Rustwood

Hey look! Dave Beattie and Jay Pennell have a new page for their new duo Old Souls. Follow to be notified of their upcoming debut gigs and future ones... Debut gig announcement next week!

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Old Souls Old Souls are Dave Beattie and Jay Pennell, most recently from acoustic trio Rustwood. Now these seasoned players just have fun singing their hearts out with two guitars, two voices, and the first 30 years of the Rock & Roll songbook.

RUSTWOOD @ Dolan’s Pub
Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Last Show, First Set
The link to the LAST SET is in the comments.

I’ve recorded portions of us playing in the past, with either an old camera on a tripod off to the side, my kid with their cell phone from their seat, and even a camera from the audience perspective at this last show.

However, my brother, Kirk Pennell, sat right in front with his cell phone, often moving around, even right on stage with us, doing what he does best. He’s a pro videographer and filmmaker so his footage was alive and intimate. The inspiration for this project. Thank you Kirk.

Without any alterations to video or audio from the original source, I edited together different sources and performances from our less than 2 years together, into 2 videos, representing the entirety of set one and two of our last show at Dolan’s, even sneaking in portions of songs we don’t play anymore, making it also a complete record of just about every song we covered. Not for promotion, just a great memory for US. Something I wish I had for every act I was ever in or loved.

During our run, I got to play both Harvest and Riverjam for the first time in my life. Our buddy Brad Cain had us at O’Cains Lounge in its earliest days and we even did a private party for the Fiddlehead Bridge tournament, having been invited by Debra and George who became huge supporters of ours at many shows. Technically that was our ACTUAL last show but….

Dolan’s Pub is where we began, played the most by far, and where we knew we’d have to have our last public performance with the many friends, family and local music lovers, many of whom are recognized at that show and in these videos. The biggest thank you goes out to you.

In March of 2023, Barry Hughes, owner of Dolan’s, saw the boys, from what are now Stuck In The Middle, in his bar and suggested they form an acoustic trio, like we all did in the old days, and play matinees on Saturday. I was there for the very first show and was envious. I wasn’t scheduled to be back in town permanently for several months. Otherwise, I would have been begging to be part of it. But I also had another idea for when the time came…

Dave Beattie and I always hoped to play more together if I ever moved back to town after being away for more than 17 years. However, it was Barry’s idea to have Dan O’Brien, one of my best friends and harmony soul mates with whom I shared the most stage time in my earlier band days, join us to form what became RUSTWOOD. Barry has always treated us like royalty and was one of our biggest fans. Thank you Barry Hughes. We’ll always be grateful for that.

Each act went out to see each other most Saturdays, making each gig a special event, reunion with friends, crowds our age(ish), all behaving like we were living our glory days in the 90’s, but with the comfort of a short show, kids old enough to take care of themselves or even attend, no work or set up, with Martin Robichaud taking care of sound, and finish by 7 with the night still ahead of us to celebrate and still be home early. The staff was amazing and plentiful, making sure everyone had an easy and pleasant stay. Whether it was us playing or cheering on our friends, a Saturday matinee at Dolan’s was always a good day.

I couldn’t have imagined a better welcome home celebration for me, much less have it be a regular thing. It made tougher days so much easier. Thank you to all that made the Saturday matinees what they were and still very much are.

Finally, my bandmates…

We didn’t know if it was going to work at first. We all have our differences, in styles, musical preferences, work habits and personalities. But when we managed to find common ground, it was love, and we each played a part.

Dave and I used to see each other every few years when I visited, playing guitar and singing on a couch with beers until dawn. Now we do it every few WEEKS!

Dave’s the wild child of us, with that unpredictable rock and roll attitude that makes you think he might even come off the rails when he’s passionately giving everything he has to each note he sings. Dave is the soul of the band.

Dan and I reunited probably even more often, as our 90’s trio Boondoggle or at house jams. Playing with him regularly again was like no time had passed, slipping right into our old ways.

Dan always hosted the rehearsals at his place with a perfect little room with a computer, bass amp, stools, music stands and a full beer fridge. Everything a growing band needs. Thanks to both Dan and, maybe even more so, Dan’s partner Charlene for that.

Dan always has his perfect ear open to fine tune our harmonies when he knew something was off. With his ridiculous talent and vast experience, Dan gave that solid foundation of steadiness, musical reliability and precision that helped keep Dave and I grounded. Dan is the rock of the band.

I, Jay, was the talker. Dave and Dan were hardly ever in contact until they were together in person. I was the hub of communication. Dave was always happy to let me do the talking on stage, but never afraid to turn it into a bit by shutting me up when I’d ramble on. Dan liked talking even less. I talked to the bookers, spent my breaks talking to audiences and right down to this post that’s too long to read, I was the most vocal on social media. I was far from the loudest or best singer of the band, but when it came to talking, I was the voice of the band.

Like all good things, we decided to end it with one last show. Not for any bad reason. We’re too old to slum it on the road lugging gear night after night, so we knew that a couple shows a month where every other hassle is taken care of for us is the perfect way to keep that musical itch scratched. But without rehearsing more than we were gigging, we risked playing the same show for the same people again and again. It was always wonderful, so much so that it couldn’t get any better.

So we’re never going to stop playing together. We already have and will again soon. Just no more rehearsals for regular shows. We’ll move into other things that were previously getting in the way of our schedule anyway. But we’ll always reunite, celebrating the rusty days of rock and roll whenever we’re together for a fun time. No more work, just play.

Thanks boys!

Rustwood - Last Show, First Set - Live @ Dolan's Pub Dave Beattie, Jay Pennell and Dan O'Brien form the acoustic trio Rustwood, playing the rusty days of rock and roll. Starting in 2023, they called it quits in...

Rustwood’s ACTUAL last show together is tonight, Friday, June 27th, 8-10 pm @ The Fredericton Inn for the Fiddlehead Regional Bridge Tournament.

Our last PUBLIC performance was, fittingly, at Dolan’s Pub on June 14th. A beautiful night for us and we’ll be saying a lot more about it when we post many videos from that night.

But we had one gig remaining, something we had booked for nearly a year. The Fiddlehead Regional Bridge Tournament. At our last Dolan’s gig, the organizers of the bridge tournament announced that anyone was welcome. So we thought we’d share for anyone who wants to pop in for one last dose of rusty rock and roll from us.

Today’s the day, for the last time.

No backing tracks, effects or pedals. Just 2 acoustic guitars, a bass and 3 voices. Just like they did in the rusty days of rock and roll.

Saturday, June 14th at Dolan’s Pub

We’re back at Dolan’s today (Friday, May 23rd) at 6pm!

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