Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino at The Caribou Room [Review]
Hartswick and Cassarino deliver intimate, powerful performance
By Eric Frank
February 24, 2019
On a cold, blustery and snowy Colorado evening, Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino brought their duo to The Caribou Room in Nederland, CO on Saturday, February 23, 2019.
To begin, if you’ve never been to The Caribou Room, you should make it a priority. While there may be flashier venues, or those with larger capacities, The Caribou Room offers a unique and intimate atmosphere that is truly unparalleled. The staff is fantastic, the room sounds great, and its presence in the quirky, close-knit mountain town is a welcome complement.
While the somewhat inclement weather may have negatively affected attendance, the same cannot be said of the performance. Once the lights went down, the melodies rose like songbirds greeting the morning, filling the air with sweet welcoming harmony. Hartswick was gifted with a potent voice, but one that has aged like fine wine, improving with each melodious year. This elixir pairs perfectly with smooth trumpet blasts that shimmered in the snowy moon-lit night in Nederland. She appears impossibly confident on stage, performing with an assuredness that bubbles over into adulterated joy washing over audiences and fellow musicians alike (of which there were plenty).
A cornerstone of the Trey Anastasio Band since Phish’s initial hiatus in 2000, Hartswick’s voice has become familiar not only to fans of TAB, but to those within the jam scene and across the broader music community. Her sit-ins and collaborations have included the likes of Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Dave Matthews and Tom Petty. She works hard at her craft—and it shows.
Though she may not realize it, I've had the privilege of meeting Hartswick on several occasions, including tonight. Despite her commanding stage presence, she remains remarkably humble and grounded, exuding charisma and authenticity both onstage and off. Truly, she is a musical marvel, leaving an indelible impression in every encounter.
Admittedly, I knew little about Nick Cassarino before the evening began. While somewhat familiar with his funk/soul band, The Nth Power, I was largely unaware of his widespread talents and myriad stylistic abilities. Watching him play was like witnessing a star athlete perform during an “on” night, if that makes sense. The guy is truly inspiring to watch—each note precisely played with intention and emotion. Often, I found myself staring at his fingers stretched across the fretboard and whizzing up and down the neck, wishing “if only I could play half as good…”
