David Crosby & The Sky Trails Band
Kent Stage
Kent, Ohio
August 20, 2019
(JoeRay Master Series Volume 38)

Recording: Schoeps MK4 > Sony PCM D10

Transfer: Master .wav file > iZotope RX / ozone (mastered) > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 In My Dreams
02 Morrison
03 Eight Miles High
04 At The Edge
05 I Think I
06 Guinnevere
07 Long Time Gone
08 D�j� vu
09 The Lee Shore
10 Triad
11 Rusty and Blue
12 Delta
13 What Are Their Names
14 Janet
15 Wooden Ships
16 Ohio

Known Faults:
-The Lee Shore: start slightly cut

Sky Trails Band Members:
David Crosby-guitar, vocals
James Raymond-keyboard, vocals
Mai Agan-bass
Steve DiStanislao-drums
Michelle Willis-keyboards, vocals
Jeff Pevar-lead guitar, vocals

Excellent David Crosby show/capture from JoeRay on his "Sky Trails 2019" tour.

JoeRay gives us more details around the show and his history/relationship with Crosby.

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I first was exposed to the music of David Crosby when I saw CSNY first, in December 12, 1969 and then July 3, 1970 at Cleveland Public Hall. Then in September 25, 1971, I saw David and Graham Nash at Cleveland Music Hall. They performed solo and as a duet acoustically. Croz�s beautiful baritone voice blended with Nash�s high tenor voice so well but what blew me away was the content of his writing. Read the lyrics to any of his songs, you�ll know what I am talking about. Lee Shore, What Are Their Names, Long Time Gone, Laughing, Music is Love, D�j� vu, Wooden Ships, Ohio, Wind On The Water etc� These songs aren�t just simple love songs, these songs describe lifes journeys, political conflicts, the environment, even life and death. It was if Crosby was writing for me alone. I was hooked.

For the next 48 years, I have seen David perform over 100 times and every time it was new, fresh and compelling. Whether solo or with CSNY, David is why I was there. When he formed his own band, CPR, with Jeff Pevar and James Raymond (his son) I got to know David personally. I started to learn what made David so special. His dedication to the song became so apparent. Seeing him describe what made a song come alive allowed me to learn so much more about writing and playing music. September 28, 2003, I was invited to his home town to attend a small, private concert to benefit his son�s school music program. He and CPR opened the concert and he brought Neil Young along to headline. It was a concert for Croz�s closest friends.

Most importantly I learned from Croz what it meant to �Stand and Be Counted�. It was his way of describing how important it was for musicians to care about specific issues and to be willing to associate their name and fame to advance certain social causes such as Civil Rights, the environment or many other social issues. It is his passion to �Stand and Be Counted� that caused me to love and respect Croz as a person and not just a musician.

I was so fortunate to be in Cleveland during August 20, 2019 so I could take my mom who was 89 years young at the time, to see Croz and his band perform at the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio. Unfortunately, this was the last time I saw Croz perform live and the last time he made it possible to bring my mom and I backstage after the concert to see him. Four months later, the world would be in the griped in the Covid pandemic where live music was suspended. January 17, 2023 was the last day Croz and I texted each other. He passed away January 18, 2023 of Covid.

This concert at the Kent Stage was also very special to David Crosby as he was a co-writer with Neil Young of the song, OHIO which was about the shootings by the Ohio National Guard of 11 Kent State University students and killing 4 of the students who were peacefully protesting the War in Viet Nam May 4th, 1970 on the Kent State University campus.

Croz surrounded himself with 3 members of the original CPR Band, namely, Jeff Pevar, James Raymond and Steve DiStanislao and new members, Michelle Willis and Mai Agan. Together, this band was able to rock with songs like Eight Miles High, Long Time Gone, Wooden Ships and OHIO but also take you to lofty heights with new songs like At The Edge, I Think I and Janet. The encore of OHIO brought the house down as many folks in attendance were on campus May 4, 1970 and lived what the song was written about. It was great to see the audience standing with their fist raised when they joined Croz in singing, �FOUR DEAD IN OHIO��
Hopefully the music and songs of David Crosby will live on forever� Love you Croz�

The concert was recorded from the 5th row-right center with a Sony PCM D10 Sony Audio recorder with Schoeps MK4 matched pair of mics and a NBOX pre-amp 24 bit/192 sampling.

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I was fortunate enough to meet Crosby twice over the years and can echo JoeRay's thoughts on those brief meetings, each time he could not have been more accommodating and warm. He had a way of making you feel like you were old friends.

Huge thanks to JoeRay supplying so many excellent captures...more to come!

mjk5510 and JoeRay

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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