ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE BIRCHMERE

A comprehensive history of one of America’s most storied concert venues by its owner and founder, Oelze, and music writer Moore.

This detailed history opens with a thoughtful foreword by music critic Buzz McClain, who celebrates Oelze’s ownership of the Birchmere, a well-known music club in Alexandria, Virginia, since the mid-1970s. Over the course of the book, readers will recognize dozens of household names who graced the hall with their presence, from Joan Baez to Ray Charles, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock, but the venue itself always remains the star of the show. In the opening chapters, the authors describe the Birchmere’s early history, starting in the 1940s, when it was an “unassuming suburban neighborhood restaurant,” to when it became a fully fledged music space in the late ’60s where one could see bluegrass acts and burgeoning stars, such as Linda Ronstadt. Interspersed throughout these detailed descriptions of nights at the Birchmere, the authors regale readers with anecdotes of famous visitors, including some who weren’t professional musicians; once, President Bill Clinton, on the advice of Vice President Al Gore, went to hear Jerry Jeff Walker play on a Thursday night in 1993, during the early days of his presidency. For music aficionados, the work will serve as an encyclopedic trove of information—not only about major musicians of the second half of the 20th century, but also about the low-key charms of club life, which faced growing competition from arenas and stadiums as time went on. Although readers may be attracted by the accounts of the stars on the Birchmere stage, the most impassioned writing here centers on Oelze’s expert management of the club he loves; as he wryly comments, “Everybody knows how to run the Birchmere. They’ve been telling me how to do it for 55 years.”

A wide-ranging but remarkably intimate account of a legendary music hall.