Pride works wonders for Godwin

Charles Wesley Godwin is West Virginia proud. He made that clear during a charged, engaged outing at a sold-out show where just over two years ago ,he was opening for his musical compadre Zach Bryan in the very same venue.

After all, the red bandana-ed singer came out of the gate with the opening bookend of "Cue Country Roads" where he incorporated a few words from the John Denver chestnut to sing about missing home. This marked a muscular start for Godwin with his backing group providing the necessary rapid paced onslaught. For the most part, though, Godwin played country music with touches of rock, folk and Americana - all courtesy of Godwin's hefty baritone.

That was far from the last we would hear from Godwin about West Virginia. In fact he wove stories and tales about the Mountaineer State into his songs, including some based on his own family history and some made up.

Before singing "The Flood," Godwin told the story of a 200-year-old flood that hit his parents' home area and the difficulties of seeing what happened to the home of a loved one.

He dedicated one of the early songs, the well-penned "Miner Imperfections," to his father about life in the coal mines transposed to his own life. Godwin sang, "I've got miner imperfections/I'm proud of my roots/Calluses on my hands, singing to a room." There was no doubting that.

The well-delivered "Family Ties," which all of a sudden bursts with urgency thanks to Godwin's vocals, makes it clear where Godwin is coming from: "Strike me down if I cut family ties." No wonder he dedicated the pretty "Dance in the Rain" to his daughter.

As usual, Godwin spread the love around to the rest of his band mates. Most importantly, Godwin also gave The Allegheny High band a lot of musical space to play out. Proof positive – Godwin often would sidle over to whoever was playing and hang with them, obviously – and rightfully – enjoying what he was hearing.

The anchor was his guitarist and producer Al Torrence. A lively stage presence (in fact, every band member was. These guys were not boring), Torrence backed it up with his guitar fills and runs. Godwin's music also included a lot of pedal steel and banjo (Amico "Meex" Demuzio), mandolin (Eric Dull), piano and even harmonium (Max Somerville).

For the closing "Cranes of Potter," it was just Godwin and Torrence on acoustic guitars, another welcome change of pace with the emphasis on a fictitious story behind a body found during modern day construction.

As for the closing bookend, as Godwin said, "There's only one way in which (we're) we're going to finish the set." That would, of course, be Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" with the crowd singing lustily along. Yes, this was a night where Godwin stuck to his roots – geographical and otherwise. He's proud of his home state, and he also should be proud of outings like this.

Willow Avalon, a Georgia native with an album coming out in January, opened with traditional-based country songs, Avalon sang well and had some good guitar work behind her. What she didn't have was a lot of pizzazz in capturing the audience. At least at this point in her career, smaller stages may serve her better and she'll get that chance this winter. Avalon gave a good introduction to herself musically while also having room to grow.