Mansfield Welcomes Kathy Mattea

We spent a few hours down in the city of Mansfield last evening. Headed down early enough to accomplish a little shopping. Also made the mandatory stop at the Kingwood Center, a 47 acre garden estate once occupied by some captain of industry down there, and open to the public since the '50s.

Here are some quickly snapped photos to give you an idea of the place and what's blooming right now (it changes, quite nearly week to week. Sorry I didn't get a picture of the strolling peacocks!)

The gardens at Kingwood are great and, as some of the pictures here indicate, it's tulip time. Also, it is evidently prom time in Mansfield, as the place was overrun by tuxedoed and prom-dressed young 'uns and family members wielding cameras. It is a great setting for a prom shot. These pictures only show a small portion of the grounds, as we were on a tight schedule. For more info on Kingwood Center you can click here


We had tickets for a concert by Kathy Mattea in the old Renaissance Theater downtown in Mansfield. I am far from a country music fan but I have a soft spot for the more bluegrass oriented branch of country. Kathy Mattea hit the charts with some mainstream stuff in the 80's and probably made her biggest mark with the moving "Where've You Been". Since then she has done some interesting stuff involving a new concept album centered around coal mining.

She appeared with three outstanding musicians: a lead acoustic guitarist, a stand up bass player, and a utility mandolin-fiddler player from Ireland, who was quite adept at both. They went for maybe over two hours and it was an excellent show. Her voice is as perfect and strong as ever. She even closed the encore by playing a very Celtic instrumental with her playing a piccolo and flute as well as guitar (and she is a very competent picker, I'd add - a true musician).
This was a sort of mother's day present for my wife, who wanted to go on the basis of her really liking "Where've You Been" and Kathy Mattea's voice, and who was happily impressed by the whole concert. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the show, as well. Mattea comes across as a humorous but genuine and concerned person with abundant musical gifts.