Cahalen Morrison and Eli West are not your typical stars of the stage—but they command respect, admiration and a growing fan base wherever they go. At first glance, one might not take these two as serious singer/songwriters. Hell, you might be surprised to know they play multiple instruments with finesse. Who are these two? Farmhands? PhD students in Forestry Science? Mill workers? Beer truck drivers? But what’s this? A Fletcher Brock Octave Mandolin and an open back banjo? This is getting good.
When they step on stage, there are always a few people in the audience looking quizzically, wondering if these two are stagehands. As soon as the first refrain of “On God’s Rocky Shore” begins, quizzical looks melt into awe that gives way, in turn, to wonderment. For the next hour-or-so, Cahalen and Eli are driving, no question about it; they can command even the most unruly of rooms, even noisy barrooms like the rustic Gold Hill Inn, deep in the foothills west of Boulder, Colorado. By the time they’ve spun out the first refrain of their co-written “My Lover, Adorned”, nothing else but the music filling the room—and your heart—matters.
By the end of the show, those who had never heard of Cahalen Morrison and Eli West will be digging though their wallets for cash to buy a copy of The Holy Coming Of The Storm. Two days out, they’ll be listening to the cd and longing for more, and it’s that longing that best describes their poetic mix of moss, earth and soul. Don’t try too hard to pin it down. Just listen, wonder and appreciate the longing for just a little more.
On God’s Rocky Shore
Nice. I like it!!