Jim Messina 2021
For this tour Messina replaced his fiddle player Olyear with Jim Frazier on the keyboard and Dave Beyer on drums while keeping Craig Thomas on Saxophone and Michael Brady on Bass. Introducing the keyboard allows Jim to begin playing some of his songs off his Oasis album. Messina said the plan for 2022 is to change up his song setlist a little to include some of his songs from Oasis and other albums while still keeping the mainstay songs many of the fans expect to hear each performance.
Jim Messina returned as part of his 2021 tour on November 15th at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, Connecticut and November 18th, 2021 at the Infinity Hall and Bistro in Hartford, Connecticut. He played other venues during the month as well before taking a break for the holidays. He plans to return to playing concerts in 2022 this time concentrating more on central and west coast venues.
Messina did a tribute to Rusty Young who passed this last summer by playing “Kind Woman”, one of Richie Furay’s first songs Messina produced for Buffalo Springfield that Young would usually play his steel guitar on as his solo. Young was a great artist and as a founding member of POCO spent many years playing with Messina as both a fellow band member and as a special guest in later years when Messina and his band were performing. Young would sit in with his steel guitar on song such as “Follow You Dreams”. Young got his start with “Buffalo Springfield” as he was asked by Messina to join the band back before POCO was formed. It was good to see a tribute to such a great talent who many of us will always remember.
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Review by Donna Erichsen
Photos George Bekris
Setlist
Watching the River Run
House at Pooh Corner
Danny’s Song
Thinking of You
Whispering Waters
Follow Your Dreams
Kind Woman
You Better Think Twice
Listen to a Country Song
Holiday Hotel
Trilogy: Lovin’ Me / To Make a Woman Feel Wanted / Peace of Mind