Music and Magic in a Fairytale Land

Can you imagine having breakfast in your own kitchen with the likes of Corey Chisel, Adriel Denae and Norah Jones? Well, Tiffany Biehl feels pretty blessed these days. She seemed very much in awe of the talent surrounding her when I caught up with her Sunday evening at Codfish Hollow, in the barn her grandfather built. Yes, this is another special edition dedicated to the Codfish Hollow experience. This week I had the opportunity to go into the barn a little ahead of the general public.



For this sold-out show, folks from the barn were checking tickets at the campground

A little Daytrotter action before the show. Somebody pinch me!

Though I didn’t get to interview any of the artists, I did get to observe (and listen) while the Candles sound checked and recorded a song for Daytrotter. And I was able to speak to the owners of the farm. Tiffany greeted me almost as soon as I arrived. I had thought I might not get to see her at all on this day, expecting her to be busy. But she met me at the back of the barn, and after introductions, she looked over at the stage, and commented that they were sound-checking. “That’s Norah over there in the dress. Don’t they sound great?” She went on to tell me how Nora sang for her – at breakfast! I’m not sure I could calmly serve breakfast with company like that.



Tiffany's grandfather might have built this barn,  but she and Shawn have made it magical

It seemed the admiration was mutual for the musicians. During the show, Adriel Denae spoke of waking in this fairytale place, where someone handed her a plate of fruit, pancakes and eggs, and meeting the wonderful people whose great-grandparents started this farm. Cory Chisel said it was pretty amazing to start his day out with a breakfast of pancakes (I sense a theme – Tiffany must make great pancakes!) and getting to hold a duckling in one hand and a kitten in the other. He also commented on how it was pretty cool to have this wonderful place for music that you just shared with 600 of your friends. “I’m not going to tell a soul! I want to keep it just like this!”

 

 



The art gallery in the house where Tiffany's grandfather
was born is a work of art itself.

Before the first hayrack full of people disembarked at the lower gate, the musicians left the stage and headed for the backstage “green” room.  I wandered outside to get some exterior photos and to check out the art gallery.  On my way back, I stopped by the lower level where the food vendors were set up, and discovered the green room was actually a sectioned off area below the barn behind the food courtyard. Tiffany and Shawn had set up bags boards in the green room courtyard, and several of the musicians were attempting a game of bags. I say attempting, because there was discussion that this was the first time some of them had ever played. It turns out Jason Roberts was a natural. For someone who had never played bags, he seemed to have the perfect pitch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Codfish Hollow fit Nora Jones like a fine kid glove.

Speaking of pitch, this was a concert, so I’ll get to the music. The Wild Rovers Tour is really a blend of assorted musicians who have all toured together before and decided to have another go at it. The headliner of the show was Cory Chisel, and joining the tour were The Candles, Adriel Denae and Space Woman… oh yes, and special guest Norah Jones. But if people showed up expecting a Norah Jones concert, they may have been disappointed – Norah actually held a supporting role in this show rather than center stage.  But for those like me who were content just to see her perform live, this was just fine. The show was done in three sets, with musicians cycling on and off the stage throughout all three sets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was fortunate to snag a spot right next to Norah’s seat at the keyboards for the beginning of the first set. I didn’t want to limit my photos to just Norah though, so by the time the first song was over, I was on the move. Sadly, I was never able to land in that spot again. In fact, I didn’t get that close to the stage again because as the night advanced, so did the audience. The front few rows became a solid mass of people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Adriel and Bucky

The stage seemed like a constantly evolving creature, as musicians came and went, or switched instruments. Adriel Denae took the lead vocal on several songs – occasionally joined by Jones on backing vocals. Denae stepped off stage and Candles frontman Josh Lattanzi took over, with Jones on keys and Bucky Baxter on steel slide. Yes, THE Bucky Baxter. In the hubbub about Jones joining the tour, somehow folks missed the “guestS” part of Special Guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second set started out again with multiple musicians, but quickly became a Candles-only set.  They played music from their new CD La Candelaria. It seemed to me the set started out pretty quiet but was in full rock mode by the time it reached its end. As the set ended, only a few people left the front of the stage, and the crowd grew thicker. We had yet to see Cory Chisel take the stage, as he was the headliner.

 

 

The third set began with Adriel Denae and the Wild Rovers band. Denae was joined by Jones for a duet – their voices are so well matched, it seemed absolutely natural. A friend tells me there is nothing more perfect than the female voice. That duet was an exhibit and proof that he may just be right.

 

 

 

 



Cory Chisel's music appeals to a wide audience.

Then Chisel joined the band on stage. When we arrived at the hollow, we met a couple from Waterloo who were there because they were Cory Chisel fans. I would say they were my age or maybe a little older. There were much older folks in the audience that night, as well as a lot of teenage girls. And when Chisel started playing they were dancing and stomping and whooping it up. All of them. All ages. His music just seems to work for everyone.

For me, the evening ended too soon. With the long drive home and work the next day, I was unable to stick around to see what might develop later in the night at the campground or the after party. It was a magical evening, and I wished it didn't have to end.

Happy Birthday Jason! What a way to spend it – playing in a barn in Iowa with 600 of your closest friends.

For more photos from Codfish Hollow, check out this set on my Flickr page.  Codfish Hollow Photos