Red Bank, NJ, saw three generations of guitar talent perform at RiverJAM Music’s Listening Room: Songs & Stories concert on March 25. With Pat Guadagno, Johnny Kasun, and Luke Brindley showing off their fingerpicking skills, the venue was filled with the type of infectious melodies only a guitar can produce.

The night began with Reagan Richards and Gordon Brown of Williams Honor, who also hold the position of songwriting mentors for RiverJAM, introducing the three performers for the night. Guadagno kicked the rotation of songs off with refined confidence, his stage presence being the vessel for his youthful, timeless voice. As told by Guadagno, his love for music originally blossomed in the form of playing the piano. However, his brother played in a rock band, which piqued Guadagno’s interest, and he began teaching Guadagno a chord a week on the guitar. This lifelong love for the instrument transcended his set, as he shamelessly paid homage to other artists’ music. In his own words, “I have a criminal record of stealing people’s songs.”

Luke Brindley’s sections of the performance alternated between lyrical and non-vocal choices from his discography. He began with his fingerpicking original, “Coyote,” which flew in hot and vividly evoked an image of the namesake animal running through the woods. His use of a guitar slide created this illusion of racing and weaving in between trees, and the 12-string he played on provided musical depth to an already exceptional talent. “Angeline” played next, accompanied by Guadagno’s improvised vocals and sporadic lines of timely lyrics. “Deverish” took listeners back around to a purely instrumental track, a somewhat experimental and atmospheric song that gripped the audience’s attention and didn’t release until the final note rang. This song alone served as a masterclass on what endless possibilities the guitar provides when the player surpasses simply strumming out chords.

Johnny Kasun is no stranger to Songs & Stories, as this performance in particular is his second time on the Triumph Brewery stage for RiverJAM. After Brindley’s first song, he quipped, “Show’s over at this point. What am I supposed to do now?” which alone stands as a testament to Kasun’s comfort level not only playing music on stage but working a crowd as well. His set consisted of all fingerpicking songs, demonstrating that lyrics aren’t essential to conveying a particular message. His guitar sang its own kind of lyrics, ones that were interpreted solely by each listener. One song choice was an original arrangement of Billy Joel’s “Lullabye”—at the request of Kasun’s mother, he revealed—and easily became a crowd favorite because it seamlessly mixed nostalgia with innovation.

In classic Songs & Stories fashion, each artist on stage worked together even when resting from their own set, undeniably roped into the gravitational pull of each other’s talent and individuality. Said aptly in A Complete Unknown (2024) by Pete Seeger’s character, “A really good song… It can get the job done without the frills. Without drums or electrified instruments or any of that.” The three artists embodied this attitude effortlessly.

For the closer of the night, Richards and Brown joined the guitarists for a cover of “Get Together” by The Youngbloods. Five voices and four guitars merged into the perfect sendoff, leaving the audience with the lingering sentiment that is always cultivated during RiverJAM events: music is community.

Featured image taken by Gabrielle Sangataldo