bluegrassers

Bluegrass Sweethearts

2011-06-13T15:15:00.013-04:00

The Darin and Brooke Aldridge Band

Darin and Brooke Aldridge

Finally got to see and hear the Darin and Brooke Aldridge Band. They were on the Folk Stage at Strawberry Park's Bluegrass Festival on Saturday and they were scheduled for the Bluegrass stage the next day. They were playing to a moderate crowd as most people were at the bluegrass stage just down the road. Their set sounded more bluegrass than folk and was really good listening. They are called the "Sweethearts of Bluegrass," because the love they have for each other is quite obvious and the music they make is full of love and hope for the world. Darin has played with the Country Gentlemen and other first rate bands. He's an accomplished songwriter too. Brooke possesses a powerfull voice and the two harmonize nicely. The overall band sound is really good. They'll be at the Jenny Brook FestivalJune 23 to 26 at the Tunbridge, VT Fairgrounds.

Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival Saturday

2011-06-06T19:30:00.034-04:00

Saturday's weather was perfect in Preston CT as the music began and it stayed that way the whole day, what a blessing. The Claire Lynch Band kicked off the days festivities with a fine performance that set the tone for the day and all the following groups equaled the high standard set by CLB. The audience was sparse for the early sets but steadily increased to a full house by late afternoon. I enjoyed all the music of the day whether it was bluegrass, swing, country, blues or jazz. It was done well, sounded great, and the musicians were superb.

Claire Lynch

Jason Thomas

Mark Schatz

Matt Wingate

The Greencards

Dry Branch Fire Squad

Ron Thomason

Brian Aldridge

Dan Russell

The Grascals

Jamie Johnson

Terry Eldredge

Kristin Scott Benson

Danny Roberts

Jeremy Abshire

Terry Smith

The Gibson Brothers

Leigh Gibson

Eric Gibson

Leigh and Mike Barber

Clayton Campbell

Joe Walsh

Jim Beaver

The MC's for the day did thier usual fine job of introducing and highlighting the accomplishments of the days bands, the work was shared by three veterans of the bluegrass scene, Glenn Huffer who's been at the podium at Strawberry Park for decades, Kim Cyr who heads up the CT Bluegrass Music website and promotes concerts at the Salem, Ct. Barn and Jim Beaver, the knowledgeable DJ at WHUS,91.7, in Storrs, Ct.

Glenn Huffer

Kim Cyr

Spinney Brothers

2011-05-07T11:01:00.010-04:00

The Spinney Brothers, an award winning band out of Canada, took the stage in Canterbury, CT. and quickly broke into song with high energy, broad smiles and exciting rhythm that instantly grabbed the large audience. They left no doubt this was going to be a great show. The band was impeccably dressed in bright blue shirts and ties with dark grey vests that was reminiscent of the early bluegrass bands that dressed to impress, and impress they did. The vocals by Allan and Rick were rich in tone and phrasing and strongly communicated emotion and the harmony blend was terrific, as good as I've ever heard. The instrumental solos were well done, highlighting the skills of each member and keeping in mind the melody of the piece they were doing. This group showed their confidence with the ease and lightness of their humor and certainly commanded the stage. I believe everyone in the hall went home a fan of this highly entertaining group of professionals who are sure to be a hit wherever they appear. The band members are: Allan Spinney on lead and harmony vocals and lead guitar, Rick Spinney on banjo and lead and harmony vocals, Gary Dalrymple on mandolin and harmony vocals, and Darryl Hebb on bass.

Allan Spinney

Rick Spinney

Gary Dalrymple

Gary and Allan

Darryl kept a steady back-beat for the guys and they spoke of how that is so important for their sound. The bass player is often overlooked but without that steady beat things can get sloppy.

Darryl Hebb

Amy Orlomoski, a popular DJ at WHUS's Bluegrass Cafe was the organizer of this event, she also served as MC. The event raised funds for the benefit of the Canterbury Historical Society.

Amy Orlomoski

Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band

2011-04-24T17:15:00.016-04:00

On Saturday, the very popular Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret CT. was host to a fundraiser for the CT. Audubon Society. The CAS has nearly completed its new Grasslands Education Center located in the middle of its 700 acre Nature Preserve on Day Road in Pomfret and as part of its effort to raise money for the project presented an evening of Bluegrass with the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band, a very talented group from Massachusetts lead by brothers Dave and Bob Dick with Ken Taylor on bass and Dan Nolan on mandolin. The band played bluegrass with a touch of country and folk and delivered some amazing three and four part harmony that was well received. The guitar, banjo, and mandolin breaks were superb, fast, yet not too far from the melody. The banter between the band members and the audience was funny and natural. For their encore they played and sang "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" while moving among the audience which proved to be a big hit. Folks I talked to thought it was a wonderful way to close out the evening.
The Vanilla Bean Cafe is known for great food and atmosphere and is on the New England Folk Music Circuit presenting some of the best in Folk Music and on occasion a Bluegrass group.

Dave Dick

Ken Taylor and Dan Nolan

Bob Dick, Dan Nolan and Dave Dick

Bob Dick

Dan and Ken

Bear Bridge

2011-03-29T19:40:00.029-04:00

The "Bear Bridge Band," whose members come from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut, paid a visit to the Killingly,CT. Grange on Saturday for a rare performance, the band hasn't been playing dates of late. They put on a great show for the nearly full house. Organized by Nick Anderson, a long time Bluegrasser, the series runs through the winter months and features Nick's band, "Shady Creek" and a different guest band for each concert. The series is always well attended sometimes filling the house. Many of the top regional New England bands can be expected to appear as well as a few local acts. A good part of the regular audience seem to be people not seen at other Bluegrass venues leading me to think they're not so much Bluegrass fans but more likely drawn to the shows for some tasty inexpensive food, good music and a night out in a friendly safe place. They sure do appreciate the talented musicians as they always applaud loudly and with enthusiasm and they keep coming back. I think promoters should take their cue from this and plan to have their event catered by local groups that already have a reputation for good food at reasonable prices and use the sales revenue for good works, this may increase ticket sales. I say this because I've been to events that feature top National Touring bands, yet draw small crowds. I wonder if they used this format instead of just snacks of candy and chips and the like, would they fill more seats. Could it be that people want to make a night of it by having hot food and sandwiches before the nights entertainment, sort of a "sit down supper," followed by the music. I can tell you that the venues that use this format have very good turnouts. It seems to work and might be worth a look.

The Bear Bridge Band

Robert Fraker

Robert Fraker heads up the Bear Bridge Band with his fine mandolin pickin and vocals. This was a rare appearance for the band as most of the members are involved in other projects. I enjoy the way Robert introduces a song with some anecdotal information on its origin and who has recorded it in the past, makes the song special when you know of its history.

Lillian Fraker

Lillian keeps the band in perfect time with her solid bass rhythm, and her bass runs will make you sit up and pay attention. As Doc Watson often remarks when hearing talented musicians, "Man, she can play the fire out of that thing."

Dave "Tex" Orlomoski

Tex is a fine lead vocalist with a smooth confident delivery. His guitar solos are always good and he too can tell interesting stories about the songs and artists he has met along the way.

Dave Shaw

Dave Shaw was solid on the banjo and his lead vocal and harmony added to the nights performance.

William Trickett

The Shady Creek Band, fronted by Nick Anderson, with Joe Giard sitting in on mandolin, Elise LaFlamme on fiddle, William Trickett on banjo and dobro, and Mark Doyle banging the bass, is always a crowd pleaser. They do so many of the early traditional songs, they really get the audience engaged and stomping their feet. Always a good evening at the Grange. Next month," Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters" with Roger Williams on dobro will fill out the bill. Come early for the fine food from the Grange kitchen.

Elise, Mark Doyle and Robert

Joe Giard,Elise LaFlamme and Nick Anderson

Strawberry Park

2011-03-11T12:19:00.007-05:00

The "Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival" is on. TD Bank purchased the campground for $8 million at foreclosure auction and has agreed to set aside $135,000 for the operating expenses to allow the site to open April 1st. Elite Resorts which has been operating the campground as the receiver has earmarked $50,000 for the booking of bands for both the Bluegrass festival and the Zydeco festival.
The "Bluegrass Festival" has always been a success so this is great news both for fans and artists. The lineup, which is subject to change, lists the Dailey and Vincent Band, the Gibson Brothers, Claire Lynch, the Grascals, lll Tyme Out, the Boxcars, the Dry Branch Firesquad, and many others.
Check out the schedule

Killingly Grange Winter Concerts

2011-02-27T18:51:00.025-05:00

Mike Boulay

Mike Boulay and the Hope Valley Volunteers made some new fans Saturday night at the Killingly CT. Grange hall. This group lit the place up with their revved up pickin and fine vocals and smooth harmonies. This is a confident bunch of pickers who know how to please an audience. They run an entertaining and fun set poking fun at themselves with anecdotes about their playing and their history as a band. Mike Fischman quipped "the band used to be called, "Mike Boulay and Friends," but when Mike ran out of friends he had to call in "Volunteers." The comedy did not get in the way of the music, however, they were dead serious about the way they present their music, and it was good, mostly traditional with a boogie tune now and then. Band members are: Mike Boulay on guitar, lead and harmony vocals, Joe Giard on mandolin, lead and harmony vocals, Mike Fischman on banjo and harmony vocals, and Rory McLeod on bass. This is a band that you need to see. They perform at the "Wood River Inn" on Rt.138 in Richmond R.I. on the 3rd. Sunday of the month

Mike Boulay and the Hope Valley Volunteers

Mike Boulay

Joe Giard and Mike Boulay

Rory McLeod

Mike Fischman plays banjo, guitar, mandolin, and probably more, you may know him as the DJ at WRIU radio's "Bluegrass Breakdown," from the campus of the University of Rhode Island.

Mike Fischman

The host band of this series is "Nick Anderson and Shady Creek," Nick does the heavy work of finding good bands to fill out the bill of his winter series. He and his band always put on a good show at the Grange and he's developed a loyal following. Nick usually sticks to bands that fall under the "traditional" umbrella and that seems to be what his audience wants. The band members are: Monty McLanahan on mandolin and lead and harmony vocals, William Trickett on banjo, dobro, and harmony vocals, Elise LaFlamme on fiddle and harmony vocals, and Mark Doyle on bass and harmony vocals.

The Shady Creek Band

Nick Anderson

William Trickett

Monty McLanahan

Elise LaFlamme

Mark Doyle

To close out the evening, the two bands joined forces for a half dozen songs and tunes. It was high energy and a perfect ending to a terrific show.

Joe Val Saturday

2011-02-23T11:02:00.046-05:00

J.D. Crowe had an unfortunate accident while exiting his bus and broke some bones in his arm and was unable to perform Saturday evening so the BBU had to find a replacement band. With good luck they were able to find a top notch and well loved group, Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass, a group that has been to JV before and is a favorite with the JV fans. Danny knows how to belt out a "plumb pitiful" song, with heartfelt emotion. The inclusion of Donny Eldreth on vocals and mandolin was a treat.

Danny Paisley

Donny Eldreth

Donny and Mike Paisley

Ron Stewart

The Boxcars are in demand, they're heavily booked this season and for good reason. The talent in this band is awesome, each member could probably start a band of their own. Songwriting, singing, and certainly picking is just that good. Adam Steffey, Keith Garrett, and John Bowman contributed some fine vocals. They wowed the crowd with their energy packed set.

Adam Steffey

Ron Stewart

Keith Garrett

John Bowman

Harold Nixon>

Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers are as smooth a group as I've ever heard. Impeccably dressed and polished entertainers with top shelf instrumental breaks, lovely a capella gospel tunes and just a wonderful entertaining set.

Joe Mullins

Mike Terry

Evan McGregor

Joe and Tim Kidd

Adam McIntosh

The Whites are pure entertainers, engaging banter between the sisters, and Father, Buck, make you feel at home with them, like one of the family.Their vocals and harmony singing are flawless and the dobro work of Phil Leadbetter was the icing on the cake.

