Photo by Pat Jarrett, courtesy Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
Starting over can be tough, especially at age 78.
“I realize that I have to go on,” says the gruff-voiced near-octogenarian Sherman Holmes, slated to appear at this month’s Richmond Folk Festival as leader of the Sherman Holmes Project. “And you know, I’ve always kind of prided myself on trying to do the impossible.”
For this longtime bass player of The Holmes Brothers band, it’s now a solo thing.
Sherman and his younger brother, Wendell, grew up in Middlesex County, sharing an uncommon bond with music. With “adopted brother” and drummer Popsy Dixon, Sherman and Wendell formed The Holmes Brothers, a musical ensemble that became one of roots music’s most potent forces, performing in dozens of countries, collaborating with Peter Gabriel and Van Morrison, and eventually copping a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In a rich, 35-year career, The Holmes Brothers conjured a sound all their own, specializing in mixing gospel, R&B, country and blues — while often playfully transforming pop and rock songs — into a distinctive meld of pure American music.
“And then my brothers were gone,” Sherman says, with sadness. “They both died within six months of each other.” Dixon died in 2015 from bladder cancer, and Wendell, who battled cancer for years, soon followed, passing away from pulmonary hypertension.
Before their deaths, The Holmes Brothers were participating in the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities’ Apprenticeship Program. Holmes was left to finish the instruction, mentoring a young blues singer, Whitney Morgan. At the apprenticeship showcase, Holmes performed a song and stunned the crowd.
“I was blown away by his voice,” says Jon Lohman, head of the foundation’s Virginia Folklife Program. “Right after he finished, I asked him if he wanted to make a record.”
The result was “The Richmond Sessions.” Like the best Holmes Brothers work, it’s a stirring mélange of genres, drawing on blues, bluegrass, R&B, and rock ’n’ roll. For the disc, released in July, Lohman worked with Holmes on assembling a set of cover songs: both traditional mainstays — such as “Rock of Ages” and “Little Liza Jane” — and fare from more contemporary artists (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ann Peebles, Vince Gill).
Lohman also assembled a wide-ranging lineup of players to back Holmes over two days at Montrose Studios: Sammy Shelor (banjo), Rob Ickes (dobro), Brandon Davis (guitar), Jacob Eller (bass), Devonne Harris (keyboards and drums), David Van Deventer (fiddle), multi-instrumentalist Jared Pool and the Ingramettes on backing vocals. Joan Osborne, a longtime Holmes Brothers collaborator, trades vocals with Holmes on a smoldering cover of “The Dark End of the Street.”
The Ingramettes and most of “The Richmond Sessions” players will appear with Holmes at the Folk Festival. “I’m doing a different format,” he says. “Of course it’ll never be the Holmes Brothers, but it’s not meant to be. I’ll adjust.” He pauses and offers a trademark chuckle. “I have to.”
The Sherman Holmes Project will perform on the Virginia Folklife Stage during the Richmond Folk Festival on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. Free. richmondfolkfestival.org
