Collegiate Times

More than 30 years ago, two young musicians met unexpectedly in South Carolina. Although they didn’t know it at the time, this meeting would lead the way for a marriage and a band.

Robin and Linda Williams started the Fine Group, which plays a blend of bluegrass, folk and country tunes, shortly after meeting. The group has since recorded 21 albums and developed an esteemed reputation through their frequent cross country tours.

The Fine Group will be performing at the Lyric Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for students cost $10, while adult tickets cost $20.

The Collegiate Times spoke with Robin, the band’s lead, who was able to elaborate on the group’s history, as well as his own passion for music.  

Collegiate Times:

Tell me about the Fine Group.

Robin Williams:

The group is literally myself and my wife Linda. We are the leaders of the group. We have a bass player, Jim Watson, who has been with us for 20 years — he is a great singer. And the fourth member is Chris Brashear who is an outstanding instrumentalist, songwriter and singer. 

CT:

What type of music do you play?

Williams:

I like the term Americana. What that means is it is a combination of styles formed into a unique sound, all our own. If you listen to us, you will hear bluegrass, you’ll hear country western, you’ll hear it all. Most of this is centered around our songwriting. 

CT:

Where are you and your wife originally from?

Williams:

I grew up in the Carolinas. Linda moved around a lot but mainly Alabama, Missouri and Michigan. We met in South Carolina at an open stage. In other words, it was a stage where performers could bring their guitars and sing. Two years later, we got married and went on the road — and we’ve been on the road ever since. 

CT:

Where did you get the inspiration for this genre of music?

Williams:

It was the music that we loved, and we were playing a lot of colleges then. The great thing about playing colleges is that you can develop the music you loved, as long as you were good in front of (them). We didn’t like playing at the bars where you had to play the music that was on the radio. We were able to play this music, and it inspired us.

CT:

Was this type of music something you both grew up around?

Williams:

In a way, but we grew up around some acoustic music. There was folk music on the radio back then. That music on the radio led us to go deeper into the music and find where the music came from. If you hear someone that is modern, like their music and follow the path backward, it is always going to lead back to someplace else. You become more knowledgeable and have a deeper feeling for the music.

CT:

Growing up, was it always a passion of yours to pursue music?

Williams:

You don’t know where it is going to lead, but I always loved this music. At some point in time, after I graduated from college, I decided I was going to give this a shot and see if I could make a living playing the kind of music I liked to play. And it’s worked out.

CT:

Was it ever a dream of yours to reach stardom or did you enjoy making the music your own?

Williams:

We are very happy with the situation we find ourselves in after all these years. We never would have turned down stardom, but we never went searching for it.

CT:

Do you feel that stardom can sometimes change artists’ music?

Williams:

I think that is always part of it. You make certain decisions to reach out to a really broad audience. You have to make creative decisions. Some people handle that well and some people don’t. What happens is the music business becomes a huge part of the life. There is a lot of money that gets involved, and the payback is that you have to listen to what (the business people) want.

CT:

Do you have anything special planned for the concert at the Lyric?

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A version of this article appeared in the Nov 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.