Ravenna, Texas -- As hard as it may be to believe for folks that haven't experienced a Harmony House performance, the best concert anywhere in North Texas this past weekend -- maybe in all of the Lone Star state -- could very well have been just down the road from Ravenna, Texas, a quiet little farm community comprised of 65 families in northern Fannin County.

Just ask anybody that watched Jimmy LaFave & band bring down the house Saturday night.

If you wanted to watch an acclaimed vocalist that is recognized as a remarkable interpreter of the work of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, as well as one of the most recognizable voices in the industry today, then you were there in your places with bright smiling faces when Jimmy LaFave and the boys filed in to the living room at Harmony House. 

That's right...a five-man band in the living room...and they made it sound like a studio.

"It's this room," keyboardist Brian Peterson said with a shrug after the show.

"Jimmy's voice never sounded better," added guitarist John Inmon.

And a fellow that Inmon describes as their "uber-fan" couldn't agree more. The first reservation for this concert came from Holland, home of Addy Nijenboer, a musicologist who is something of an expert when it comes to the music of Jimmy LaFave.

"I've probably listened to 95 or 100 shows," Nijenboer told Inmon as they visited after the show. "This was the best show!"

In addition to the visitor from Holland, members of the Ramsey, Lefèvre and Falkengren families from Sweden also made it to the house concert.

It was that kind of night in northern Fannin County.

Wherever Harmony House music fans came from and whatever they may have come looking for Saturday night, they most likely went home with it tucked away in a special place.

Whether it was hot little number like Woody Guthrie's "Way Down Yonder in the Indian Nation," a screamer like Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," or the whispered poetry of Gretchen Peter's "On a Bus to St. Cloud," LaFave & crew had it covered.

From hard country to hard rock to the timeless relevance of Woody Guthrie's "Deportee," nobody runs through the gears any smoother than LaFave and that might be due to the fact he refused to be ground up in the gears of today's cookie-cutter music industry.

The result is a unique sound and a voice that can relay more emotion through a whisper than most vocalists can do with a scream.

Jimmy LaFave

Faye Wedell and Scott Lipsett, Harmony House hosts, never cease to amaze.  They had already managed to land 2009 Texas Musician of the Year Sara Hickman for a house concert on their Wildscape Acres farm five miles south of Red River, but learning that Jimmy LaFave and his band were on their way to Fannin County was an even bigger surprise for local music fans.

"I met Jimmy eight years ago at WoodyFest [Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma] and he mentioned that he loved to do house concerts and now you guys get Jimmy and the band," Wedell said as she introduced the night's musical guests.

"Let's get the party started," LaFave said as he stepped up to the microphone. "We won't disturb the neighbors out here."

The band opened up with "Only One Angel," an original off of LaFave's Austin Skyline CD and followed with a Guthrie song. The 2010 Woody Guthrie Festival (www.woodyguthrie.com) runs July 14-18, with LaFave scheduled to appear July 17. 

A very interesting song from a yet-to-be-released CD, tentatively titled "I Will Remember You," caught the crowd's attention.  Another original, "Hideaway Girl," brought such a loud ovation that Wedell rushed back to the microphone to quip that the mosh pit would be forming in the next room.

LaFave seemed relieved at the announcement.

"I thought you were gonna say the cops were on their way," he joked as he stepped back up to the microphone.

The band was spectacular on this night. Electric guitarist John Inmon is a Texas legend in his own right and even met his wife in this neck of the woods.  Inmon was playing a gig in Sherman when a girl from Paris, Texas caught his eye and followed him back to Austin.  She's been Mrs. John Inmon for 36 years now.

Keyboardist Brian Peterson put on a powerful performance.  LaFave suggested the single musician would do well to follow Inmon's example.

"Those Dallas girls are jaded," LaFave kidded Peterson, "and your office in Austin is on 6th Street in the middle of all that debauchery. Good luck finding a nice girl there.  You need to get up here where people are real."

Drummer Bobby Kallus may have had the toughest job matching the volume level to the space, but he made it look easy and even was a foil for a couple of one-liners from LaFave. 

"How far are we from Red River?" LaFave asked.

"Five miles," someone answered.

"It's OK, Bobby," LaFave said to the drummer. "We're still in Texas."

"Good," Kallas replied with a laugh, "because there could be a minor problem with a couple of warrants up there."

Bass player Glenn Scheutz was solid all night and turned in one of the most impressive solos of the evening.

Of course, the audience didn't get every song they wanted -- "Walk Away, Renee" didn't make the play list -- but the Dylan classic "Just Like a Woman," J.J. Cale's "Call Me the Breeze" and Donovan's "Catch the Wind" more than made up for any omissions.

After enjoying a night of hearing LaFave singing to them, the audience returned the favor and sang "Happy Birthday" to the 55-year-old musician. LaFave was born July 12, 1955 in Wills Point, Texas.

Then LaFave and the crowd joined in to sing "Get Together," a Chet Powers song covered by everyone from The Kingston Trio to Jefferson Airplane and then The Youngbloods.

You can't help wondering why this band isn't earning time in front of a major TV audience with David Letterman or Jay Leno, but LaFave and the boys seem to have a different game plan.

With echoes of, "C'mon people now, smile on your brother," ringing in everyone's head, one house guest suggested, "I think he's going to conquer the planet with love and kindness, one house at a time,"

Not a bad journey, especially if every stop goes as well as the one Saturday night in Ravenna.