Listeners might be surprised when they hear Jimbo Scott sing.
His voice is different from others who wear a long and full beard. Billy Gibbons has a gruff baritone. Chris Stapleton has a resonate drawl. The frontman for Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band screams.
Scott’s voice is on pitch, comfortable and inviting. It melds with the thoughtful songs he writes and he and his band’s fine musicianship. In the blues, such an artist is referred to as a triple threat. The same might apply to Scott’s sound, which many call bluegrass because the ensemble does not include drums.
“Bluegrass is a useful moniker,” Scott said. “My mother said I was singing before I could talk. I can’t remember a day when I was not completely obsessed with music. I was fortunate to have parents who were very much about enabling my musical curiosity. I tried out a number of instruments on my way to guitar. Singing was always in the backdrop. I sang in some choruses and has some wonderful music teachers, some of which I still communicate on a regular basis.”
Scott debuts in the Valhalla Boathouse Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 24. He will be accompanied by acoustic bassist Andy Merrill, mandolin player Dave Pascoe and fiddler Laura Benson.
The parking expansion project — which has been in the works for 26 years! — has been completed. There had been 32 parking spots. Now there are 72, a space for every two seats in the Boathouse Theatre.
Scott also is known for his contributions with Poor Man’s Whiskey, but he’s focusing on his solo work nowadays. He made two LPs before the Covid hiatus and recently released a pair of singles, one of which was inspired by his baby boy.
“I was following my son with guitar as he was learning to crawl,” Scott said.” I like to say it was the first song he and I wrote together.”
Scott began to write songs when he was 13 years old.
“At summer camp somebody handed a guitar to me as a way to occupy myself, and it’s lasted more than 20 years since then,” he said. “It’s a vehicle for songwriting. I haven’t really looked back. That’s how I got into guitar playing. Not even dabbling in covers. I appreciated songwriters Paul Simon and Steve Wonder but I have my own ax to grind.”
-Tim Parsons
- The Jimbo Scott String Band
- When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24
- Where: Valhalla Boathouse Theatre, 1 Valhalla Road, off Highway 89, South Lake Tahoe
- Tickets: $35 LINK
