The St. James Group
Recent Quotes about the Band

• "WOW! You guys were awesome. What a group of super talented people! …I really enjoyed the music and the evening..." -- Teri Cox (singer)
• "It was incredible!!! Had a great time, it was wonderful to see all the folks I hadn’t seen in years..."
  -- Mike VanDament (guitarist)
• “The St. James Group Reunion was simply fantastic! You guys sounded fantastic—it amazed me that you had been apart all those years, but it’s a sign of great musicians who once did that every day and really got tight. Janet got there during the first song and stayed until the end, having literally come directly from the airport having just gotten in from New Zealand and traveling over 30 hours…
  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world." -- Governor Mike Huckabee
• "The concert was really wonderful. I had such a good time...it was really touching. I thought you guys looked so happy to be together again and it sounded great. I am enjoying the CDs so much... I had forgotten just how good the band really was -- and still is. It was a great event!"
  -- Kathy Cooper (piano player)
• "I can’t remember when I had such a good time listening to a 'live' band like yours... Jim & I had a blast!!! I was very happy/proud of your group, you guys got better/better as the night went on. Congrats on a successful evening."
  -- Beverly Ross
• "[I] Caught a fantastic show at Juanita's the other night. The gala reunion of the St. James Group drew a full house, and the band did not let anyone down! At all. They were, of course, one of the most successful local bands in these parts for a couple decades, and played shows with the likes of Jimmy Buffett and the Dirt Band throughout the country. It was good to see them again, and it was really a great concert…not just a walk down memory lane. I wish they’d do it often..."
  -- Peter Read, Nightflying Magazine
• "I really enjoyed the show last night. You guys sounded great! It was a real treat to see the band... The sounds were timeless and I really liked the songs. There are a couple of them that I’m going to have to learn, "Good Note Shuffle" and "Make Mine Country Please."
  -- Gordon Caffey (guitarist)
• "This is a truly amazing band! Over the years, I've heard it all and this is some of the best. The songs are fresh, lively, and most of all, captivating. I wish every picker in town [Nashville] were as original as this band."
  -- Mike Kinnamon (Nashville music publisher)
• "If the vintage picture of these guys with the super-fly threads doesn't inspire you to see them, maybe their history as a pioneer grassroots Central Arkansas-bred band will: The St. James Group was put together during the most formidable years in rock history and went on to share the stage with some of the biggest names in ‘70s rock -- among them, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Badfinger, and Jim Croce. Though their creative product – a sound that meshed country, rock, gospel, bluegrass – was maybe too innovative for major record labels to market to the popular charts, they stuck to their own style, blazing a rock ‘n roll trail from our own back yard."
  -- Jim Harris, Arkansas Times
• "Rick and his band mates played a twenty-song set and four encores mixing southern rock and country and the quality of the music blew away the audience. People who had purchased tickets to the Alltel Arena show by Rascal Flatts [same night] remained until The St. James Group ended with their signature, 'Will the circle be unbroken?' If the best bands from the 1970s were still around, they wouldn’t be as good as The St. James. These guys are nothing short of fantastic!"
  -- Tudey Teten, West Austin [Texas] News
• "Like a ’69 Chateau Lafite [fine wine] this band gets better with age. They delivered a spirited performance that the crowd savored until the last encore."
  -- Grady Trimble (record producer)
• "I was really impressed with the St. James Group Anthology, dug the music and enjoyed following the stylistic progression of the band. I was really impressed by the St. James story. Congratulations on all your success and accomplishments. Hell, you were in the 'big time' back when Dan Rizzie and I were your roadies."
  -- Bobby "Crow" Field (Nashville record producer)
• "What a wonderful time! The concert was fantastic and such a memorable experience. We loved every minute of it!"
  -- Joyce Gray (Spicewood, Texas)
• "A wrinkle in time opened up at Juanita’s when St. James Group, an Arkansas rock band from the 1970s, re-created the sound of that era...The six core members of the band played for a solid hour and 40 minutes with no intermission, cycling smoothly through a 21-song set of mostly originals that recalled the group’s evolution through rock ‘n’ roll, bluegrass, country and songs that straddled genres. The band was especially hot on “Chickasaw Railroad,” “Good Note Shuffle” and the bittersweet “Has the Time Made You more Wise?” Though fliers for the event said doors would open at 7:00 p.m., the place was filled by 6:30 and drew a standing-room-only crowd. It might have been the biggest crowd of baby boomers assembled for a concert at Juanita’s, though there were also audience members who were born after the band stopped playing. When the band played their traditional closing tune, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” they had people on their feet, clapping hands above their heads -- a truly transcendent moment. The band came back for two encore tunes..."
  -- Laura Brown, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
• "Polished, professional presentation." "A slice of Arkansas history." "It’s Arkansas and it really is Arkansas. All original material."
  -- Arts on Tour panelists