April Showers Addendum: The Mysterious Jon’s Long Journey Into Night.
Note: Guest blogger The M. Jon is a man of business, a behind the scenes master of relationship, a connector, a deal maker and a live music show warrior. He gave Old Hank perhaps the best advice he ever got which goes something like this: “Old Hank, as an old man, you can still be anything you want. You just can’t be creepy.” Word.
The following is a description, in his own words, of The Mysterious Jon’s epic journey to see 4 bands on one Saturday night in Cville, April 26, 2025.
The Journey.
This is how I became a human, show-consuming ping pong ball.
Charlottesville isn’t just a charming college town with wineries, historic sites, and enough artisanal bakeries to keep your sourdough addiction alive. No, friends, it’s also a sneaky little hub of live music. And if you’re anything like me—overly ambitious with a side of FOMO—you might find yourself attempting the impossible: attending multiple concerts in one night. Spoiler alert: it’s equal parts exhilarating and foolhardy.
The evening began with optimism (and carbs) innocently enough. I armed myself tickets to two different shows and a belly full of Crispy Cod Sandwich and draft Pilsner from Brightside – a sneaky solid spot for pre-show drinks. Ol’ Hank picked Brightside during a super packed evening with beautiful weather and tons people out from various events in town. The night promised multiple bands that should not have been competing for ears on the same night, but hey, this is Cville and we do live music hard.
First stop, Koda & Marie at the Southern. I just saw Koda with his friends at Tom Tom two weeks ago but can’t resist seeing the duo version of Chamomile & Whiskey. Jane and JB had us set up over at Ting, so I was able to catch most of the classic C&W set at the Southern before heading to Ting for Wyatt Torres. Despite my well known but always in control love of IPAs, I kept it to a couple of Modelos before trucking it down the mall to see the next act. Gotta conserve some energy…
Arriving at the second venue for the much awaited Wyatt Flores show, I’m reminded of the tremendous gift that is the Pavilion. It’s the perfect sized venue for bands on the rise or established. Despite an outdoor location, its sound is incredible and the vibe is certainly cool. The crowd for Wyatt was youthful, knowledgable, and depending on your taste, better dressed than the audience at the Southern.
Wyatt has only recently made my playlist but he’s got a clean, upbeat country style. Not as raw as a Zach Bryan but he’s on that You Tube fueled trajectory. The crowd knew all the songs but this middle-aged man only picked up a few out of the 8 – 10 I saw – Welcome to the Plains, Break my Bones (he promised to take his shirt off to the roar of the 55% female crowd), My Last Call & Stillwater. You know that country has been penetrating the hipster crowd when you see pink Ping polos on men and the classic UVA girl outfit of skirts and cowboy boots. Couldn’t stay for all it…wanted to, but I’ve still got a long night of work to do. Time to roll.
The War and Treaty is an obvious ticket for me on any night so on my way back to The Southern I dipped into the Jefferson to catch as much as I could, and I’m glad I did. This married duo has a lot of heat after AMA & Grammy nominations. While they are a mix of country and soul I arrived just in time for the gospel chapter of their set. They even lifted a singer out of the audience to join them for “Can I Get an Amen”. They had a solid crowd and I think they’ll be pushed up a notch in venue size next time they are through. But, time to roll.
When I have a lot of things to do in limited time, I often imagine myself as Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in Goodfellas the day he gets busted (click on the photo of Ray if you want a refresher). Thankfully, no arrest and no mystery helicopter was in the sky as I double-timed back to the Southern to join up with Old Hank, Eli and Bazz at Them Dirty Roses’ show. They were just muscling through a Led Zep drum solo as I arrived. I thought I had walked in and Bonzo had risen from his slumber. Another Modelo in hand, I weaved my way down to the team as TDR banged through their biggest hit – Cocaine & Whiskey. I found my boys near the stage sweating and screaming. The set was incredible. The covers rivaled their originals in establishing them as the “it” Sourthern Rock Band in my mind. The crowd was on fire as the band charged headlong into their Encore. I was left midly exhausted. And ready for the afterglow and discussions of a night of great shows. But…
Coda (a concluding passage) / Koda (a musician)
We got to speaking to Koda who encouraged us to keep it going. The Durtiest of Nelly’s was just hitting her stride over in Frye Springs, and Pinkish was about to come on stage. Why not head over for a night cap set and beer, he asked? Why would anyone ever listen to a musician about staying out too late?
So, Uber acquired, we booked across town to catch the end of the punk showcase. Pinkish pushed out a highly energetic set with a typical crowd at DN: a total mixed bag of the human race in all it’s diversity with townies, students, locals and hipsters in equal measure. I’m just getting to know this band after the show we hit at Superfly, but thus far I like what I see/hear. And the sound at DN is impeccable (sorry no pic or vid on this one, I was done.) It was the most perfect ending to a night since I gave up post-midnight, post-Durty Nelly’s Taco Bell runs after that time with Patrick and Old Hank in the mini van but that’s another story to be forgotten in a river of forgotten Old Hank stories
The Aftermath
By the end of the night, I had walked roughly 10,000 steps, sweated through my shirt twice on a fairly cool spring night, and made peace with the fact that I might never regain full function in my feet. But I also had a phone full of blurry photos, mediocre video shots, a head full of great music, and a heart full of joy (and possibly regret? time will tell).
Charlottesville, you unpredictable little gem, you won this round. Ask my pillow as I barely made it to 9 PM bedtime on Sunday. Next time, I’ll stick to one concert—or at least invest in better shoes.
Later,
The M. Jon
Note: We have never seen the Mysterious Jon with as much as a wrinkle in his perfectly laundered dress shirts. If he wears a new sport jacket on Thursday, Howie Long is wearing that same blazer on the Set of Fox NFL on Sunday. Coincidence? Don’t think so. So perhaps “sweated through two shirts” is the M. Jon’s way of lending color to his story or trying to be relatable to the rest of us. In any case, M. Jon, thank you for your dedication, expertise and constant support for Cville Live Music and this channel. Sleep well sweet Prince.
