Acoustic Eidolon, and their unique blend of cello and double-neck banjo, is one of many shows canceled through April at Lindsay Community Theatre
LINDSAY – Fate can push people away just as easily as it brings them together. That was the case for Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire, aka Acoustic Eidolon, the latter describing a shadow look-alike in Greek literature.
The husband and wife were scheduled to perform their unique string duet on Saturday, March 21 for a one night only concert at the Lindsay Community Theatre (LCT), but were forced to cancel their entire California tour over concerns about COVID-19 exposure. Theatre manager Jim Kliegl said LCT has canceled all of its show through April on recommendations from state and county health officials.
“We won’t be able to reschedule that event,” Kliegl said. “We just missed out this year, and they missed out on sharing their music.”
While unforeseen circumstances may have cost the group their California tour, fate also had a hand in bringing them together. In 1995, Hannah, a studio cellist, received a call to play on a Boulder, Colo. ensemble’s record. Hannah listened in amazement as directions to the recording studio told her to turn on a small road near her home, and then turn down her own street past her house!
Little did Hannah know that across the street and three houses away lived Joe, the greatest double-neck guitjo (a combination guitar and banjo) player in the world (OK, the only double-neck guitjo player in the world!).
A few years after they met, Joe and Hannah both found themselves between full-time musical engagements. Joe called Hannah, saying he’d always wanted to hear the cello and the guitjo together. He had a feeling the harp-like sound of the guitjo, combined with the warmth of Hannah’s cello, would be beautiful together. So on a snowy day in February 1998, they got together to play for the first time. What happened next was magic. Captivated by the music they created together, Joe and Hannah immediately agreed to clear out their schedules, start rehearsing full-time, and form what would become Acoustic Eidolon.
But, fate wasn’t finished with Hannah and Joe. What started as a musical/business partnership and friendship blossomed into their marriage on Oct. 14, 2001. Hannah and Joe (and sons Zach and Alex) became a family. Joe and Hannah joke that this was a marriage of convenience since they were already together all the time anyway! But, anyone watching them perform can feel the love that draws them together. Their love for one another, and their passion for life, speaks through their music.
Acoustic Eidolon plays the music of America on all acoustic instruments. Their unique combination of cello and guitar brings the sounds of America’s great music tradition to life. Joe and Hannah form a compelling collaboration that has become a true force of nature as the wood from a two-hundred-year-old tree finds its voice in their acoustic instruments.
