The Chester Village Green’s Third Thursdays concert series continues Aug. 16 when Burrito Riders League takes the stage.
The band came together in the spring of 2015 after Chester musician Slim Stanton posted on Facebook something to the effect of: “Before I die I need to play in a 1970s country-rock cover band.” Immediately, singer-songwriter Paulo Franco took up the challenge. Stanton had played on a CD of Paulo’s and occasionally sat in with Franco’s backing band, The Rateros.
The two originally planned to add a lead guitar and rhythm section, but the first order of business was to get that third voice for harmonies, and one of the best singers around was Andy Vaughan. Vaughan fronted his own classic country band, Andy Vaughan and The Driveline, in which Stanton played pedal steel. Originally, Vaughan was to play bass and Franco would switch to lead guitar, but after the first rehearsal they jelled so well as a trio that the idea of a rhythm section was dropped.
The first performance was in June of 2015, and since then they have many shows under their belts and a growing following of country-rock fans. The group occasionally grows to a quartet with Mary Eisendrath adding vocals. She will be at the Village Green show.
Despite the deft songwriting talent of both Vaughan (www.andyvaughanmusic.com) and Franco (www.peflmusic.com), it’s all country-rock covers. Their repertoire includes songs by Gram Parsons, Pure Prairie League, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Eagles, Poco, NRPS, Townes Van Zandt, Little Feat, and Jackson Browne.
More information on the group may be found at brleague.com.
