The thing that I enjoy so much about Twitter is that you get to connect with people you might not have connected with otherwise. One artist that I’ve met through Twitter is Stuart Weber, a classical guitarist and composer based out of Montana. Weber has recently released a new CD titled The Fifth Row, which includes a number of original compositions as well as performances of Weber’s arrangement of compositions by composers such as George Philipp Telemann, Antonin Dvorak, Bela Bartok, Randy Newman, and Samuel Ward.

Weber’s performances of the pieces are tasteful and well executed. His technique is flawless, but not at the expense of the music. To me, one of the hallmarks of a great classical guitarist is whether you can listen to the guitarist perform and not think about the technique but instead focus on the music. Weber certainly falls into this category. Listening to The Fifth Row, I find myself engrossed in the music. I’m really impressed with Weber’s ability to bring out the emotion of the compositions.

In addition to the performances, Weber celebrates 11 historic theaters in the Western United States by recording a different track in each theater. Some of the theaters Weber celebrates are the Ellen Theater in Bozeman, Montana; the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride, Colorado; and the Ellen Eccles Theater in Logan, Utah.

The Fifth Row highlights Stuart Weber’s excellent performing, arranging, and composing skills. If you are a fan of classical guitar music, I think you’ll really enjoy The Fifth Row.

Also, see Dr. Matthew Warnock’s review of The Fifth Row for Modern Guitars.

Below is a video of Weber playing one of my favorite pieces from the CD, Telemann’s “Bouree alla Polacca”:

I was actually surprised to hear that Lang was travelling back through Nashville. My wife and I saw him when he passed through a little over a year ago and since he hasn’t released any new music since then, it was surprising to see his name pop up on the Ryman Web site. What was perhaps more surprising was that the crowd was even larger this time around than the last! I’m glad to see that he continues to draw large crowds.

Another surprise was that when the show started, Lang came out on stage carrying a Les Paul. It was a little odd to see him with a Les Paul given his history of playing thinline Telecasters. I don’t recall him ever playing a Les Paul in the other concerts of his that I’ve been to. Of course, the Tele made an appearance later in the show. And, I thought his Tele sounded better than the Les Paul. While the Les Paul sounded good, the tone of the Tele was great!

As you would expect, he played a lot of his hits, which I always enjoy hearing. His playing was intense and inspired, perhaps even more so than the last time I saw him live. Although he’s a great guitarist, I wouldn’t categorize Lang as a highly technical player, but he always plays with a lot of passion.

I really enjoyed seeing Jonny Lang, and the Ryman is one of my favorite venues here in Nashville. If you get a chance to see either, I highly recommend doing so.