by Ken Firoved
Wenatchee World
A career milestone was reached in early September when long-time country music artist Caleb Klauder and his partner Reeb Willms of Waterville, Washington played at the storied Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Country music fans will recognize the Ryman Auditorium as home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The Ryman has long served as the preeminent venue for many of the great country singers through the decades from Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, the Carter Family, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff and so many more. It still hosts many of the top country artists of today. The Grand Ole Opry has since moved to a larger capacity home on the outskirts of Nashville, Opryland.
Invited to open for the Watchhouse Duo, a folk roots band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Caleb and Reeb, accompanied by legendary stand-up bass player Mike Bub and fiddler Christian Sedelmyer, both of Nashville, received a standing ovation for their 45 minute opening set, during which they performed mostly their own original songs. They later joined Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, of the Watchhouse Duo, for an encore presentation.
Ken Burns, in his documentary titled Country Music, described the Ryman Auditorium as the Mother Church of Country Music – a place country music artists revere. Willms said she felt that emotion as she stood on stage and looked out at the 2500-seat auditorium.
“I kept expecting to get nervous, but the nerves just settled down as the magic of the venue took over and let us sing our songs and play our music like we were in our living room,” Klauder said.
Klauder, of Orcas Island, is a singer, songwriter, who also plays mandolin, fiddle and guitar. He founded the Caleb Klauder Country Band and co-founded the Foghorn Stringband in Portland Oregon. Reeb, of Waterville, began her musical career early, learning to play piano and guitar and listening to her dad and uncles singing country harmonies. She took that early exposure and turned it into a professional musical career.
Klauder and Willms joined forces in 2011 and have since played to audiences across the United States, Canada, western Europe and Australia and New Zealand. Both admitted they had dreamed they would one day stand on the legendary stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
Klauder and Willms perform and tour as a duo and also with their 6-piece country band. They also tour with the Foghorn Stringband, a 4-piece old-time string band.
