's new songbook and YarmonyGrass Music Festival, where Bill will be headlining with EOTO of all bands. I looked at Bill, laughed and shrugged triggering him to pick up the mic and claim to have written all EOTO songs to date, regardless of what Travis wants people to think. As the set wound down one of the overall highlights of the show cane in the form of Bill performing the Allman Brothers' classic Jessica... solo.

The sun set over the our beautiful surroundings, bats filled the sky and I was reminded why I moved to Colorado in the first place. It was events like the one we experienced that evening that help paint Colorado as the epicenter of live music in this vast country. Hoola hoops spun, the smell of (legal) marijuana filled the air and the sweet sounds of soaring vocals and incredible picking helped to close out what was another fantastic evening on the Front Range of Colorado. The icing on the cake was a "Colorado Bluebird Sky" to end the set. Following the show Bill stuck around to converse with fans, take some pictures and sign copies of his songbook. Following the show we made our way back up to the Bridgewater Grill for a drink and evening snack. Join the Golden community every Thursday for the free Clear Creek Concert Series!

J-man & Carly's Photo Gallery

www.thegoldenhotel.com