The Dauphin of Mississippi
22nd August 2020
Tasting Room Haumoana, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Olivia Robertson.
In the stories of Mark Twain, The Dauphin of Mississippi is the name adopted by a conman, with his companion in crime, The Duke. In the time since his appearance in those pages his whereabouts were, for a long time, something of a mystery. Some rumours suggested he had relinquished his dishonorable ways all in the cause of love, and followed a sweet geologist to the ends of the earth. Well, today let me update the story. Turns out many of the tales are true, and he’s a resident in Wellington, New Zealand. Metamorphosed in the body of Jason Burge – an itinerant musician who plays a mean guitar and sings songs and tells tales that’ll have y’all laughing, crying, and all points in between! A native of Mississippi who arrived on these shores via a diversion into Annie Proulx country – the great state of Wyoming, following in the footsteps of his inspiration and literary mentor, the writer Brad Watson.
My first ever experience of the magic that is the Sitting Room Sessions was seeing Jason perform, opening for Dave Dondero on their North Island Charm Offensive tour a year or two back. Playing, appropriately enough on the 4th of July, he performed a heartfelt set that set the audience up nicely for the appearance of Mr Dondero. Tonight, things came full circle, and Jason performed a full set, accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Dusty Burnell and the geologist, Claire, providing sweet-honey-in-the-rock backing vocals.
Sure, he’s anything but a household name, such is the cruel twist of algorithms, but it’s not for lack of talent or application as his songs are hugely literate and intensely melodic. But for that one lucky roll of the dice, he’d be known far and wide. This does cause him to forever be tempted to take the advice of Brad, and give up the music because he’s too good of a writer to let his words not be out there. But until that day comes he’ll keep following the trail of crumbs laid out in front of him on the journey that is the life of a traveling musician.
Tonight’s set kicked off with a bit of local flavour, not the last we’d see, as the song “Hokitika” mused on the possibility of pluvial cessation in the town, before concluding that “all that gold can’t stop the rain”. The setting then switched to Cormac McCarthy country, with the song “Witness” drawing inspiration from the same events as the story “Blood Meridian”. In Jason’s opinion, anyone seeking to understand America must look to the west, for it is there that one will find the essence, in microcosm, of the American way – a theme to which there would be frequent returns through the course of the show. Following this was the emotive ballad “Blindside” telling of the tendency of life to do just that, before a return to local climes for “Girls of Old New Zealand” wherein he expressed his admiration for a few ladies whose tender ministrations had brought light and solace to his life, ladies such as Katherine Mansfield, Janet Frame and others besides.
Further touches of the melancholic Old West came in the form of songs such as “Butch and the Heartbreak Kid”, inspired by Jason’s musings during the period he lived across the road from Wyoming State Prison (where Butch Cassidy served time) and “One Last Job” telling the age-old tale of the one final take that’ll provide freedom – but of course it never works out that way. Through all these musical byways, masterful accompaniment is given by Dusty Burnell (also of the Frank Burkitt Band) on fiddle, mandolin, lap steel, dobro and Telecaster, showing that he brings much more to the table than simply owning a large enough van to carry everything! Not to forget the sweet backing vocals provided by Claire, whose devotion to her partner was clearly evident – as a geologist, she loves him like a rock!
New Zealand has clearly given its fair share of inspiration, with him admitting to having written 74 songs in his time with us, and we were told that if not for the small matter of visas, the stay would be longer. Who knows, maybe the state of the dumpster fire that is their home country may qualify them for political asylum? His admitted bucket-list campaign of hassling his one time near-neighbour Bill English must surely provide some extra merit points in this department, if there’s any justice!
Brad Watson, mentor and inspiration, made an appearance in song, an elegaic ode to his recent passing, soon to be recorded on a tribute EP, titled “Watson’s Typewriter”. Jason told of his numerous attempts to rehearse this song without breaking down, the wound of his passing still raw. And very touching it was. After a few more songs, a highlight of which was the new song “Where Do You Cry”, an appreciative audience filed out into the night, having experienced once more the power of the session – bringing together artist and audience in an intimate setting where the focus is on the entertainment alone, and all take something new away from the experience. In these troubled times, the essence of what will get us through is in events such as this, and we look forward to many more, while holding close in our hearts those who are temporarily restricted from gathering in this way – we’ll meet again, as someone once sang. Kia Kaha!
Were you there at this Sitting Room Session for this great Americana tinged show? Or have you seen The Dauphin of Mississippi perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.
Yes, my wife and I have witnessed the Dauphin in concert, both in NZ and US. We are parents of the “sweet geologist” who loves him like a rock. Thank you for a marvelous review. I wish we had been there, but you can’t keep them. After we have dumped our dangerous embarrassment of a President it will be safe for them to come home.
Right on! Jason’s a treasure. Great review.