Richie Furay at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center 2023

Richie Furay Acoustic Group
October 25, 2023
The Kate – Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
Old Saybrook, CT

Richie Furay’s evening at the Katharine Hepburn Musical Arts Center was a three-piece acoustical concert. Furay upon beginning the concert announced it would be a comfortable evening, kind of like a gathering of a few friends for a picking session. It was a relaxed and mellow atmosphere perfect for the acoustic music session that followed. He even encouraged the audience to speak up and ask a question or two during the evening if there was something about the man and his years in the music industry they wanted to know. During the course of the evening there were quite a few members of the audience who did ask and Furay answered. This was entertaining as it broke up songs with some amusing and candid stories of his past times with other artists

Furay was joined by his daughter Jesse Furay Lynch and Dan Skarda onstage and the three performed a variety of songs from his Buffalo Springfield days to those with Poco and covers of a couple of other artists songs like Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.” He also performed songs from his decades long solo career as well.

The Ohio born 79 year old Richie Furay began his music career in the New York/New Jersey area as a member of the Au Go Go Singers, which was the house band for the Café Au Go Go, a famed ‘60s-era Greenwich Village, New York City nightspot. Far from the place in Colorado he raised a family and now calls home.

Furay was a member of Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills and Neil Young, both of whom went on to achieve continued success as independent artists and with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Buffalo Springfield’s biggest hit, “For What It’s Worth,” became an anthem of some of the 1960s culture and continues to be well known, still getting much airplay and included in many movies to this day that reflect mood of many during those times. During his time with them Furay also wrote “Kind Woman” a song he is well known for and he performed this night at The Kate.

After his time with Buffalo Springfield Furay joined up with Jim Messina, Randy Meisner, Rusty Young and and George Grantham to form Poco and introduce a new sound labeled country rock which has influenced to this day a whole style of music that grows each year. From that style came Loggins and Messina and The Eagles. Also, countless other groups got the inspiration for their sound from what had their roots in CSNY and the whole country-rock sound the contributions to the style by those artists who were there at the beginning.

Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos – The Acoustic Trip were the lead in band for the night and consisted of Chris Berardo, his brother Marc Berardo and Bill Kelly who did an excellent acoustic set warming up the audience with a relaxing flow of music before Richie Furay and his band took the stage.

Though Furay does not tour as much as he did back in previous years it’s a special treat if you are lucky enough to still catch one of his concerts in your area. He is an icon who along with others back in the 60s and 70s brought us a whole fresh style of enduring music that continues to be played daily and still influences new bands and writers to this day.

It was a fantastic night and I do hope they come back for another round of great music and musical history. Acoustic, non-acoustic, either way Richie Furay still has it and gives the audience a great concert. The trio sang and harmonized well together. The three gifted performers sounded wonderful, and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the Furay family, Jesse has a beautiful voice.

For more information about Richie Furay and any upcoming concerts see Richie Furay

Review by Donna Erichsen
Photos by George Bekris

Setlist:

Fallin’ in Love
On the Way Home
Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Hard Country
I Still Have Dreams
A Child’s Claim to Fame
Wake Up My Soul
(Goin’) Wild For You Baby
Sit Down I Think I Love You
I Hope You Dance
Someday
A Good Feelin’ to Know
You Are the One
Kind Woman

Encore:
America, America