Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters
Pardee-Morris House Twilight Concert Series
325 Lighthouse Rd.
New Haven
Aug.19, 2026
Musician Amy Gallatin told the tickled audience gathered on the lawn of the historic Pardee-Morris House that her band would perform a love song, then a fighting and cheating song, “because that’s how it is.”
Wednesday evening was the final show for Pardee-Morris House’s Twilight Concert Series. Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters came down from the Hartford area to showcase their acoustic blend of country and bluegrass music. Gallatin revealed that her bandmate and husband, resophonic guitarist and singer Roger Williams, is famous in the bluegrass world. His son J.D. Williams was there sprightly playing the mandolin alongside them. Dave Orlomoski kept the beat thrumming with his doghouse bass.
After the band played a sweet tune about the love of my life and rose of my heart, it was time for the cheating song. I quickly grabbed my phone. I better record this, I thought.
My gut was correct.
Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters got to strumming those strings and the rollicking began.
Well, I’ve been a fooooool, sang Williams. (A man has never been more right.)
I’ve been a foo-ooo-oool, followed Gallatin, her voice harmonizing perfectly with Williams. (I hope for a partnership as harmonious as their vocals, I thought.)
Forgiving you each time you done me wrong
I’ve been a long time leaving
And I’ll be a long time gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone
Loved you so much
Loved you so much-uch-uchhh
I stand around when I should have moved along
I’ve been a long time leaving
And I’ll be a long time gone
With their honest voices and deft playing, Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters made Roger Miller’s country song “I’ve Been a Long Time Leavin’ (But I’ll Be a Long Time Gone)” their own. The fast-paced, twangy bluegrass style turned lyrics about betrayal and heartbreak into a song you’d want to dance a jig to.
Throughout the evening, the band played a variety of tunes, some original and some covers, with a spirited energy. I especially loved the lively instrumental “Two Gingers,” named after Irish whiskey and written by J.D. Williams. The musicians’ fingers moved on their instruments at the speed of light as they nimbly plucked out interlocking notes. The rhythm was so infectiously bouncy, it lifted me up and brought me down when it was over. I felt a genuine sense of loss at the end.
Another memorable song was their somber cover of Guy Clark’s “Immigrant Eyes.”
“This is a song I’ve been singing since 1998, and it’s more and more relevant every year I sing it,” said Gallatin.
Oh Ellis Island was swarming
Like a scene from a costume ball
Alive with the colors of Europe
And on fire with the hope of it all
There my father’s own father stood huddled
With the tired and the hungry and the scared
Turn of the century Pilgrims
Bound by the dream they shared
As Gallatin sang earnestly to the crowd, the band’s playing behind her sounded just as yearning. The moment had an air of significance, and I felt we were all likely grieving the America we thought we knew.
Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters provided an exhilarating ending to the Twilight Concert Series, their show a perfect mix of melancholy, funny and sweet. I, for one, could not get over “I’ve Been a Long Time Leavin’ (But I’ll Be a Long Time Gone),” which I found to be catchy as all hell.
That melisma stuck with me long after the night was over. Well, I’ve been a foo-ooo-oool, I sang into my car’s rearview mirror as I added the song to my playlist for the drive home.
For more Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters, go to amygallatin.com. To learn about the Pardee-Morris House, visit newhavemuseum.org.