Buck White

Sharon White

Cheryl White

Phil Leadbetter

Sam Tidwell, a long tim player of Bluegrass music was honored with the BBU 2011 Heritage Award for Music. Sam is well known and respected in the Northeast and revered by countless musicians here. In 2007 Sam was honored as a "Bluegrass Pioneer" by the the International Bluegrass Music Museum. He's been active of late, performing at fairs and campground festivals. Sam surrounded himself with some fine New England musicians for a set after his award presentation. On guitar and vocals, John Stey, also on guitar and vocals Dave "Tex" Orlomoski. Joining their father on stage were sons, Billy on mandolin, Mark on guitar, and David on bass.

Sam Tidwell

Tex Orlomoski

John Stey

Billy Tidwell

Mark Tidwell

David Tidwell

The Berklee Bluegrass Allstars are some of the best students of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Each year Prof. Hollender brings a group to Joe Val to sort of showcase the talents and accomplishments of their students, and each year they blow you away with their talent.

Courtney Hartmann and Prof. Hollender

John Mailander and Jack Devereaux

Matt Wittler

Joe Val Friday Night

2011-02-21T13:43:00.051-05:00

The 26th. edition of the Joe Val Festival opened to a full house at the Sheraton in Framingham, Mass. on Friday afternoon, parking was at a premium as were seats in the Hotels two restaurants. But all went well, parking spots were found, stomachs were filled and the great lineup of bands got underway. The music began with the Berklee Bluegrass Allstars who amazed the audience with their musical skills, they received loud applause after every number and got things off to a fine start.
Next up, Hot Mustard, a band featuing two banjos and two couples, the Stockwell's, Bruce and Kelly, and soon to be married, Bill Jubett and April Hobart. Fine pickin and strong vocals define this band and they were well received.
Northern Lights 1995 Reunion Band took the stage to a round of welcoming applause and showed why they were so successful for over thirty years. Great singing, stellar instrumentation and harmony. Many in the audience suggested they would have liked to see more of them over the three days, but you know, the weekend was packed with talent and I don't know how they could have gotten all the bands to fit the time schedule.
Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen proved to be crowd pleasing with their amazing playing and great vocals. A group of super-pickers, Frank on mandolin, Mike Munford, whose incredible on the banjo, Lincoln Myers on guitar and Steve Custodi on bass.
The fabulous Tony Trishka and his band Territory closed out the night. Michael Daves was terrific with his unique style of singing, something you'd probably hear in the early days of mountain music, really different. Late in the set Mike Munford joined Tony for some double banjo treats. In the photo below Tony and the band had been posing for a photo shoot in the hotel hallway and graciously allowed me to take this shot, they're good people.

Tony Trishka and Territory

Tony Trishka

Michael Daves

Tashina Claridge

Mike Munford joins Tony

Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen had a great set, these guys are really hot right now and they showed us why. Frank on mandolin, Mike Munford on banjo, Lincoln Myers on guitar, and Steve Custodi on bass.

Frank Solivan

Lincoln Myers

Mike Munford

Steve Custodi

The Northern Lights 1995 Reunion Band

Taylor Amerding

Bill Henry

Jeff Horton

Jake Amerding

Alex MacLeod

The Hot Mustard band has been active in the New England area lately and once you hear them you will become a fan, their easy on stage presence makes them quite enjoyable.

April Hobart

Bill Jubett

Bruce Stockwell

Kelly Stockwell

I will be posting pics of the Berklee Bluegrass Allstars tomorrow and will finish up with Saturday's lineup also.

Joe Val 2011 Preview

2011-02-07T10:40:00.026-05:00

Its time for a break from this ice and snow, I've had enough. Luckily, the 26th. Annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival is right around the corner, it starts on February 18, and runs through the 20th at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel in Framingham, Massachusetts. This is one Festival you don't want to miss, it has so much to offer. At least twenty bands on the main stage and many more performing at the showcase stage. They have fifty workshops scheduled to take place over Saturday and Sunday, several Master Classes on Friday and the Joe Val Kids Academy over the two day period. Vendors of musical instruments number about twenty and pickin hours are as long as you want them to be. There are a couple of good restaurants close to the main ballroom and usually a caterer sets up near the ballroom with sandwiches and snacks. This is a must do event for me, its always a great time. Tickets are still available online at the BBU website

Gerry Katz and his colleague Stan Zdonick have put together a fine team of volunteers to keep everything running smoothly and on time over the course of the weekend. I'm looking forward to an exciting three days that will leave me wanting more.

Gerry Katz

Harry Grant provides the excellent sound service that the entertainers always rave about, it will be good to see Harry again.

Harry Grant

The Main Ballroom

Gibson Brothers at the Chocolate Church

2010-11-14T18:13:00.019-05:00

The Chocolate Church Arts Center located in Bath, Maine produces live music, gallery exhibitions, theater, lectures, and workshops. For information click here

The Chocolate Church Arts Center

The Gibson Brothers Band had not even picked up their instruments when the audience let out a loud cheer and a rousing round of applause, this brought huge smiles to the faces of Leigh and Eric Gibson. If you're a performer there's no better way to kick off a set than to have all that love coming at you. It was clear this was a Gibson's crowd. As Eric mentioned he was happy to see his friends from Pemi Valley, Blistered Fingers, and Thomas Point Beach, a cheer went up with each mention. The theater was packed front to back as the band started the set with some of their older songs and then threw in a few of the songs from their upcoming album to be released early next year. One of the new songs, called "Frozen in Time" I think will be a chart topper, it received long and loud applause. Continuing with many of their recent hits, Leigh and Eric were in perfect voice and their harmony was superb. The guys were teasing one another between tunes and the audience loved it. And it appeared the brothers were having as much fun as the fans. Leigh and Eric are really good at entertaining an audience, that adds so much to the act, it's more than just good music, it's the good humor, the personality.

Eric Gibson

Leigh Gibson and Mike Barber

Joe Walsh

Clayton Campbell

Fred Etheridge Fund Raiser

2010-10-25T18:59:00.023-04:00

Two fine bands got together Saturday evening to raise money for the family of Fred Etheridge, a local Bluegrass musician who recently passed away. Fred was a picker, a singer and songwriter who was much loved by the local Bluegrass community as evidenced by the packed house for this event.
The Nick Anderson Shady Creek band opened up the evenings performance with a blend of fine traditional music and some of their own original tunes. They're known for fine harmony and lead vocals and great pickin. Another well known CT. band, Grass Routes, followed with a set of music that ranged from traditional to progressive. The blend of voices was exceptional, whether two part or four part harmony, the sound was terrific. And all five members can and do sing lead, that produces a wide range of sound that stays interesting from start to finish.

The GrassRoutes Band

Dave "Tex" Orlomoski and Bill Reveley

Marilyn Toback-Reveley and Dave "Tex" Orlomoski

Dave "Tex" Orlomoski

Joe Delillo

Tex and Joe Lemeris

The ShadyCreek band is fronted by Nick Anderson, a veteran musician from Plainfield, CT., Nick and Fred Etheridge worked together to get some of Fred's music on disc before his untimely death and so Saturday's event was very special for him. Nick is a very humble and unassuming man which I think adds to his popularity. He's developed a loyal following thats come to expect a good show every fourth Saturday at the Killingly, CT. Grange

Nick Anderson

Monty McLanahan

Elise LaFlamme

William Trickett

Marc Doyle

Bluegrass at Scarecrow

2010-09-18T21:08:00.022-04:00

Even though the skies were cloudy Saturday the Preston City, CT. "ScareCrow Festival" was wall to wall people and the parking lots were filled when I arrived, I found a spot about 1/4 mile from the gate and made it to the music tent in time to catch the opening song by "The John Stey and Sam Tidwell Band." The band was made up of seasoned veterans of the Bluegrass scene: John Stey singing lead and playing rhythm guitar, Sam Tidwell on the banjo and harmony vocals, Howie Tarnower playing mandolin and singing lead and harmony and Matt Bolles on bass and lead vocals as well as harmony. The guys played solid traditional grass with some fine solo's from Howie and Sam, they were tight and right and I hope the mostly non-Bluegrass audience was impressed by our music, judging from the smiles and foot stomping I'm guessing they were.

The John Stey and Sam Tidwell Band

John Stey

John has put together several bands both in Michigan and New England and now plays with the "Boston City Limits" group.

Sam Tidwell

Both Sam and his wife Edie are members of Bluegrass music's "First Generation," a group of 232 artists who contributed to the establishment and growth of this unique music. The International Bluegrass Music Museum's "Video Oral Project" which seeks to interview and film the members of this elite group has already completed Sam and Edie's interview and when the project is finished it will be available to members of the IBMM at their website and at some point to the general public.

Matt Bolles

Howie Tarnower

Howie is a well known multi-instrumentalist in the northeast, he's performed on a bunch of recording projects and with other bands in the region, he fronts the "Boston City Limits" band and has been an instructor with the Joe Val Kid's Academy and other organisations.

The Lonesome River Band

2010-09-14T17:09:00.001-04:00

To view this online, click here

September 14, 2010

Lonesome River Band Adds Barry Reed
Band Celebrating a #1 Album, "STILL LEARNING"

The award-winning Lonesome River Band is proud to announce a new band member. “We are excited about the addition of Barry Reed to the Lonesome River Band. He is a great acoustic bass player and singer and adds greatly to the LRB sound,” says band leader and this year’s IBMA Banjo Performer of the years nominee, Sammy Shelor.
Barry Reed, from Seymour, Tennessee, previously toured with Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper before taking some time off to start his family. “I’m really exited about joining LRB. These guys are great to work with and it has been a lot of fun already,” said Barry.
The Lonesome River Band has numerous upcoming performances in the next few weeks including: September 17 at the Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival (Morehead, KY); Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival (Kodak, TN); Watermelon Park Fest (Berryville, VA); The Station Inn (Nashville, TN); IBMA Fan Fest (Nashville, TN); and Paluxy River Bluegrass Festival (Glen Rose, TX).
The band is celebrating a their brand new album, “STILL LEARNING” (Rural Rhythm Records) that is #1 on this month’s Bluegrass Music Profiles (BMP) Top 10 National Bluegrass CDs chart, plus made its debut this month on the Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s Top 15 Albums. The new single, “Record Time Machine” appears at #21 on the BMP Top 30 Hot Singles and moves up to #26 (from its debut last month) on the BU Top 30 Songs.
“STILL LEARNING” was just featured on CMT.com’s “Top 10 Indie Albums Worth a Listen,” reviewed in Country Weekly Magazine and numerous other publications.   LRB recently recorded a live performance and interview in Lousville, Kentucky with radio host, Bob Mitchell that will air on Bluegrass International in October.
The Lonesome River Band can also be heard on the upcoming new album, "RURAL RHYTHM ALL-STAR JAM - LIVE AT GRAVES MOUNTAIN" recorded in June at the Graves Mountain Festival of Music in Syria, Virginia celebrating Rural Rhythm Records 55th Anniversary. The album releases October 24, 2010.
For more information on the LRB please visit lease visit www.lonesomeriverband.com. For more information on these albums, please visit Rural Rhythm Records. Booking services for LRB is provided by Roe Entertainment with Media by Hope River Entertainment.
###
Photo Credit for above LRB stage shot provided by: Rhonda Maxey
BOOKING CONTACT FOR LRB
Roe Entertainment, Jim Roe
877-688-5885
Email

RECORD LABEL:
Rural Rhythm Records
Radio Contact: Sammy Passamano, III Email
RADIO - AIRPLAY DIRECT
MEDIA CONTACT:
Hope River Entertainment
Penni McDaniel

2010-07-10T15:54:00.000-04:00

Band News

Sharps Chapel TN- The multi-talented Commercial Bluegrass Gospel group, Lakeside, has reached a recording agreement with Chapel Valley. Lakeside has been signed on Chapel Valley's, Mercy Road Label, which is designated for Commercial Country Gospel artists.

