Rob McNurlin's Flood Debut

#483 / Flood Time Capsule: 2016

To help out on a favorite Bob Dylan tune, the incomparable singer/songwriter Rob McNurlin stepped on stage with The Flood for the first time exactly nine years ago this week as part of The Jewel City Jamboree down on the banks of the Ohio River.

What tempted Rob from the audience to The Flood’s stage was the opportunity join the harmony on Paul Martin’s cool rendering of Bobby’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”

As later reported on Facebook, the Floodsters told the audience that with Rob’s addition, they were in the presence of the Huntington area’s most ardent Dylan fan,"but Rob did not accept our invitation to do a 45-minute seminar after our set on what the heck the song’s lyrics mean. ('Tailgates and substitutes…' indeed…")

Rob’s Flood Fans

To become The Flood’s precocious baby brother, McNurlin began his friendship with the band long before that evening at the Jewel City gig. The Flood has been knowing Rob since he first launched his musical career nearly 30 years ago. He was present at a number of important moments in the group’s long story.

For instance, Rob was a regular at the many parties hosted by the late Nancy McClellan. In fact, he was in the room that fateful New Year’s Eve at Nancy’s place in 1999 when Joe Dobbs and Charlie Bowen drew Doug Chaffin into the band, where he’d be for the remaining 20-some years of his life.

And a couple of years after that, Rob also was helping out on the hosting duties when The Flood made its debut at the Morehead, Ky., “Americana Crossroads Live” concert series.

McNurlin made his first visit to the band room in the Bowen House in the fall of 2006 to jam with the group. He has been a regular ever since then, often sharing his take on a Dylan tune that would wind up on the weekly podcast, as in the one below:

… or sharing an Appalachian church song, as in the video below:

No wonder that Rob is prominent in both Radio Floodango’s Gospel Hour and Bob Dylan Birthday playlists.

And when The Flood launched its series of “Pajama Jam” videos during the dark Covid-19 quarantine days, an evening with McNurlin was featured in the premiere episode, as you can see below:

Route 60 Saturday Night Appearances

The occasion for that episode actually was Rob’s rehearsal with the band in preparation for his appearance on one of the earliest installments of the late, great Route 60 Saturday Night shows, Oct. 21, 2017, which has been preserved on this YouTube video:

To reach Rob’s portion of the evening, press Play on the video above and then advance the slider to 1:01:00.

A year later, McNurlin was back for another helping of Route 60 Saturday Night love, appearing on the April 21, 2018, show:

On the above video, move the slider to 54:00 to check out Rob’s set.

Rob: The Movie

Finally, Floodsters were thrilled to rush to the Ashland, Ky., Paramount Arts Center earlier this spring to see the debut of From the Cowboy’s Boot Heel, Steven Middleton’s new documentary of Rob’s career.

The film now can be viewed online through Amazon Prime.

Footnote: Dave’s Last Gig

By the way, back to the gig with which this report began, it turned out that the 2016 Jewel City Jamboree at Huntington’s Harris Riverfront Park would be Dave Peyton’s last public show with the band that he and Charlie Bowen birthed 40 years earlier.

As reported here earlier, a few months after that show, Dave took a bad fall at his home, shattering his left elbow and making it no longer possible for him to play his beloved Autoharp.

Still, Peyton stayed in touch with his old band mates. Occasionally, for instance, he appeared on stage with them as a storyteller when The Flood became the house band for the Route 60 Saturday Night musical variety shows in 2017.

Click here to read more about Dave’s last years with in the Floodisphere.