Andrew Morris, a guitarist and vocalist from Indiana, and Julie Bates, a fiddler and vocalist with roots in the Kansas City area, have released two albums as The Matchsellers.
They're an old-timey, folk and country duo whose between-song banter is as entertaining as their music. Among their two shows in upcoming days is the “Cover Me, KC” benefit for the Midwest Music Foundation, which Bates organized, with a roster of well-known area musicians covering one another’s compositions.
In their own shows, Bates and Morris' witty repartee evokes the down-home humor associated with the Grand Ole Opry and the television program "Hee Haw." The droll “Dirt and Beard Hair,” for example, from their 2016 album "Songs We Made Up," is an amusing account of the bacchanal atmosphere around late-night campfires at bluegrass and folk festivals:
The Matchsellers, 3-6 p.m. Sunday, December 10 at Stockyards Brewing Company, 1600 Genessee Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64102; 816-895-8880. With Kansas City musicians in the "Cover Me" benefit for the Midwest Music Foundation, 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 12 and at RecordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri, 64108; 816-753-5207.
KCUR contributor Bill Brownlee blogs about Kansas City's jazz scene at Plastic Sax.