In 1995, a group of guys from East Tennessee began singing and playing together. Their goal was to share their testimonies and minister to all that would listen. God has opened many doors these last several years and many lives have been touched as a result of their faithfulness. Lakeside's group consists of Greg Blankenship, Gary Woody, Andy Miller, Eddie Morgan, and Randy Taylor. Along with tight vocal harmonies and their ability to play their own instruments they have been turning heads everywhere they go.

Shane Roark, co-owner of Chapel Valley, is looking forward to working with Lakeside and knows that the listeners will really enjoy their new CD, which is scheduled for release early next year.

Chapel Valley's Marketing and Artist Director, Richard Hyssong, will be working on their radio promotions. Lakeside has already had several charting songs, including their latest release "His Love". Richard states, "Radio stations are going to love "Oh Lord, I Love You", the group's first release with Chapel Valley on disc #17".

For more information on Lakeside go to their website www.lakesidegospel.com. You can also check out Chapel Valley's site to find out more about the record company at www.chapelvalleystudio.com.

Bluegrass for Food

2010-06-06T17:07:00.003-04:00

Myrna Riquer is producing an all day Bluegrass Gospel Festival to raise food donations for St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Willimantic this coming Sunday the 13th of June. The Festival will be held at the Sterling Park Campground, Sterling CT and admission is free but non-perishable food donations will be accepted. There are some mighty fine bands offering their skills for free and it's hoped the Bluegrass community will come out and support Myrna's efforts.

Sterling Park Campground
177 Gibson Hill Road, Sterling CT 06377

Sunday, June 13, 2010
11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Gospel Bluegrass Music
featuring:

THE GALLAGHER FAMILY BAND 11:00 a.m.
BREAKHEART HILL 12:00 noon
THE JESSE LEE SINGERS 1:00 p.m.
SAM TIDWELL & FRIENDS 2:00 p.m.
CROSSOVER 3:00 p.m.
EIGHT MILE RIVER BAND 4:00 p.m.
MONADNOCK BLUEGRASS 5:00 p.m.
NICK ANDERSON & THE GOSPEL FRIENDS 6:00 p.m.

Admission to this all-day Gospel Bluegrass Music event is FREE, but attendees
are encouraged to bring donations of non-perishable food items to the concert for the
Food Pantry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Willimantic. A truck will be on site at
the festival to receive your donation.

Rain or shine – bring a chair.

Traditional Bluegrass

2010-03-29T14:27:00.032-04:00

Recently some long time bluegrass fans spoke of how it sometimes grows tiresome listening to traditional songs and tunes done over and over by band after band and how their interest and excitement grow only when they hear original music or when a band puts a purely different spin on older material, changing it, making it their own or even playing it in such a way as to make it a stretch to call it bluegrass. Well that’s all right with me. If it’s played well and shows off a band’s talents and abilities I find it all enjoyable.
But don’t think that if you sing and pick the old tunes in the way it was done in the early days of bluegrass that you can’t find an audience. Indeed, last night at the Killingly Grange Hall the opposite was true, a packed house heard two of the genuinely traditional bluegrass bands, Nick Anderson and Shady Creek and the Hemingway Brothers give it their all. Judging from the crowd reaction, the loud cheers, and generous applause and calls for “one more” I’d say traditional bluegrass is still in demand if it is delivered in an honest, heartfelt way.
And that was the case at the Grange in Killingly, CT. The Hemingway Brothers performed the old tunes in the style of the first generation bluegrassers, high energy, fast tempo, good harmony and great instrumental breaks. Add some "downeast humor" and it resulted in a fine set by the band from central Maine.

Kip Hemingway

Dale Hemingway

Bruce Hobart, Kip and Dale Hemingway

Bruce Hobart

Hunter Webber

Hunter Webber, at seventeen, has become a proficient picker on both banjo and guitar, his crosspicking guitar playing adds interest to the band sound.

John Sparrow

The Shady Creek Band, fronted by Nick Anderson is the host band for the Killingly,Ct. Grange concert series and play a large part in the popularity of the series. Always hard core bluegrass and high energy presentation. With three young people in the lineup it's added freshness and the audience has been able to watch them grow as musicians and performers. They have progressed dramatically in the short time they've been together, they seem real comfortable in their roles and their music has benefited from that.

Monty, Mark, William, and Nick

Mark Doyle

Monty McLanahan

Elise Laflamme

William Trickett

Fred Etheridge and Nick

Fred Etheridge joined Nick for a gospel duet. Fred has played with "Sam Tidwell and Friends" as well as the PineCreek Band.

Hunter Webber and William Trickett

After three hours of music the audience clamored for more, so the two bands combined for another set and had the place jumping till the lights went out.

Elise Laflamme and Bruce Hobart

Stillwaters and Shady Creek

2010-02-28T11:10:00.035-05:00

The 100 year old Grange concert hall filled up quickly with people obviously hungry for chili and Bluegrass music, throw away the cell phones and it could easily be the middle of last century down in the southern Appalachians. The hall had a good mix of young and old, many enjoying the company of old friends seen only once a month here at the Killingly, CT. Grange Concert Series, at least four states were represented and some folks were here for the first time and eager to hear some good old time music. Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters gave them what they came to hear, a mix of old ballads, some swing style numbers and pure Bluegrass with three and four part harmony. Roger Williams playing resophonic guitar like the master he is certainly impressed everyone in the hall and his son J.D. Williams played the mandolin and guitar so well one wonders if he was born with a pick in his hand. Bass player John Urbanic was solid in both rhythm and harmony vocals in what was a totally enjoyable performance.

Roger Williams and Amy Gallatin

Roger, John, and Amy

John Urbanik

At one point Amy called upon her friend Nick Anderson to join her in singing the soulful ballad "Just Someone I Used to Know," and they did it beautifully.

Nick and Amy

J D Williams

Nick Anderson and Shady Creek had it together as usual as they offered up the traditional Bluegrass we all like to hear, with new fiddler Elise Laflamme adding considerable new energy to the mix and bassist Mark Doyle and banjoist William Trickett adding fine harmony vocals and instrumentals. It was clear the band was cooking off the energy that comes with playing to a full house.

Monty, Elise, and Nick

Nick and William Trickett

Monty McLanahan

Elise Laflamme

Mark Doyle

As part of the Kids at the Grange program any young person who plays a bluegrass instrument is invited on stage to perform a short set, usually three tunes, but Sarah Piette did so well playing some difficult fiddle tunes like Temperence Reel and Beaumont Rag that the audience yelled "one more" and Sarah obliged by playing a blues solo to hearty applause.

Sarah Piette

Upcoming Shows

2010-02-21T20:16:00.015-05:00

On Saturday February 27 the Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters band will be appearing at the Killingly Grange along with Nick Anderson and Shady Creek. Amy and her band offer up a blend of early country and straight-ahead Bluegrass with some fine harmony singing throughout the set, always good listening. Nick Anderson and Shady Creek will give you some fine traditional Bluegrass and Gospel tunes. This should be a night of good entertainment in an old time setting with home made foods prepared by the Grange members. The Grange is located in Killingly CT. on Route 101, just three minutes from exit 93, I-395 east on 101. Show starts at 7pm, doors open at 6pm.

Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters

Amy Gallatin

Roger Williams

Nick Anderson

National Touring band Blue Highway will be at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Mass. on March 20 at 7:30 pm. The show, sponsored by the Boston Bluegrass Union will also close out an instrument raffle started at the Joe Val Festival in February. Martin Guitars donated a D-28 with a Joe Val inlay on the neck and Eastman Strings donated a hand carved mandolin. For information about the show and the auction click here

Blue Highway

Musicians Hall of Fame Founder Joe Chambers to Appear on Fox and Friends Monday Morning - Inbox - 'att.net Mail'

2010-02-21T19:53:00.000-05:00

Musicians Hall of Fame Founder Joe Chambers to Appear on Fox and Friends Monday Morning

NASHVILLE, TN - Joe Chambers, founder of the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, will appear on Fox News NY's Fox and Friends on Monday morning, February 22 at 6:50 a.m. CST, 7:50 EST to discuss the Museum's recent plight with the city of Nashville and the eminent domain ruling that resulted in the loss of their physical location.

The museum closed its doors on Saturday, February 13th after Judge Barbara Haynes ruled in favor of the Metro Development and Housing Authority (MDHA), ordering Chambers and company to be out of The Musicians Hall of Fame within seven days.

The museum represented a key piece of property that the MDHA needed in order to move forward with the construction of the new Music City Center.

Although the museum's new physical location is currently undecided, The Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Awards Show will take place once again in Nashville in the fall of 2010. Further details will be announced at a press conference in late spring.

Musicians Hall of Fame Founder Joe Chambers to Appear on Fox and Friends Monday Morning - Inbox - 'att.net Mail'

The Weekend at Joe Val

2010-02-17T13:11:00.034-05:00

The 25th. Annual Joe Val had everything a first class festival needs, a top rate lineup, a clean well layed out space, organized, knowledgeable, and courteous volunteers, good dining services, plenty of work shops, (50) covering all aspects of the genre, a good assortment of vendors, and plenty of space to jam. It's easy to understand why it was named Bluegrass event of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2006. Moreover, the artists I talked to were very impressed with the accommodations and general treatment they received.
Pictured below are some of the bands that performed over the weekend. I missed several because of attending workshops and jamming but from what I saw personally and what I heard from those who saw all the bands they all exceeded expectations.

Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out showed how wonderful harmony vocals can be as they did several a capella in their set and Steve Dilling (banjo) filled the spots between songs with hilarious "down home" humor.

Russell Moore

Justen Haynes,Steve Dilling, and Russell

Rabbit in a Log, the duet of Skip Gorman and Richard Starkey performed old time Bluegrass and showed their pickin skills as well.

Skip Gorman and Richard Starkey

The Gibson Brothers have three songs on the Top 30 Songs list published by Bluegrass Unlimited and their hit album "Ring the Bell" is currently number one and has been for three months running, always a hit when they come to the Joe Val.

Joe Walsh

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Eric Gibson

Leigh Gibson

Ryan Roberts is another fine vocalist from Canada, doing much of the lead singing with Special Consensus.

Ryan Roberts

Greg Cahill

The Spinney Brothers put on a fine set of traditional Bluegrass and received well deserved applause throughout the set. They announced they would be touring full time now as they've sold their mink farm and have decided to live their dream.

Rick Spinney and Gary Dalrymple

Gary and Allen Spinney

Joe Val Friday

2010-02-13T20:45:00.051-05:00

Dan Paisley and Southern Grass performed as expected, just Great, even though missing regular fiddler T.J.Lundy who injured his hand and had to miss the trip north, fortunately Dan's friend, Scott Eager filled in wonderfully. Dan sang crowd favorites like "The Room Over Mine" and IBMA Song of the Year, "Don't Throw Mama's Flowers Away," and was asked back for more, they just love him.

Michael and Danny Paisley

Scott Eager

Bobby Lundy

The Josh Williams Band with the deep resonant voice of its leader was another hit of the night. Really top shelf musicians and singers.

Josh Williams

Randy and Ashby Frank

Randy Barnes

Jason McKendree

Buddy Merriam and Back Roads gave us some driving traditional grass and the highlight of the set was Buddy teaming up with Mike Sassano for some harmony mandolin tunes that really entertained, they were sensational.

Mike Sassano and Buddy Merriam

Jerry Oland

Ernie Sykes Jr.

Buddy Merriam

Kathy DeVine

Bob Harris

Acoustic Blue always brings energy to the stage, strong vocals, tight harmony, and a desire to entertain is the trademark of this band, they hit a homerun tonight.

Corey Zink

T. Shaun Batho

Bear Aker and Mike VanAlstyne

The Berklee Bluegrass Allstars kicked off the weekend of music at the 25th.annual Joe Val Festival held at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel this weekend. This group of talented musicians really got the audience in a positive mood. Completely at ease on stage they poured out some fine vocals and superb pickin and Dr. Hollander looked to be very pleased with his charges.

