Onstage with the folk Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown with Gate’s Express

Looking as though he just blew in from the wilds of Texas, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown took to the stage Saturday in black cowboy duds with a confident – if slightly ornery – swagger. Brown, who lives in Louisiana and his band, Gate’s Express, quickly got down to boogie business and kicked out a rollicking hourlong set for an excited crowd that filled the Kenduskeag Dance Tent and spilled out into the surrounding area.

Members of Gate’s Express really shined. The taut drumming, humming organ and wailing saxophone added the real punch to a surprisingly jazz-fueled performance.

The surprises kept coming as Brown and his band moved easily from a slow, dance-inspiring jazz number with only twinkles of guitar, to a Calypso-infused song with slow, palm-muted guitar strums, to a full-tilt rocker in only a matter of minutes.

Trading his guitar for fiddle, Brown wound the crowd up rather than down and brought the set to a close with a stellar, fiddle strut that left everyone wanting more of the cowboy and his bag of musical charms.

– George Bragdon