Michael Walker, Contributing Writer
Some claim that music has become less of a participatory event in the wake of new, faster media. Not so at the University of Dallas. Though they are on YouTube, our own Stillwater Hobos took center stage at this weekend’s Oktoberfest to give a characteristically cheering rendition of a few Irish folk favorites.
Fittingly named, given their Old World apparel, the lineup for the evening consisted of Thomas Nelson, Alex Burch, Danny Jones, Bob Long, Taylor Posey, Will Teller and Austin Walker. (Please forgive my adding or subtracting a name or two; part of the band’s genuine appeal is the flux of who’s onstage.)
Their vigorous voices and rumbling bodhran dallied with the strains of tickled mandolin and wistful fiddle to produce a sound evocative of all that is hearty. In fact, their warm demeanor loses little whether they are singing or not.
When asked for his opinions on the night’s performance, Jones, a junior English major, replied, “I ain’t got nothing.” Spoken by a man who lets his music speak for itself.
Indeed, if autumn at UD has a melody other than the winds coming over the plains, it very well may be that of the Stillwater Hobos.