Duncan Wickle

Melissa Wright

Lucas Poole

Courtney Hartmann

Trent Freeman and Sierra Hull

Joe Val Thursday

2010-02-11T20:49:00.007-05:00

A bunch of Bluegrassers are here a day early to take advantage of the Master Classes offered on Friday before the main event kicks off at 5 p.m. with a welcoming reception. They're jamming in the lower lobby this evening. Harry Grant and crew are setting up the stage and sound system at this very moment. Things are coming together.

Getting Closer

2010-02-09T21:44:00.015-05:00

I'm really worried about this storm headed for New England. I've got visions of being snowbound, desperately trying to dig out and finally succeeding at about the time the last act hits the stage at the Joe Val. So, for my sake let's hope it turns out to be a big nothing.

Connecticut's long time Bluegrass band, The Grass Routes Band will be showcased at the Festival this year. The group has jammed there many times in the past so now they'll be getting a closer look by a larger audience and that's good, they make great traditional music. They're fronted by Bill Reveley, vocals, fiddle, and mandolin and Marilyn Toback- Reveley harmony and rhythm guitar, also new member,veteran singer and guitarist, Dave Orlomoski, and on bass Joe DeLillo, with banjoist Joe Lemeris rounding out the band.

The Grass Routes Band

Acoustic Blue will be appearing on the main stage at Joe Val on Friday night, I've seen this band several times and they always impress me with their songwriting skills and their strong vocals and polished appearance.

T. Shaun Batho

Corey Zink

Bear Aker and Mike VanAlstyne

Joe Val in Four Days

2010-02-06T19:33:00.017-05:00

The Gibson Brothers said they just can't wait for the Joe Val Festival to begin, me too. And it's just four days away, Yeah. I get a kick out of watching fans arrive, loaded down with instruments, carrying mini- refrigerators, hot plates, lots of food, it’s like an indoor campground. And then the "pickin" begins minutes after the folks arrive, every nook and cranny’s filled with music. For some it’s family reunion time, old friends renew that bond ,that camaraderie that the love of Bluegrass brings about. At the same time volunteers are busily setting up lighting, sound, staging, chairs and all the other chores that must get done. Stan Zdonick and Gerry Katz can be seen hustling back and forth almost at a run tending to the business that needs to be finished to keep the Festival running smoothly. It’s a very busy and exciting little camp for three days that seem to end to soon.

Leigh and Eric Gibson

Here's pics of just a few groups performing, for a complete list go tothe BBU website

Greg Cahill

Josh Williams

Dan Paisley

Michael Cleveland

Past Joe Val Workshops and Jams

2010-02-05T19:32:00.023-05:00

One of the highlights of every Joe Val Festival is the workshop. They take place for several hours of each Saturday and Sunday and they’re always full. They are led by faculty members from local Colleges and University’s as well as some of the artists of national touring bands. Always a learning experience and often quite rewarding the classes range from musicians health to harmony vocals to lead instrumental creation, song writing, instrument setup and much more. If that isn’t worth the price of admission then how about round the clock jamming, sometimes with the stars themselves. Indeed many attendees never get to see the performances, they’re jamming all over the place and that’s just fine with them. There truly is something for everyone at Joe Val.

Michael Cleveland

Bobby Hicks

Been jamming all night, no problem, you can find relief in the downstairs lobby

Alecia Nugent

Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters

2010-02-04T19:30:00.009-05:00

Acclaimed vocalist Amy Gallatin will team up with master resophonic guitarist Roger Williams for a Saturday evening show at the Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, Mass. Amy and Roger are known for beautiful vocal and harmony styling of folk, country and bluegrass songs. Amy's voice brings to mind Nancy Griffiths and Emmylou Harris and always captures her audience with her easy going style and repartee.
Roger is one of the top resophonic guitar players in the country and when he harmonizes with Amy the results are remarkable.

Check out Amy's site for here

fire on the mountain a bluegrass symposium

2010-02-02T15:25:00.001-05:00

A symposium on bluegrass at Harvard University this Saturday and it's free, plus you will get to hear Alison Brown, Bobby Hicks, and Sam Bush. Click the links below for schedule, topics, and directions.

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fire on the mountain

a bluegrass symposium

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Thompson Room, Barker Center

12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

Harvard University

Free and open to the public; no tickets required.

(Directions & Important Information)

Sponsored by the Committee on Degrees in Folklore & Mythology, the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA), the Office of the Provost, the Undergraduate Council, and the Harvard College American Music Association (HCAMA)

(Note: this is a draft schedule; some aspects may change, or be clarified, as the event approaches.)

10:30 am     Welcome and Coffee

10:45 am     Introductory Remarks

                          Deborah Foster & Forrest O’Connor

11:00 am     Keynote Address

Matt Glaser (Berklee School of Music, American Roots Music Program)

11:30 am     Bluegrass: Its Roots and Branches

Historians, ethnomusicologists, and academically inclined performers consider the

history of bluegrass: its diverse (and controversial) roots, its major proponents, its

evolution, and its possible future.

                         Neil Rosenberg (Memorial University of Newfoundland)

                         Jack Tottle (East Tennessee State University)

                         Michelle Kisliuk (University of Virginia)

                         Alison Brown ’84 (Bluegrass musician, Compass Records)

                         Garry West (Bluegrass musician, Compass Records)

                         Scott Alarik (moderator) (Folk music writer, Boston Globe)

1:00 pm      Brief Musical Interlude

1:15 pm      Light Lunch for Attendees

2:15 pm      The Instruments of Bluegrass: Craft to Sound

Renowned guitar- and mandolin-maker Lynn Dudenbostel discusses his craft (and

the ways in which it relates to bluegrass), and displays actual samples of his work.

Afterward, Forrest O’Connor presents his undergraduate thesis on luthiery, and Sam

Bush test-drives a Dudenbostel F-5.

                         Lynn Dudenbostel (Dudenbostel Stringed Instruments)

                         Forrest O’Connor ’10 (Harvard University)

                         Sam Bush (Bluegrass musician, TG2 Artists)

3:00 pm      Coffee Break

3:30 pm      Contemporary Bluegrass: A Discussion with Musicians

Notable bluegrass musicians demonstrate (and break apart) seminal bluegrass works.

                         Alison Brown ’84 (Bluegrass musician, Compass Records)

                         Sam Bush (Bluegrass musician, TG2 Artists)

                         Bobby Hicks (Bluegrass musician)

                         Jack Tottle (moderator) (East Tennessee State University)

5:00 pm      Dinner Break

7-8:30 pm Evening Performance

                        Clint Miller ’11(Harvard University) opening

                        Alison Brown ’84 (Bluegrass musician, Compass Records)

                        Sam Bush (Bluegrass musician, TG2 Artists)

                        Bobby Hicks (Bluegrass musician)

fire on the mountain a bluegrass symposium

Bits and Pieces

2010-02-01T17:03:00.004-05:00

It always annoys me to see folks I consider to be occasional bluegrassers nominated for awards in the Bluegrass field. Why aren't the hard working legitimate Bluegrass people nominated, the bands that work week in and week out traveling the country and playing dozens of dates. There are exceptions, Rhonda Vincent seems to be a contender quite often as well as Ricky and Del but so many really good people are overlooked. These performers have developed solid entertainment routines over the course of time through dedication and hard work and they've proven to be a good drawer for the festival producer and yet they are never nominated to the Grammy's.
I'm not questioning the skill of these sometime Bluegrass acts, they are very talented people, what I'm saying is they are not paying their dues in the Bluegrass genre and shouldn't be considered for awards in Bluegrass.

Master guitarist Jim Hurst is leaving the Claire Lynch Band to hit the road as a solo act. He just decided that after 15 years it felt like a change was right. Claire said she loves him and wishes him well and will certainly miss him.

Spirit Fiddle and the Shady Creek Band

2010-01-25T16:29:00.017-05:00

Finally able to get to the Killingly Grange for their monthly Bluegrass show. This one was heavily attended and that's a good thing for the bands, its got to feel great to play before a full house. Most of the crowd pulled in early so as to have time to try that fine chili and cornbread not to mention the tasty whoopie pies and brownies.
The house band, "Nick Anderson and Shady Creek" kicked off the evening with their usual high octane set of older Bluegrass tunes and songs. The audience loves the Shady Creek Band and they respond loudly in appreciation of the energy that the boys and girl put into every tune. Nick has added some new faces this season, Elise Laflamme on fiddle, and she's a keeper, and Mark Doyle on bass and vocals. William Trickett returns on banjo and dobro and Monty McLanahan on mandolin and lead and harmony vocals.

The second set showcased the awesome talent of Master Fiddler, Robin Warren and talented rhythm guitarist Brian Clancy providing the harmonic underpinning to Robin's exciting bowing. These two have won many awards at competitions all over the country and were a treat to hear. They have quite an entertaining routine marked by a steady exchange of barbs directed at each others musical knowledge, of course it's in jest, these folks know their instruments inside out. Lots of encores called for on this night, folks couldn't get enough.

Robin Warren

Brian Clancy

Monty, Nick, and William

Monty, Mark, and Nick

William Trickett

Elice Laflamme

Erica Brown

2010-01-18T17:59:00.014-05:00

On a cold dark New England winter night it was rewarding to see a capacity crowd turn out to hear, Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection perform at the Grass Roots Coffee House in Northbridge, Mass. It was the largest crowd ever at the venue. Erica and the band covered some Country, Folk, Pop and Bluegrass music. Although the set was all Bluegrass to my ears because it had the precise bluegrass baseline played by our friend Ken Taylor and the instruments were the standard Bluegrass instruments. There was some original music written by Matt Shipman who played lead guitar and sang the harmony parts and some lead vocal. The band did covers of the Louvin Brothers, Allison Krauss, Bill Monroe, and Gillian Welch and others. Erica showed her fiddling prowess on several French Canadian reels and displayed her fine voice on the many ballads of the set.
The bands performance was tight and right with Matt on guitar and Read McNamara playing banjo and for a few tunes the dobro. The entire audience stayed put through intermission waiting for the second set which says something about the quality of the entertainment, I was impressed with the harmony of this group, especially when they did four part harmony with only the guitar playing softly. If they're playing someplace near to you I'd recommend you stop by and take in their music. You can see Erica's schedule here

Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection

Erica Brown and Matt Shipman

Read McNamara

Ken Taylor

Mineral Springs Footstompin Festival 2009

2009-07-05T21:10:00.038-04:00

My first thought on arriving at the Mineral Spring Campground in Stafford, CT. was how fortunate it was to have such a perfect day to hang out with friends and hear Bluegrass music. And it was perfect, deep blue sky, a few puffy white clouds and temperature around 75. The music could be heard from the day parking lot as the bands had already started hours before I arrived. Fortunately there were several bands yet to play. Acoustic Blue was on when I got to the stage and as expected they were in top form playing one of the many Cory Zink originals,"Mountain Memories," with Zink singing lead in a deep baritone. Much of the material this band does is their own, Zink is a prolific writer and T. Shaun Batho writes for the band as well. And you know, this band always looks tack sharp, I'm always impressed with their appearance, it sets you up for a great performance, and that's what you get.

Corey Zink

T.Shaun Batho

Batho plays guitar and sings lead vocals and warms up the audience with a few tall tales.

"Bear" Aker and Mike VanAlstyne

Bear, provides rhythm and sings lead and baritone vocals, Mike is at home on banjo and resophonic guitar and contributes lead and tenor vocals.

