Wheatfield

In the '70s, when Austin City Limits was just getting off the ground, Craig Calvert and Connie Mims brought Wheatfield to the Hill Country stage and found immediate success. Wheatfield's slick, acoustic folk was the perfect panacea for those burned-out hippies looking to mellow out along the Colorado River. Eventually,...

By Darryl Smyers

January 25, 2008

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In the '70s, when Austin City Limits was just getting off the ground, Craig Calvert and Connie Mims brought Wheatfield to the Hill Country stage and found immediate success. Wheatfield's slick, acoustic folk was the perfect panacea for those burned-out hippies looking to mellow out along the Colorado River. Eventually, the band got sued and changed its name to St. Elmo's Fire (poor choice). In any incarnation, Calvert and Mims mixed country, bluegrass and jazz into their folksy pop and became favorites at carnivals and fairs all across the state. Although they broke up in 1979, the band's formerly unreleased tapes have finally seen the light of day and the resulting self-titled CD is an enjoyable time warp to a more innocent age. Helped out by Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet (better known as Trout Fishing in America), the reformatted Wheatfield are a study in harmonies and instrumental dexterity. Local singer/songwriter Annie Benjamin opens the show. Benjamin's quirky personality and catchy rock/pop should prove the perfect appetizer for a main course of tasteful authenticity.

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