By Don Allred

There are three weeks worth of bands playing in Columbus between now and the end of Spring Break. Here’s a rundown of some of the groups swinging through town throughout the rest of March. Let’s get started with a little appetizer on Wednesday the 18th at the well-named House of Crave, with the sassy sounds of Oakhurst. Our contacts among the lumberjacks claim that Oakhurst are playing their hot hoe-downs a bit straighter than the alternagrass they once smoked, but their rowdy spirit goes just fine with the original spirit of bluegrass (‘billy boys strapped to high-strung blues, careening ‘round the mountain).

By Tuesday the 25th, minds and bodies should be ready to be re-tuned by oceanic percussion rolling through the Palace Theatre, courtesy of Japan’s Kodo crew. Their giant taiku drums summon the bellweather and all-weather vibrations of backroad Shinto ceremonies and harvest celebrations, though the maze of Sado Island’s ancient history of artists and other exiles (they know their African and Indonesian beats too).

Originally Published: Issue 734 - March 11, 2009