Trout Fishing in America brings their folky, campy, rootsy and fun-loving show to the Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland on Friday April 24 at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20.
Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing and yet seemingly unlikely musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. As individuals, they are about as different as one can imagine. Together, they blend seamlessly in a way that has captured the imagination (and hearts) of audiences of all ages for over three decades.
The band is in town to do a school program sponsored by People’s Bank, the Rock Hall Elementary School PTA and the Mainstay at RHES and will stick around to do their wonderfully entertaining show for grown-ups in the evening. Known as stars in the world of children’s music, this Trout Fishing in America show for adults will be a bit more sophisticated but youngsters are welcome too. One of the hallmarks of TFIA’s music is that their kids’ music is enjoyed by adults and kids are entertained by their music for grown-ups.
Ezra Idlet plays guitar and banjo and stands 6’8″ tall. Keith Grimwood on bass stretches to 5’5 1/2″ on a humid day. Ezra is more playful and extroverted while Keith is more serious and reserved but they each bring out the best in the other and the joy that comes from this musical interaction is contagious and impossible to deny.
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News described them best when they said, “Their songs are folky and intelligent, part country, part roots, a mix of cheeky lyrics and soulful harmonies. Their live shows blend campy humor and instrumental prowess …The power of their music is that they write kids’ songs that grownups can share without feeling embarrassed or lowbrow. And they write grown-up songs that don’t bore kids.”
The duo has earned four Grammy Nominations and recently released “Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers”. Try saying that five times fast! The CD features tongue twisters, mind-benders, spooky situations and instantly identifiable slices of a kid’s life. In September 2010, they the first full length CD for adults in 11 years a folk/pop CD called “Lookin’ at Lucky.” Included in their catalog is a children’s book/CD “Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important” published through Secret Mountain. The spoken-word tale is followed by 11 original songs relating to the story. Real people and animals in Keith and Ezra’s lives inspired the characters in the songs.
Grimwood began playing music professionally when he was still in his teens. In school, he made the Texas All-State Orchestra four years and later earned a degree in music from the University of Houston. At 22, he landed a position with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. He put himself through college playing pop music in local clubs and that led to his fortuitous meeting with Ezra Idlet.
Idlet attended McClennan College in Waco, Texas on a basketball scholarship. He was a “One-and-Done” player, but not exactly because of his incredible basketball skills. Instead, he decided to leave college and pursue his true love, a lifetime of playing music. In 1976, Idlet and Grimwood met as members of the Houston based eclectic folk/rock band St. Elmo’s Fire. They became the best of friends and musical partners and when St. Elmo’s dissolved in 1979, Trout Fishing in America (named for Keith’s love of Richard Brautigan’s writing and Ezra’s love of fishing) was officially born.
Always independent, their label, Trout Records was in the first wave of artist owned labels to successfully record and market independent music. In 2008, Performing Songwriter Magazine chose Trout Fishing in America as one of the top 100 most influential independent artists in the past 15 years. Their infectious mix of folk/pop and family music is the result of their diverse backgrounds as well as growing up in the musical melting pot that is Texas. Their recordings have garnered three National Indie Awards, multiple Parents Choice and NAPPA Gold awards, the American Library Award, as well as four Grammy nominations.
In 1992, they relocated their families to the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas. Besides being a lovely place to live and raise a family, this central location helped to expand their touring territory to all 50 United States and several Canadian provinces.
Since the beginning, they have played shows for adults as well as kids. Sharing knowledge and encouraging art has become another musical mission of TFIA. In the past few years, they have developed a variety of songwriting workshops for teachers and students that illustrate how art and music come from the fabric of everyday life. Their willingness to make fun of our most annoying habits in one song, then touch our hearts with tender and passionate images of family life in the next is what makes the connection between Trout Fishing in America and their audiences of all ages so real.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street.
For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133.
More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.