NorthernBound

Harry Paden

The band "NorthernBound" has performed together around New England for two decades, it consists of three brothers, Ray, Harry and Steve Paden and good friend Mike LaRocque. Mostly traditional Bluegrass, although, some time ago I heard them do some "Beatles" music in a Bluegrass style. Whatever they do its always a fun set with some good three and four part harmony and the sharing of lead vocals

Mike LaRocque

Ray Paden

Steve Paden

Nick Anderson and William Trickett of ShadyCreek

Nick Anderson and Shady Creek performed two fine sets on Saturday with Nick and mandolin player Jim Plecan sharing lead vocals. They're backed by Roger Diebel on bass and a talented young player, William Trickett on dobro and banjo

Roger Diebel

Jim Plecan

Gail Wade and Turning Point

Gail and her band of virtuosos delighted the crowd with a mix of jazz, folk and bluegrass served up by a highly talented group of musicians, Gail's smooth vocals spaced with amazing solo breaks of banjo, sax, harmonica and bass were a treat that the fans loved.

Gail Wade and Peggy Harvey

Dan Menzone

Rob Rainwater

The GrassRoutes Band

GrassRoutes is noted for fine vocals and tight harmony, they do mostly traditional grass and in their set Saturday they did some covers from Alison Krauss' album "100 Miles or More which were well done and a nice break from the routine stuff. The band consists of: Joe Delillo on bass, Joe Lemeris on banjo, Jack Jolie lead guitar and vocals, Marilyn Toback-Reveley on rhythm guitar and vocals and Bill Reveley singing lead and playing fiddle.

GrassRoutes

Jack Jolie

The Ole Time Bluegrass Singers

This band always satisfies in their delivery of the early music and they appear to enjoy performing together, they have a lot of fun on stage and that allows the audience to join in and feel a part of all that's happening, they're a talented bunch and always a treat

Dick Bowden

Herb Applin,Dick Bowden and Lillian Fraker

Terry McGill and Bob Fraker

Promoter and MC Bill Goodale had the misfortune of severing his achilles tendon but it didn't stop him from putting on a fine Festival

Bill Goodale

CLaire Lynch Band plays East Hartford's Town Green

2009-06-24T19:26:00.007-04:00

Claire Lynch

If you're in the area next week and want to see one of the finest Bluegrass bands in the country get yourself over to the East Hartford CT Town Green at 6 pm, thursday the 2nd of July, and you'll see the fabulous Claire Lynch and her band in concert. One of the finest voices in Bluegrass, Claire surrounds herself with some of the best pickers in the business, Jim Hurst on guitar, Mark Schatz on bass and Jason Thomas on mandolin and fiddle. This should be a wonderful musical event and there's no charge so come on out and enjoy yourself.
For directions and other information click on the link above

Sam Tidwell Tribute Day

2009-06-15T19:44:00.032-04:00

After a night of heavy rain and thunder the Sam Tidwell Tribute Day at Sterling Park Campground in Sterling, CT was blessed by a clearing sky and as hundreds of fans and friends quickly filled all the spaces in front of the stage, the promoters, Myrna Riquier and Fred Etheridge breathed a big sigh of relief, how many times have festivals been ruined by bad weather, all that effort for naught. I bet they were surprised and pleased by the large turnout, by my guess, about 400 people, I know the food vendor was as the lines for food seemed to never end. Well, anyway the event was a huge success and Sam was thrilled by the honor as so many of the folks he found time to mentor and encourage, especially in the early years, had returned to say Thanks! Sam and his wife Edie were instrumental in the creation and growth of Bluegrass and have been honored for same by the International Bluegrass Music Museum where they're included in the list of the "200 Pioneers of Bluegrass." The museum is currently working on a video oral history project that when released will include a segment about the Tidwells.We are all indebted to them for what they've accomplished and for the pleasure of their music and of course for Sam's famous "Maine jokes." Thanks to Myrna and Fred, it was quite and undertaking putting this all together.

Sam Tidwell

Sam Tidwell Family and Friends

The band gathered together here is: David Tidwell, Bill Thibodeau playing guitar, John Stey also on guitar and lead vocals, Billy Kimball, guitar and vocals, Bob Denoncourt on bass, Sam Tidwell on the banjo, Marcel Huguenin, vocals and guitar and Carl Rebello playing fiddle. There were different configurations during the set as old friends and picking buddies were invited up to do a tune.

Jimmy Gaudreau

Jimmy and Moondi dazzled the crowd with powerful picking and vocals ranging from bluegrass to swing, they played mandolin, guitar and mandola equally well and were really sizzling when they chose to play fiddle tunes.

Moondi Klein

Smokey Greene

Smokey was there to offer up a song for his old friend Sam and it was a pleasure to hear him, he's one of a kind, his voice just gets better with time

Anna Mae Mitchell

Anna Mae and Rising Tide are a high energy group offering up traditional grass and gospel and a little bit of folk, Anna Mae has a powerful country style delivery and her band is loaded with fine pickers

Anna Mae Mitchell and Rising Tide

The rest of the band: Kadee Reynolds, percussion; Richard Silver on mandolin, Anna Mae, Bill Thibodeau playing the guitar and mandolin, Nancy Merrill on bass and Steve Peterson on the banjo

Pine Creek Bluegrass

Pine Creek calls Ct. its home, they're known for solid traditional bluegrass highlighted by tight harmony and solid vocals. This group can serve up three lead vocalists which is a plus for them and for the audience. Lead guitarist Fred Etheridge has played with Sam Tidwell and was honored to perform here today as well as co-produce this event. The rest of the band consists of Jim Beaver on banjo and lead vocal, Joe Mellet on mandolin and lead vocals, Nannette Addesso playing fiddle and singing lead and Mike Volatile providing steady bass rhythm

Rocky Hollow Bluegrass

This band has been perfoming for more than twenty years in the southern New England area with its mix of traditional and progressive style bluegrass. Members are Monty Mclanahan, vocals and mandolin, Dan Parker on bass, Nancy Hutchins, vocals and guitar, Dick Hutchins,banjo, Gary Hutchins providing lead guitar and Dan Gannon playing fiddle.

Back Porch Bluegrass

Out of Maine, this band features Fred Pike Jr. guitar and bass,Quentin Yattaw playing mandolin, Debbie Burdin on guitar and bass and Bruce Bjork on the resophonic guitar

No Spare Parts

A fine traditional band from Rhode Island. Nelson Hiller on mandolin, Mike Robino on bass, Rowland Mehlanbacher on guitar and vocals and Vince Peitte an banjo.

John Stey and Rich Guilbault

John and Rich served as soundmen for the event. Sam invited them up to showcase their musical skills.

Amy Orlomoski

Amy split the MC's duty with Marcel Huguenin, Amy is also a popular DJ at WHUS, Storrs, CT and promoter of Bluegrass shows in the area.

Marcel "The Ole Bluegrass Coyote" Huguenin

Marcel's the former host of the "Magic of Bluegrass" at WHUS-FM and a fine singer and picker. He worked as MC for the tribute and also performed on stage with Sam and the band

Dave Orlomoski

Dave has been a friend of Sam's for a long time and was happy to respond to a request to "come on up and sing one"

Roger Moss and Jim Beaver

Roger Moss is the promoter of the "Podunk Bluegrass Festival" in East Hartford CT as well as the "Winter Concert Series" held at the East Hartford Cultural Community Center. Jim Beaver leads the Pine Creek Band and is a DJ at the Bluegrass Cafe at WHUS, Storrs, CT.

Sam Tidwell Tribute

2009-06-09T17:31:00.011-04:00

The Sam and Edie Tidwell Tribute Day is happening this Sunday, the 14th of June at the Sterling Park Campground Sterling, CT. The Tidwell's are among the elite of early bluegrass and are members of the IBMM's "200 Pioneers of Bluegrass," artists who were instrumental in the creation and growth of the Bluegrass genre. The event, will feature eight bluegrass bands over a six hour period and is free and open to the public. Show starts at noon and runs to six. The Sterling Park Campground is located in Sterling CT on Gibson Hill Rd. Some of the bands scheduled to perform are pictured below.

Pine Creek Bluegrass

Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Kline

Anna Mae Mitchell and Rising Tide

Rocky Hollow Bluegrass

No Spare Parts

Relay For Life

2009-05-17T17:09:00.019-04:00

With thousands present the 2009 American Cancer Society "Relay For Life" kicked off Saturday the 16th of May at the Woodstock Fairgrounds in Connecticut. It was a perfect day with full sun and moderate temperatures.
The walkers release hundreds of balloons to start the Survivor Lap, each balloon was marked with the number of years of survial celebrated since the initial bout with Cancer, this proved to be an very emotional moment for the survivor and her or his family

Various forms of entertainment could be found at locations around the track for the walkers and the folks just hanging out.

Bogdanski Martial Arts

Singer, Songwriter Ray Cooke

Celtic fiddler John Cornwell

Crossover at Country Corner

2009-04-17T19:21:00.008-04:00

The Country Corner Coffeehouse will feature the "Crossover" band from southern CT for its last show of the winter concert season this Saturday, April 18, 2009. Crossover serves up old time country and early bluegrass in a most enjoyable fashion with fine vocals and good "pickin," its always enjoyable to hear them perform. The Coffeehouse is a wonderful venue hosted by the most gracious Rose and Dave Helman, its come to be known as the place to be in central Mass. if you're looking to see National Bands as well as some very good regional groups. Come on out and help close out the indoor season. Directions can be found at the Country Corner website

Andre Tardif

Warren Charrette, Dan Dube, and Kyle Neilson

Firebox Series

2009-03-20T18:52:00.018-04:00

The Firebox Bluegrass Concert Series is held weekly on Sunday nights at the Firebox Restaurant in Hartford CT featuring Local, Regional and National bands. Nick Novia, the promoter of the series is an outgoing person who delights in engaging his audience by challenging them to come up with song titles, names of bluegrass artists, past festivals and other trivia, he soon gets the audience in good spirits and ready for music. Nicks band, “TrueGrass,” opens the show with their brand of country flavored bluegrass and instrumentals showcasing the talents of Peggy Harvey, fiddle, Dan Menzone, banjo, and Joe DeLillo, bass. Their music is always good and the packed room let them know it.

TrueGrass

Peggy Harvey

Nick Novia and Danny Menzone

Peggy, Joe DeLillo and Nick

The featured band of the night was the configuration of "New England Flatpicking Champion," Tony Watt, vocalist and guitar player Leigh Gibson of the national touring band, "The Gibson Brothers," and Dave Gandin, bassist with the band "StraightDrive." The set was a mix of bluegrass, country ballads and some hot picking by both Watt and Gibson, both superb players.

Watt, Gandin and Gibson

Tony Watt

Tony Watt and Dave Gandin

Leigh Gibson

Firebox Bluegrass Concerts

2009-03-09T10:38:00.013-04:00

Leigh Gibson

The Firebox Restaurant, located on Broad St. in Hartford, CT, will be the place to be this Sunday the 15th of March, Leigh Gibson of the highly successful national touring band "The Gibson Brothers" will be joining acclaimed guitarist Tony Watt who currently plays with the "Alecia Nugent Band" and bassist Dave Gandin for some singing and picking of some of their favorite songs and tunes that reflect another side of these talented artists that we normally don't see when they appear at strictly bluegrass events. Look for some country songs and ballads as well as material that is not included in their recorded projects. The opening band will be the popular Connecticut band "TrueGrass," with Nick Novia singing lead and playing guitar, fiddler Peggy Harvey, Danny Menzone on banjo,and Joe DeLillo on bass.
The "FireBox" restaurant has been receiving rave reviews from Connecticut's major newspapers since they came on the scene recently so this should be a good evening of music and food

Tony Watt

Joe Val Sunday

2009-02-23T13:26:00.026-05:00

Josh Williams

Only 28 years old, Josh Williams is already a seasoned veteran, he's spent years on the road with Special Consensus and later, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, he's a songwriter, singer and award winning picker having won SPBGMA's Guitar Performer of the Year for 5 consecutive years and he also was chosen the IBMA's Guitar Player of the Year award in 2008. His vocals are deep toned and smoothly delivered, he's completely at ease before an audience and he surrounds himself with high quality musicians. His repertoire is basically traditional and gospel with some of his own material as well. He's backed by: Randy Barnes on bass, Jason McKendree on banjo, Chase Johner on mandolin and Greg Blaylock on the resophonic guitar

Randy Barnes

Jason McKendree

Chase Johner

Greg Blaylock

Greg Cahill and Jason McKendree

Josh toured with Greg Cahill and Special Consensus for four of five years, so it was a special moment when he invited Greg up on stage to play a tune with the band

Bobby Osborne and Daryl Mosley

It was wonderful to see Bobby Osborne and Rocky Top X-press live, many in the audience, including myself hadn't had the oppurtunity. He sang many of his iconic hits in the high tenor that so identifies him, "Ruby" and of course, "Rocky Top" were my favorites. His delivery was as good as ever and he regaled the audience with road stories of him and Bill Monroe. The fans loved him and the flash of the camera's lit up the place.

