By SABINE GLOCKER
As you entered Kilworth Chapel, you were greeted by friendly ticket sellers who handed you a pamphlet on Parkinson’s Disease, in honor of Linda Ronstadt, Michael J. Ronstadt’s elder sister who recently ended her musical career because of this heartbreaking disease. Guests filed into their seats on the church pews and awaited the beginning of the show. Soft, folksy music played from the speakers while idle chatter filled the time. After emigrating from Germany to South America in 1839, the Ronstadt family played their music avidly. Officially started in 2010, Ronstadt Generations is a family-oriented band composed of Michael J. Ronstadt, the father, Michael G. Ronstadt, the eldest son, and Petie Ronstadt, the youngest son. Michael J. is the younger brother of Grammy-award-winning Linda Ronstadt (ronstadtgenerations.com). The act opened with two brothers, dressed casually in t-shirts and flannel. A country-style sound filled the building as this duo sang and played a small guitar and catpaws, a spoon-like instrument. The brother on the catpaws played enthusiastically and the brother on the guitar sang in a unique country voice. After the first song, the catpaw brother sang alone and acoustically. His voice rang through the silence, and the audience watched, entranced by his emotional performance. After a rhythmic solo on his catpaws and roaring applause, the other brother joined him again on stage with an acoustic guitar. Together the brothers owned the stage and thrilled the crowd of country and folk fans. Leaving to great applause, the opening act ended. Then it was time for the main act. Arriving on stage to fantastic applause, they arranged themselves in a high, low, high formation: Petie on the far left with an acoustic guitar, Michael G. in the middle, sitting down with a cello, and Michael J. on the far right with another acoustic guitar. All three bearded men began to play a more refined and folksy musical style than their opening act. The father, Michael J., sang the Spanish lyrics in a lovely tenor voice. Petie, his arms tattooed, skillfully muted his guitar and Michael G. played along, at first plucking the strings and later on taking out his bow. As the song went on, it evoked thoughts of cowboys riding along on their horses into sunset silhouetted mountain ranges. As the first song ended, their voices harmonized perfectly. After more thundering applause, they went into their second song—an expert cover of “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. Their voices all blending perfectly together, the cello peeked out from behind the sounds of the acoustic guitars. “Stop, hey, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down,” they sang beautifully before a magnificent cello solo. Their third song started with yet another impressive cello solo. Michael G.’s hands were all over the place; both brothers played expertly, their musical hands blurring as they played. When the eldest brother began a challenging cello part and sang in a charming tenor at the same time, the audience was amazed. The song ended to cheers for the young man. Between songs, they would share stories of their lives, amusing the audience and touching their hearts with tales of family and its importance. Ronstadt Generations played a fantastic show. Between their skillfully played guitars and beautiful cello notes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Every chord, every note was struck perfectly. Every solo and song was met with cheers and applause. Their voices and enthusiasm never tired. For the entirety of their performance, they dominated the stage and captivated those lucky enough to hear their performance. More information can be found at http://www.ronstadtgenerations.com/#!bio/c1lfn.ww
