Editor,
I first saw Route 358, a 4-piece acoustic string band, at the Folk Festival (2017) at Basin Park in Eureka Springs. I liked how genuine they were on stage, introducing each song with a personal story.
When they launched into “Lord Forgive Me” with its lively beat and equally inviting melody, I remember looking around at the crowd and thinking, “Why is no one up dancing? This is a great song.” I could hardly keep my seat. After the show, I immediately went up and bought a CD.
Now, a year later, I am looking forward to this year’s Folk Festival, and am just as enthralled with this band as I was at first sight.
If you have the opportunity to go to the Nov. 3 concert at the Auditorium, I would highly recommend it. Even though this music has themes of trucks, trains, and redemption, it is not country music, nor is it bluegrass, nor folk. I don’t know what it is, but the duet of voices, father and daughter, is entrancing, the banjo magnetic, and the bass and percussion are right on.
I have kayaked many times from Ponca to Kyles Landing on the Buffalo River, one of my favorite places on earth, and the bliss of being on the Buffalo all day is quite comparable to the fun of a Route 358 concert. They will both keep you floating for a week or two.
Katie Tillinghast