Daryl Mosley

Daryl Mosley contributed some fine vocals and harmony to the set

Dana Cupp and Bobby Osborne Jr.

Bobby Osborne Jr. stepped up to the mic a time or two and did a fine job

Tim Graves

Joe Val Saturday

2009-02-20T16:38:00.034-05:00

The Oldtime Bluegrass Singers

Dick Bowden

The Oldtime Bluegrass Singers are known for "Traditional" bluegrass delivered with high energy and style. Tunes from the Monroe Brothers, Carter Family and other first generation musicians, sprinkled with some originals from the band. Dick Bowden is known to tell a few tall tales in between songs which makes for an enjoyable set.

Terry McGill, Herb Applin and Robert Fraker

Herb Applin,Dick Bowden and Lillian Fraker

New Found Road earned SPGMA's 2009 Contemporary Gospel Group of the Year award and rightly so, this group is put together tight and offers up hot picking and wonderful vocals. I've never been disappointed by Tim Shelton and his fine band

Tim Shelton

Jamey Booher

Joe Booher

Jr. Williams

Justin Moses

Dry Branch's leader Ron Thomason's political satire is a huge part of this bands popularity and the solid musicianship and vocals don't hurt either. Bluegrass fans love them

Dry Branch Fire Squad

Ron Thomason

Dan Russell and Brian Aldridge

Dan Russell and Tom Boyd

Brian Aldridge and Ron Thomason

Greg Cahill

In over 30 years of performing Greg Cahill has always been able to put together a sterling band and this configuration is no exception with Ashby Frank on mandolin and vocals, Justin Carbone guitar and vocals and David Thomas on bass and harmony vocals

Ashby Frank

Justin Carbone

David Thomas

The Claire Lynch band always thrills the audience. Claire's beautiful voice mesmerizes all and Jim Hurst's guitar pickin just can't be beat. Add Mark Schatz's phenominal bass and Jason Thomas's hot fiddle and mandolin and you got your monies worth in fifteen minutes and the rest is free.

Claire Lynch

Jim Hurst

Jason Thomas

Claire's having some fun watching Mark perform "Hambone" as only he can, Claire's always eager to showcase the many talents of her band

Claire and Mark Schatz

The Kruger Brothers set stands out in my mind as one of the highlights of a super Festival, they played well into Sunday morning, I think it was pushing 2 a.m. when they finally quit. It was an emotional experience with Uwe telling about his dreams of coming to America to play music and how much it means to him and his brother Jens. Of course they're fabulous musicians and they were joined by equally talented musicians, Adam Steffey on mandolin and Bobby Hicks on fiddle. Bobby and Adam looked to be having the time of their lives playing with the brothers. Later in the set Michael Cleveland came on stage to join in with spectalular solo's that could take off and soar for several minutes. Seeing this group of legendary musicians was, as Phil Zimmerman pointed out, a once in a lifetime experience.

Adam Steffey and Uwe Kruger

Jens, Bobby, Adam and Uwe

Jens Kruger, Bobby Hicks and Joel Landsberg

Joel Landsberg, Adam Steffey and Uwe Kruger

Due to other commitments I missed taking pics of some of Saturdays fine bands.

Joe Val Festival Friday

2009-02-16T14:50:00.018-05:00

The Main Ballroom of the Sheraton Framingham Hotel was full of excited fans for the kickoff of the 24th annual Boston Bluegrass Union's "Joe Val Festival" last Friday evening and they were treated to a night of fabulous bluegrass from some of the finest bands in the country. All of the bands received rounds of enthusiastic applause and were asked for encores time and again.

Woody Platt

The "Steep Canyon Rangers" led by Woody Platt gave one of their best performances ever and their record sales table was swamped.

Graham Sharp

Nicky Sanders

Charles Humphrey

Charles Humphrey writes much of the band's material and acts as the bands MC

Mike Guggino and Graham Sharp

Alecia Nugent

Alecia Nugent and her band filled in for an ailing Bradley Walker, she put on a fine performance and at one point called Bradley Walker on her cell phone and asked the audience to wish him a speedy recovery, and of course they did, in unison, and very loudly. Bradley seemed to enjoy that and apologized to the audience for having to miss the show

Tony Watt

Chris Wade, Ashby Frank and Alecia

Ron Feinberg and Jen Larson

Straight Drive's music is just that, powerful first generation music, fast instrumental breaks, good rhythm and beautiful vocals by Jen Larson

Keith Edwards

Ben Fraker and Dave Hampton

Joe Singleton

Joe Singleton has been a fan of New England bluegrass icon "Joe Val" for a long time and put his group, "Joe Sings Joe" together as a way to honor and pay tribute to the great tenor and he did just that with his wonderful high tenor voice on the songs that Joe Val made special years ago. By the audience's reaction I'd say he was a huge hit of Friday night. The band was made up of two members of the Joe Val band, Dave Dillon on guitar and Eric Levenson on bass and joining them was John Roc on mandolin, Rich Stillman on banjo and Mike Barnett on fiddle

Dave Dillon

Mike Barnett and John Roc

John Roc, Rich Stillman and Joe Singleton

The Berklee Bluegrass Band

This group really impressed, not only did they play and sing like seasoned professionals, their demeanor on stage was cool and confident, completely sure of their abilities and the bluegrass fans loved them.

Eric Robertson and Sam Grisman

Mike Barnett and Lucas Pool

Dominick Leslie

Mike Barnett and Hannah Read

I'll be posting again tomorrow with pics of Bobby Osborne, The Kruger Brothers with Adam Steffey and Bobby Hicks, Special Consensus, Josh Williams, Claire Lynch, Dry Branch Fire Squad and others.

24th Joe Val Festival

2009-02-09T14:04:00.011-05:00

One of the most enjoyable festivals of the year takes place this Presidents Day weekend, February 13 to 15 at the Sheraton Framingham hotel in Framingham Mass. Featuring, on the Main Stage, top "National" and "Regional" bands, "Bobby Osborne and RockyTop X-Press," "Dailey and Vincent," "Bradley Walker," "Steep Canyon Rangers," "Dry Branch Fire Squad," "Special Consensus," "The Claire Lynch Band," "Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper," "Kruger Brothers Bluegrass Project," "New Found Road," "Charlie Sizemore Band," "Josh Williams Band," "Berklee Bluegrass Collage," "Joe Sings Joe with Dave Dillon," "Straight Drive," "Wilf Clark and the Misty Mountaineers," "Anna Mae Mitchell and Rising Tide," "The Old Time Bluegrass Singers," "Bluegrass Gospel Project," as well as the "Bluegrass in the Schools Band." And, on the lower level at the Showcase Stage nearly two dozen groups will perform over the weekend, also, 50 Workshops will take place, given by professional performers, a two day "Kids Academy" culminating with a main stage performance on Sunday, a wide array of vendors of musical instruments and accessories, a teachers workshop, a bluegrass film festival, instrument auctions, plus round the clock jams all over the hotel, in the rooms, hallways, stairwells, you name it! It's certainly a wonderful relief from the snow and cold and surely will be well attended, the rooms at the Sheraton sold out in about one hour but thankfully there are rooms at overflow hotels nearby and I believe there are still tickets available but check out the BBU website to be sure

Gerry Katz, BBU President

The Main Stage seating area

There are many rooms on the lower level of the hotel where workshops are held throughout the day Saturday and Sunday

Hemingway Brothers

2009-01-29T10:45:00.021-05:00

Bruce Hobart, Kip, and Dale Hemingway

The Killingly Grange Concert Series continued its monthly presentations of Bluegrass music featuring the western Maine band, "The Hemingway Brothers" and the house band "Shady Creek" on Saturday night. This is a special venue in that it brings live bluegrass to people in an area of CT. that otherwise would go without. Many of the faces I saw there I do not see at other venues in New England, but it was obvious by their enthusiasm, they love the music. Indeed, It felt to me like a church supper, lots of socialization and good inexpensive food followed by wonderful entertainment. The "Hemingway Brothers," Kip and Dale, are joined by John Sparrow on bass, Bruce Hobart, fiddle and harmony vocals, and 16 year old Hunter Webber on banjo and guitar. Covers of the Stanley Bros., Flatt and Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, and other first generation bands are the meat of this group. The vocals are heartfelt and delivered with conviction, the musicianship is good and clean, they put together a fine set.

Dale Hemingway

John Sparrow

Bruce Hobart

Hunter Webber

Hunter is a talented player, and he's only been playing for four years. In fact, in order to get in the time he felt needed to progress rapidly he would sneak out of the house after his parents went to sleep, slide into the family vehicle and play all night.

Nick Anderson

"Nick Anderson and the Shady Creek Band" are a mainstay at the Grange, having put on these concerts for years, Nick always brings in good bands to fill out the bill. His music is traditional as well and he possesses a powerful voice perfectly suited for bluegrass. His mandolinist, Monty McLanahan can sing fine lead vocals as well and is a songwriter of note with his own project, "The Road Less Traveled," featuring eight original songs already in circulation. William Trickett, another young banjo player who at 14 can play a mighty fine banjo and dobro sat in with the band and was well received. Roger Diebel, as always put a solid bass groove. At the close of the show both bands joined together on stage and played for another hour and would have continued all night but the building had to be closed by midnite.

Monty McLanahan

William Trickett

Roger Diebel

Steep Canyon Rangers

2009-01-24T15:11:00.015-05:00

Woody Platt

Seeing how it was a Thursday night I was surprised to see a large crowd on hand at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center, but then again the "Steep Canyon Rangers" are a hot band. It was obvious by the loud applause even before the band was announced that the audience knew what they were going to get, high energy, tight and right instrumentation, perfect harmony and stellar vocals. The band sensed right off that this was going to be a good audience and performed accordingly, tearing up the place, giving 100 percent of their talent and effort. They were rewarded with ear splitting applause and several encores. They offered up much of their own material written by banjoist Graham Sharp with contributions by mandolinist Mike Guggino. Woody Platt, the lead vocalist and guitarist delivered beautiful melodies and Mike Guggino provided the tenor. Sharp, and the fabulous fiddler, Nicky Sanders contributed fine harmony. Sanders is up there with the best fiddlers in the country, I mean he just adds so much fun to the band. Bassist Charles Humphrey was not with the band as he had to rush home to North Carolina to become a new father. He was replaced by the one and only Mike Bub who thrilled the audience and had a good time for himself as well. This was a wonderful show and thanks to Roger Moss and his volunteers at the EHCCC for bringing these top bands up to "Cold Country." Happily, I can look forward to seeing the SCR in February at the Joe Val Festival in Boston

Graham Sharp, Mike Guggino,and Mike Bub

Graham Sharp

Nicky Sanders

Graham Sharp and Mike Bub

Mike Bub

Roger Moss

Jay Armsworthy and Eastern Tradition

2009-01-19T11:30:00.022-05:00

Jay Armsworthy

After a long cold ride it felt good to get inside the Congregational Church of South Hadley Falls, Mass., home of the CountryCornerCoffeehouse I saw a lot of familiar faces as I entered and bought a ticket. I was greeted by Dave and Rose Helman and made to feel welcome. Dave was hoping for a good turnout and by show time it looked like he got it. Jay and his band, Eastern Tradition , took the stage right on time and Jay began charming the audience with his self-deprecating humor and somewhat corny jokes. They picked and sang lots of traditional bluegrass and gospel. The lead vocals were shared by Jay and Lisa K. Howard and harmony was provided by all. I found the set very enjoyable and I particularly enjoyed Mike Munford's banjo playing, meticulous and lively. Tom Gray, of course, was wonderful on bass and Jay and Lisa did a fine job singing and playing, Jay on guitar and Lisa on mandolin. Lisa has a country voice that is sweet and Jay's vocals are smooth and confident. The band was generous with their time, performing for two and a half hours and the audience just loved it. I want to Thank Dave and Rose for what they do for bluegrass in the northeast.

