Little Bar Magic

When JRobert - aka The Florida Fiddler - moved to Idaho nearly two years ago, it left a hole in the heart of live music lovers on Marco Island and throughout Southwest Florida. But Friday night, May 30, at the Little Bar, the magic was back.

They came one by one and two by two to see - and hear - their old friend JRobert play his fiddle alongside another local legend, Raiford Starke. Starke hooked the crowd early by performing his signature song, Girl From Immokalee, with JRobert accompanying on fiddle and Tom Kennedy laying down the bass line.

“The magic is returning to the land of the walking tree,” said JRobert Houghtaling, referring to the Marco area’s abundant mangrove trees that he loves to write and sing about. “And there is certainly magic in returning to a room full of my good friends. It felt like Christmas or my birthday or some kind of joyful reunion up in heaven.”

JRobert and Raiford Starke took turns entertaining the packed crowd with their original story-songs covering all the treasures Southwest Florida has to offer: beaches, boats, and Big Cypress, land of the Seminole. Another popular local singer-songwriter, Cap’n Jack, a Jimmy Buffett tribute artist, joined the trio for a beautiful rendition of Buffett’s A Pirate Looks at 40.

The crowd packed into Little Bar’s cozy confines was fully engaged and let the performers know they appreciated them by hootin’ and hollering,’ whistling, and stuffing cash into the tip bucket.

The bar area has been expanded a bit since last year, with the wall behind the band being pushed several feet back into the dining room. Moving the wall back didn’t diminish the intimacy of the setting at all. To the contrary, it makes a good thing even better.

JRobert, 76, the 2016 Artist of the Year for Marco Island, doesn’t rule out a yearly return to Marco Island. If Friday night was any indication, it looks like he’s still got a lot of friends here.