The Greencards

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them. In any case, Australia's Keith Urban is at the top of the charts, and another Aussie, Kasey Chambers, who appears at the Ark on Tuesday, August 16, is just about the reigning queen of country's alternative arm. And opening for her is a youthful trio, two-thirds Australian, that's been making quite a sensation.

The Greencards met at a gig in Austin and found that they liked each other's musical company. Mandolinist Kym Warner, fiddler Eamon McLoughlin, and bassist Carol Young, who takes most of the vocals, first turned up in town a few months ago, when they opened for Steppin' in It with sporadic advance billing. The audience, initially ready to get to the headliner, finally responded with that rarity, a standing ovation for the opening act. The Greencards may have played especially well that night because they had just gotten word that they'd be opening for Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson on their latest tour of minor-league baseball stadiums. Somebody's definitely been following the progress of this band.