I was fortunate enough to work several shows with the great Doc Watson. The first of which was when his son Merle was still alive, at the Keystone Palo Alto (California) in 1979. The last was at Reno’s Hawkins Amphitheater in October of 2005. There was never a show where he didn’t put the magic in magnificent. Watching him perform and mixing sound for him was always very special, but just sitting across the table from him eating lunch, I always felt I was in the presence of true greatness. And such a true gentleman with a great sense of humor to boot.
I recorded many of the shows and two of his best engagements were at the 140-seat Hacienda del Sol in Reno. Much thanks to Hacienda owner Barry Rivlin for helping me present the man, the icon, Doc Watson. We’re starting out with one of them on our new Doc page here: