I hate to interrupt the Northwest FolkLife love, and the Sasquatch hype, but Ballard’s putting its own foot into the Memorial Day weekend music scene, and in a refreshingly appropriate way. Casey Ruff and a number of the more straight-ahead best live bands in Ballard are doing a charity show for wounded veterans at the Sunset.
The show first: Casey Ruff, Rachael Mae, The Smoke Brothers and The Resets (actually, last second change, it will now be Caleb and Walter, similar members doing bluegrass inspired country), Sunday May 29th at Sunset Tavern. Doors at 9 PM. All proceeds go to the charity Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund— an organization that assists catastrophically injured veterans and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Casey Ruff and the Mayors of Ballard are the definition of salt of the Earth around here in Ballard. If you’ve been in this section of Seattle, you’d know Casey just by seeing him– the genuine country rocker tends bar at Tractor Tavern, and his incongruous band of strangely gritty rockers close down the night at seemingly every proper concert in the neighborhood.
Anyway, talk is cheap. I could spend an hour explaining how good Caleb and Walter are.
Here’s them doing a Carter Family song:
Okay, the show will be great.
I asked Casey to give me some quotes about why he’s doing this. The quotes are obvious though. To paraphrase– it’s the right thing to do, and Ballard’s the proper place to do it.