Worcester rock veteran Cliff Goodwin is bringing his band, the Rangemasters, to Off The Rails this Friday, Nov. 6, for a night the group promises will be anything but scripted. Joining singer-guitarists Goodwin and Mike Lynch, singer-bassist Jeremy Moses Curtis and drummer Duncan Arsenault on the bill will be The Reckoners, rounding out an evening billed around deep cuts, originals and long, improvisational jams.
The show takes place at Off The Rails, located at 90 Commercial St. in Worcester, according to Off The Rails Worcester. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $20.20, as reported by Worcester Magazine. That timing conflicts with other listings: the band’s own website lists the performance for 7:30 p.m., while a TicketWeb listing shows an 8 p.m. start with doors at 7 p.m., leaving the exact start time unsettled across sources.
The Rangemasters trace their origin to Duncan Arsenault’s weekly Wednesday music night at Vincent’s in Worcester, where the musicians first played together before forming the band, per Worcester Magazine's report. Arsenault still runs that weekly session. The band describes its sound as a blend of electric rhythm and blues pulling from the British Invasion, Southern soul, the Meters and Tony Joe White — a mix The Pulse separately summarized as rock, blues, soul and R&B with, in the magazine's words, “a healthy helping” of each, according to The Pulse.
No Backing Tracks, No Setlist
On its own site, the band is blunt about its approach: “No backing tracks, no gimmicks,” and a promise of “a raw, unscripted electric R&B set,” according to therangemasters.com. With two guitar players, three singers, bass and drums, the lineup leaves room to stretch songs into eight- or nine-minute versions, per Worcester Magazine's account of the band's live approach.
Goodwin, who has been part of the local and national music scene for more than 50 years, said playing with the Rangemasters restored his faith in the music of his youth. He is 33 years older than the band's youngest member, Mike Lynch, and roughly 20 years older than the rest of the group — an age gap that hasn't stopped him from declaring the band can play anywhere, including, as he put it, right across the street from Off The Rails itself.
Roots Going Back to Albatross
Goodwin's history in Worcester rock runs deep. He joined the band Albatross while a junior at Doherty Memorial High School, and a 2023 profile noted he was an original member of that celebrated local group in the 1970s, according to Worcester Magazine's 2023 profile. Promoter Gary Sohmers has compared the Rangemasters to Humble Pie, a comparison Goodwin has repeated himself.
The band's Worcester-area bookings aren't limited to Off The Rails. A September date at Vincent's advertised the Rangemasters for two sets of electric rhythm and blues from 8 to 11 p.m., with no cover charge, free parking and limited seating, according to Wednesday Sessions. As for what comes next for the band, Goodwin's outlook is simple: anything is possible.