Tom Gray

Ken Taylor,Bob Dick,and Tom

Members of the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band, Ken Taylor and Bob Dick visit with Tom

Mike Munford

Lisa Kay Howard

Steep Canyon Rangers

2009-01-16T19:49:00.008-05:00

Steep Canyon Rangers

The Steep Canyon Rangers will be stopping in East Hartford CT on thursday night, the 22nd of January, to perform at the comfortable and very attractive East Hartford Community Cultural Center, show time 8pm. This band formed in college at Chapel Hill, NC and have been touring heavily ever since. In 2006 they were the IBMA's "Emerging Artists of the Year." They've produced four albums, with one, "Lovin Pretty Women" nominated for IBMA's 2008 Album of the Year. They perform mostly original material influenced by country, gospel and blues. You'll be treated to Woody Platt's rhythm guitar, tight harmonies, marvelous vocals and inspired instrumentation.
Make an effort to see this group, you'll be glad you did.

Country Corner Coffeehouse

2009-01-14T10:02:00.008-05:00

Jay Armsworthy

Jay Armsworthy and the Eastern Tradition band will bring their powerful brand of traditional bluegrass to the Country Corner Coffeehouse this Saturday Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. This band is known for lively traditional grass as well as original ballads and old time gospel. Jay has a smooth voice and is a fine picker, Tom Gray,a member of the IBMA Hall Of Honor and the original bassist for the super group "Seldom Scene" will be on hand as well as Marc Bolen on banjo and Lisa Kay Howard on mandolin. Come on out and support bluegrass music. The Coffeehouse is located at the Congregational Church of S. Hadley Falls, 11 N. Main St., S. Hadley, Mass. Tickets are $15.00 at the door.

2008 Joe Val Workshops

2008-12-26T20:32:00.018-05:00

The workshops at Joe Val fill up early and many are left standing outside the rooms hoping to get a spot. Here Frank Wakefield gives pointers along with humorous tales of his long and notable career

Richard Brown and Frank Wakefeld

Frank Wakefield, Phil Zimmerman, and BBU staff

Tim Stafford held a session on guitar rhythm and creating breaks

Tim Stafford

August Watters teaches the art of cross picking

August Watters

Audie Blaylock talks about guitar breaks

Audie Blaylock

Dave Dillon, Richard Brown, and Margaret Gerteis

Rich Stillman shares his knowledge with some dedicated students

Rich Stillman

BBU staff member teaches mandolin backup technique
Michael Cleveland mesmerizes the class with his superb playing

Michael Cleveland

SUPPORT BLUEGRASS

2008-12-17T14:38:00.010-05:00

There’s been much talk, lately, about the demise of the Bluegrass Now magazine which had published news and reviews of bluegrass artists, promoters and the like for eighteen years or so. Much of the blame for the lack of financial success, has been laid on the fans of the music who failed to support the magazine, and of course you have to sell subscriptions to stay viable But it seems to me there were just too many magazines about bluegrass music. The fan base for bluegrass is small, too small to support several magazines reporting on the same touring artists and festivals especially with competition from the internet based discussion boards and blogs where you can read about just everything that’s going on in the genre.

Another area on shaky ground is live performances. Too many promoters are losing their shirts trying to provide good bluegrass music to fans that just will not come out and support it. In recent months I have traveled to shows featuring top national bands like Del McCoury, Dan Paisley, New Found Road and others who performed to small audiences much less than anticipated by the promoter prompting one to say he’d " probably not do this again." If fans continue to stay at home rather than support the music there will be few willing to risk their resources in promoting live bluegrass? At one point I took a chance and produced one event with a regional band of good quality. I exhausted myself advertising the event in several towns, in print and on the radio and on internet bluegrass lists only to be disappointed by the turnout. I ended up using several hundred dollars of my own money to fulfill my obligations. Would I do it again? Not likely.

Below, Dan Paisley and Southern Grass perform at a well attended festival, unfortunately, at a venue in Massachusetts, the turnout for Dan was not enough for the promoter to break even

Donnie Eldreth Jr. and Dan Paisley

My one attempt at promoting live bluegrass was not a success and caused me to cut short my promoting career. However, should I come into a hefty inheritance I would restart my career even if it lost money just to expose people to this wonderful music

Life Star airlifting my checkbook to a Critical Care facility

PEACE TO ALL IN THE BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY

PACKWAY HANDLE BAND

2008-11-29T14:53:00.013-05:00

Sounding like a camp meeting preacher, fiddler Andrew Heaton jumps up to the mic and in a voice that’s grating warns the sinners, ”they better get ready” as he kicks off the set for the Athens, GA. based Packway Handle Band in concert at the Podunk Winter Music Series held in East Hartford CT. The line comes from their blistering rendition of “Sinner, You Better Get Ready, “ a Monroe Brother’s tune that’s sure to make some rethink their behavior. The Packway Handle Band is a high energy group to say the least, packing lots of action into the delivery of their music, very exciting. I don’t believe the audience expected such a dynamic performance, they seemed to be in awe after the first tune and the set continued to be fast paced and supercharged. The band’s musicianship is outstanding and the four part harmony is near-perfect. They use a two-condenser mic and the movement to and from the mic is a show in itself. Their music, much of which is original, is edgy, energetic and decidedly entertaining. Besides Heaton on fiddle and vocals there is Michael Paynter, mandolin and vocals, Josh Erwin guitar and vocals, Tom Baker banjo and vocals and Zach McCoy on bass. To the delight of the audience, with the last song of the set they started jumping off the stage, one after the other, while singing and playing, and ran up about five rows into the audience and finished up their set among the fans. The people I talked to at the end of the performance had nothing but praise for the band.

Andrew Heaton, Michael Paynter, Tom Baker, Josh Erwin and Zach McCoy

Michael Paynter, Tom Baker and Josh Erwin

Josh Erwin

They jumped from the stage and ran up the aisle to perform up close to the audience
The next show in the series at Podunk Winter Concerts is Laurie Lewis And The Right Hands on December 4 in East Hartford CT.

Crossover

2008-11-25T14:04:00.015-05:00

The Killingly Grange Concert Series offered its second show of the season featuring the 2007, Thomas Point Beach Festival, Band Showcase winner, "Crossover," a band out of southern CT. The band offers a country flavored style of bluegrass that's quite enjoyable to hear. Lead guitarist and harmony vocalist Warren Charrette contributed some exciting breaks on his sweet sounding 1959 Martin D-18 to songs such as "Dark Hollow," "Erase the Miles," and others. Andre Tardif plays banjo and guitar and sings lead along with Dan Dube who provides much of the lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Kyle Neilson the mandolinist keeps the band loose with his humerous banter and joke telling and jumps in with the lead on occasion. The steady beat of the bass comes from Larry Harvey. They are an easy going laid back bunch of veteran musicians who believe in having at least as much fun as the audience, and I can tell you the audience loved them, although the Grange Hall is small the audience made it sound like an auditorium with the loud response to the good music. I know this group would have gone on all night and the audience would have stayed if only the venue would have allowed it. To check Crossover's schedule click here

Andre Tardif

The Crossover Band

Warren Charrette

Dan Dube and Kyle Neilson

Larry Harvey

New Found Road

2008-11-16T18:20:00.009-05:00

Ready For The Fans

On a recent Friday night the East Hartford CT Community Cultural Center featured the bluegrass band “New Found Road,” a band not often seen in this part of the country It’s unusual for a bluegrass band to have a surplus of lead singers but New Found Road is blessed to have three gifted lead vocalists each of whom is talented enough to front his own band. Tim Shelton of course is the front man, and a terrific singer, for the band and an able guitarist to boot. Then there’s Jr. Williams the banjo player who’s also a fine singer and the bass player Randy Barnes is an exceptional vocalist too. Happily they are all content to share the role of lead vocalists throughout their set. Joe Booher the mandolin player provides good harmony and strong mando breaks.Their music, contemporary bluegrass and early country ballads done bluegrass style is influenced by country musicians, Freddy Fender, Glen Campbell and rock stylists such as James Taylor and the Eagles. They also favor gospel, offering up seamless harmony delightful to the senses. Their unaccompanied version of “When I Get Home” was jaw dropping and the audience response was remarkably enthusiastic. Shelton’s rendition of “That’s How I Got to Memphis,” was very moving. Their entire set was thoroughly enjoyable and I’m looking forward to seeing them again.
New Found Road will be appearing at the “Joe Val Festival” in Boston this February 2009 and at the “Podunk Music Festival” in East Hartford in July 2009.

Tim Shelton

Randy Barnes

Joe Booher and Randy Barnes

Jr. Williams

Grange Concert Series

2008-10-27T21:34:00.013-04:00

The Killingly, CT. Grange kicked off its new season last Saturday with two fine area bands, Pine Creek and host band Shady Creek. Pine Creek, features Nanette Addesso on lead vocals and fiddle, Joe Mellet, who shares lead vocal, on mandolin, Mike Volatile on bass and vocals, Fred Etheridge on lead guitar and Jim Beaver on banjo and harmony vocals. Jim Beaver is also the knowledgeable cohost of the Bluegrass Cafe which airs on WHUS 91.7 at the University of Connecticut. This band proved to be quite talented and I especially enjoyed the choice of music, tunes like "Jenny Mule","Midnite Train" and "Waves of the Sea" played at top speed with good timing and rhythm. Harmony was tight and right, and Nanette and Joe provided fine vocals. Nanette throws her head back and launches some strong, emotional versions of songs about lost love and homeplace, Joe sings the lyrics with passion. I'll be sure to look for this band down the road.

Pine Creek

Mike Volatile, Nanette Addesso and Joe Mellet

Nanette, Jim Beaver and Joe

The Pine Creek Band with Fred Etheridge on guitar

The Shady Creek Band is the host band of the series and always give a fine performance. Lead singer Nick Anderson combines with mandolin player Monty McLanahan to sing traditional and gospel tunes such as "Rose of Kentucky", "Another Night", "Lonesome Road Blues" and many more of the good old songs. Their special guest of the night was Danny Menzone a highly talented banjo player, songwriter and former member of the "Traver Hollow" band that toured the national and international bluegrass circuit for over twenty years. Dan recently put together an album titled "Menzone Drive", it has eight original tunes along with covers of Flatt and Scruggs and Peggy Harvey, former bandmate at "Traver Hollow". The album has an impressive lineup of musicians, "Rickie Simpkins" on fiddle and mando, "Wyatt Rice" on guitar, "Ronnie Simpkins" on bass and "Roger Williams" on dobro. This album is a good listen, its melodies grab you right from the start and Danny is one of the best at playing both straight ahead bluegrass and more edgy material. All in all I'd say the "Grange Concert Series" got off to a wonderful start.

The Shady Creek Band

Nick Anderson

Dan Menzone

Monty McClanahan and Roger Diebel

Bear Minimum and Gibson Brothers

2008-10-13T13:10:00.018-04:00

October 12 was a perfect day for a ride in the country, shirtsleeve temperatures,clear blue sky and magnificent fall colors and then top it off with wonderful bluegrass music. The Canterbury, CT. Historical Society must be doing something right, two of its major fundraising events have had picture perfect weather and the people turned out in great numbers. That was the case Sunday for the Bear Minimum Band and Gibson Brothers concert.
The "Bear Minimum" band opened the afternoon of music with their blend of early country and traditional bluegrass. Dave Shaw, a member of the "Bear Bridge Band" has teamed up with Dave Orlomoski, who is a member of both the "Bristol Boys" and the "Bear Bridge" band to form the "Brother Style" duet offering up tight harmonies and fine picking. Their music was that of the Louvin Brothers, Hank Snow, Jimmy Rogers and others of that era. The band was well received, indeed, they got an ovation just for walking down the aisle to the stage and a request for an encore.

