Senior Mark
Melloan, center, performs original bluegrass
music at the mouth of Hidden River Stage in
Horse Cave Saturday night with the help of a
band including renowned dobro player Curtis
Burch, left, and upright bassist Rob Collier,
right. "The players came together wonderfully,"
said Melloan. "I couldnīt have asked for a
better band and I think the audience got the
songs. Thatīs what really
matters."
Media
Credit: Price
Chambers
Mark Melloan
waves to people passing down Main Street in
Horse Cave as he takes a short walk to ease his
mind before his concert. "We havenīt come
together yet to play this stuff," said Melloan
about not having rehearsed with all of his band
at the same time. "But itīs a good kind of
nervous energy," he
added.
He casually walked on the
handmade wooden stage wearing a denim shirt, blue
jeans and hiking boots. He picked up his guitar
and began to sing an old Johnny Cash
song.
Elizabethtown senior Mark Melloan
played his first concert at Hidden River Stage in
Horse Cave Saturday night to celebrate the release
of his recent album 'The
Shadowlands.'
His album features acclaimed
banjo player Bela Fleck and dobro player Curtis
Burch whose work includes the 'O Brother Where Art
Thou' soundtrack.
Melloan strummed away on
his guitar as he sang Cash and Beatles tunes along
with a more mellow version of the classic
bluegrass song 'Fox on the Run.'
Also on
the song list were many of his newly released
tunes accompanied by the sounds of the mandolin,
fiddle, dobro, upright bass and drums.
The
band played in an outdoor setting surrounded by
limestone and green trees, while the audience
listened contentedly as they sat on their old
camping chairs. Some listeners swayed their heads
or tapped their feet as the music distracted their
attention from the occasional nipping mosquito.
After the concert ended, Burch, of Bowling
Green, put down his shiny dobro and exited stage
left to mingle with friends.
He could be
spotted with his white hair, spectacles and
Hawaiian shirt a friendly man who is an admitted
supporter of young musicians.
"I think he's
the next James Taylor," Burch said of Melloan.
"He's a very talented singer, songwriter and
musician."
Melloan discovered his passion
for music at age 10 when his father handed him a
Gibson guitar. He began writing 'two-line ditties'
to go along with his guitar rifts.
Since
then, Melloan has enjoyed playing medleys for
friends and family on back porches or in the
comfort of a living room.
He enjoys
playing in these intimate environments the
most.
But performing for unfamiliar faces
is also an exciting experience for this
21-year-old musician.
"It's great to know
that in some sense you are connecting to 200
people," Melloan said of Saturday's
show.
However, he admitted that it is a
little intimidating at first.
"It's a scary
thing to try to measure up to people's
expectations when you're on the stage instead of
sitting across the porch," Melloan
said.
His accomplishments include more than
just singing, guitar playing and songwriting. He
has a full academic scholarship from Western
funding his double major in English and religious
studies.
Graduate school may be in the
near future for Melloan depending on the outcome
of his music career. However, his friends seem to
have a lot of faith in Melloan's prospects as a
musician.
"It's just a matter of time
before everybody knows his name," Franklin senior
Eric Drake said. "And he's the kind of person that
won't forget the people who believed in him from
the very beginning."
Friends and family
aren't the only ones who enjoy Melloan's music.
"He is surrounded by some excellent
musicians and he is an excellent songwriter," said
Jeff Rogers, of Louisville.
Melloan
described his music as a mixture of Nickel Creek,
Ben Harper and Cash. He said Gillian Welch is his
most influential songwriter.
As a college
freshman, Melloan began writing a song a day.
Although ninety percent were no good, he said it
helped hone his craft.
"Now I've got more
comfort with my songwriting and also what my songs
should do," he said.
"Courthouse Rock" is a
song featured on his new album, which he was
inspired to write after rock-climbing at Red River
Gorge.
"And I'm not a rock-climber at
all," Melloan said. "It literally put the fear of
God in me."
The song became a tribute to
Vietnam, and is about two brothers who experienced
fear after scaling cliffs.
Later the
brothers experienced that same fear when they were
sent to Vietnam. After the two were killed in
battle, their dog tags were ironically found on
Courthouse Rock, showing that it was a powerful
place.
Melloan said nothing in particular
inspires his music; it comes naturally.
The
young musician knew he was well received by the
audience after he thanked them for coming, but he
didn't realize how well.
"I didn't expect a
standing ovation," Melloan said. "It was a nice
surprise."
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