Dave Orlomoski and Dave Shaw

The Gibson Brothers took the stage next and thrilled the sold out house with tunes from their Number 1 album "Iron And Diamonds". Tunes like "Pickers Blues," "Cabin Down Below" and the title cut "Iron And Diamonds," all three are on the Bluegrass Unlimited "Top 30 Songs" list. The band was at the top of their game with every tune performed with passion and urgency to a wildly appreciative audience. Both Eric and Leigh have the talent and skill to be able to get inside a song and deliver its message with emotion and feeling. Add to that a band that can deliver aggressive rhythm and thrilling solos and you've got yourself an afternoon of music you can rave about for hours. The DJ at WHUS, 91.7 said his phone was ringing nonstop with people who wanted to let him know about the fabulous show they had just seen.
Thanks to Amy Orlomoski and the Canterbury, CT Historical Society for such a well run event.

Eric and Leigh Gibson

As you can see, Leigh Gibson's recent hair transplant surgery was a huge success.

Eric Gibson

Mike Barber

Mike, as always was excellent at providing the steady bluegrass beat and some splendid solo work

Rick Hayes

Rick rendered flawless solos, uncluttered, clean and delivered with the melody in mind

Clayton Campbell

Clayton was on fire, up on his toes and feeling every note played.
Its now obvious, the curls are gone, Yep, it was a wig.

New Home for Jenny Brook

2008-10-08T15:01:00.008-04:00

The producers of the popular Jenny Brook Family Bluegrass Festival have announced that due to circumstances beyond their control they have to move the festival from Weston VT. to the Tunbridge Fairgrounds in Tunbridge, VT. for the 2009 festival season. The new home will be an improvement, I think, because it will have free showers and flush toilets and a building to house the music should the weather turn sour as it sometimes does at most festivals. At any rate I'm happy to see it continue as it's one of our favorites. The Jenny Brook website has photos of the grounds and buildings. Click here to visit their website

The Food and Vendor area

Waiting for the Music

Gibson Brothers

2008-10-07T08:58:00.009-04:00

With their album "Irons And Diamonds" sitting atop the Bluegrass Unlimited's Top 15 Albums chart and three of their songs on the Top 30 Songs List The Gibson Brothers are riding high. They've had a busy schedule this year with bookings all over the country and happily they'll be stopping by the Finnish Hall in Canterbury CT on Sunday the 12th of October. The "Bear Minimum Band," Dave Shaw and Dave Orlomoski, will open at 2:30 p.m. and the Gibsons will take the stage at 3:30 in the afternoon. I'm told the tickets are going fast, they can be purchased at the door. For more information click here

The Gibson Brothers

Tallgrass

2008-09-29T14:05:00.005-04:00

The TallGrass Bluegrass Band performed recently at the Grassroots Coffee House, which is located in the Rockdale Congregational Church in Northbridge MA. The group played to a good crowd of folks who may not have been bluegrass fans when they entered the coffee house but after a couple of fast instrumentals and heartfelt vocals they were all tapping their feet and smiling from ear to ear. Nick Anderson who provided most of the lead vocals sang a particularly good rendition of Pete Wernicks, "Just Like You," a tune about the lonely lives many people endure and how loneliness can come to those who least expect it. Nick heads up the Connecticut based Shady Creek Band when not performing with TallGrass. Harmony and "Hot" instrumental breaks provided by members of the "Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band", Bob Dick on bass, brother Dave Dick on banjo, and the very lively Dan Nowlan on mandolin, made it a special evening of music. The sets were predominately traditional and gospel and during all of the gospel songs the audience sang the chorus parts along with the band without being prompted to do so, that was very moving. Meg and I enjoyed a "first", sitting through an entire bluegrass show in the most comfortable rocking chairs you could imagine while woofing down "whoopie pies" and bottomless cups of coffee. Everyone enjoyed the performance as evidenced by the fellowship afterwards.

TallGrass

Nick Anderson

Dave Dick

Dan Nowlan

Bob Dick on bass

Bristol Boys

2008-09-23T16:10:00.019-04:00

The outdoor bluegrass festival season has ended here in the Northeast but if you really need a BG fix you can find a concert here and there, just check the online event listings at the CT.Bluegrass Music Assoc. or the Boston Bluegrass Union and you're sure to find a show somewhere in New England. That's what brought us to the Canterbury CT Old Home Day celebration last weekend. The day was perfect, one of the ten best days of the year, low humidity, clear blue sky and moderate temperatures. The event took place on the town green, surrounded by a dazzling white church with a very tall steeple and colonial period houses on two sides and a one room, 1850 schoolhouse at the top of the green. A stage, set up in front of the schoolhouse was where the Bluegrass band " The Bristol Boys " were performing when we arrived, luckily they did another two sets so we got our fill of the music. Lead vocalists, Dave Orlomoski and Dave Shaw, both wonderful singers, sang traditional tunes such as "Dark Hollow", "Shackles and Chains" and plenty of train songs like "Wreck of the Old 97" and "Wabash Cannonball" and some gospel as well. Dave Aston on bass provided perfect timing to the mix. Vendors of the usual hamburgers and hot dogs, bakery items and homemade chocolates were available and there were colonial craftsmen about the perimeter of the Green. The turnout of local folks and tourists made it an enjoyable day and hopefully raised some funds for the non profits of the town. Note: to view a photo full screen, click on the photo

The Bristol Boys

Dave Shaw,Dave Orlomoski and Dave Aston

The money raised will be used to continue the rehabilitation of the schoolhouse
Notice the small size of the woodstove and the length of the stovepipe, I have to guess it was rather cool during the long New England winter
The inside of the schoolhouse was furnished with the actual desks of the period, worn by many hands and showing the names of long ago students carved into the surface
The pottery maker was quite busy explaining his craft to the steady parade of visitors

Whittling Spokes for Chair Back

A perfectly clear sky framed this church, similar to those built in colonial times

Early Machine

The End of a Long Day

MassBluegrass Jamboree

2008-09-05T19:44:00.011-04:00

Billed as the last outdoor festival of the season in the Northeast the MassBluegrass Jamboree takes place the weekend of Sept 12, 13 and 14, 2008 at the Jellystone Park Campground located in East Wareham, Mass. That's before the Cape Cod traffic gets serious. The campground features many swimming and fishing ponds as well as cranberry bogs on 600 beautiful acres. The promoters have put together a strong lineup of National and Regional bands. Headliners are The Chapmans, Nothin Fancy and Buddy Merriam and Back Roads. The lineup is complimented by some wonderfully talented Regional bands: Southern Rail, Blackstone Valley Bluegrass, Back Eddy Bluegrass, The Falmouth Fiddlers, Monadnock, Stillhouse Jammers, CrabGrass, The Hemingway Brothers, NewFound Grass, Dan Helman and Marking Time, The Crossfire Bluegrass Band, and No Spare Parts. Looks like lots of old time traditional music by some really good veteran bands. For a flyer click here

Nothin Fancy

SPBGMA's 2008 "Entertaining Group of the Year" award, the Nothin Fancy Band plays lots of original material written by Mike Andes, lead singer and mandolinist. Fine musicians and entertainers, this band is very confident on stage and loves to clown around and kibbitz with the audience. It's not unusual for Mike Andes to come down into the audience for some shake and howdy at the close of the set.

Blackstone Valley

The Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band offers two, three and four part harmony, supergood picking and original as well as covers of early country and traditional bluegrass. Ten years with the same band roster has made for tight instrumentals and close harmony.

Crabgrass

Crabgrass is a group of musicians who trade off lead vocals easily and do some fine picking to boot. They do early traditional bluegrass and newer material as well.

Dan Helman and Marking Time

Dan Helman and Marking time sing and play early country, gospel and traditional bluegrass. This is a high energy band that does everything with great enthusiasm and they sound really good.

Heritage String Band

2008-08-25T14:56:00.020-04:00

Heritage String Band

Sunday was a sunny, warm and pleasant day and the last day of the 159th edition of the Brooklyn CT. Agricultural Fair, the oldest continuously running fair in the U.S. Fans crowded into their seats under the tent, while others chose to sit on the hillside or stand on the lawn to hear the Heritage String Band play tunes from the 1840's up to late 1890's. Appropriately surrounded by antique farm tractors and clad in period costumes the band played tunes such as: Darling Nelly Gray; Wait for The Wagon; Long, Long Ago and others that are familiar to Bluegrassers, Cripple Creek; Arkansas Traveler; Soldiers Joy and tunes that I haven’t heard before: Irish Soldier Boy and Ring, Ring Da Banjo. Each tune brought forth a short history lesson from band leader, Ed Quigley who explained the sentiments and events of the time, that shaped the thoughts of the writer. This made the songs even more enjoyable.
The band was able to hold its audience through an hour of music, which is unusual at a Fair, it’s more common for this type of audience to stay for one or two tunes and then move on, there’s just so much to see and do at a fair of this size, moreover, many of the same folks came back an hour later for the second set.
The bouncy, energetic repertoire, had everybody tapping their feet and many singing the lyrics to the songs, which surprised me, after all, these tunes were from the 1800's. The band provided extraordinary entertainment and it’s easy to see why they’re invited back year after year.

The rest of the band

Ed, known as the "Commander" formed the band in 2000 so that this music that he loves will be carried on. Ed does most of the narration before the songs are performed and also plays percussion

Ed Quigley

Jim is adroit at singing irish tunes from over three decades of performing at an Irish Pub, he also plays banjo, accordion and tin whistle

Jim McCrohon

Bud Savoie plays fiddle, banjo, mandolin and does some of the vocals as well, he also arranges many of the tunes

Bud Savoie

Leo plays a hot harmonica and adds some humor to the group

Leo Normandin

Dan Donovan sings lead and plays banjo, guitar and washboard and sings darn well too

Dan Donovan

Smiling Ken Taylor plays guitar in this band and sings some of the lead but he's also known for his fine bass playing with the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band

Ken Taylor

Cherrie, nicknamed "Minnie Pearl" for her straw hat and long dress, keeps the band on track with her steady bass rhythm and energetic presence

Cherrie Westcott

Blackstone Valley Bluegrass

2008-08-19T20:25:00.012-04:00

The Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band celebrated its tenth year together the other night at the place of its birth, Whitinsville, Mass. by doing what it does best, playing first rate bluegrass to a crowd of appreciative fans. The band brings together four veteran performers, individually, members of several New England bands, they joined together ten years ago to form the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band but really didn't perform often as the BVBGB due to commitments to their other bands. Thats all changed now. The band has decided to increase the number of concerts and festivals they will play this year and travel farther afield in order to get their music heard by a broader audience. Brothers Bob and Dave Dick and bandmates Dan Nowlan and Ken Taylor are a tight knit group musically and also long time friends. They play a lot of their own material and covers that are early country and traditional bluegrass and gospel. Their playing is clean and energetic as is their stage personality, lots of picking on each other and humorous banter that delights the audience. The brother harmony is certainly in play but the three and four part harmony is a real treat. Each member can contribute lead vocals and instumental breaks that can stand on their own. They've just released their debut album titled "Debut," yes, Debut. This band, in my opinion, is on a level with national touring bands. If you get to hear them I think you'll agree. You can check their schedule here.

Bob Dick

Dave Dick

Bob,Dan and Dave

Dan Nowlan and Dave Dick

Ken Taylor

The Understudy

Podunk Bluegrass Festival Weekend

2008-08-03T14:38:00.056-04:00

All good things come to an end, so the saying goes, and although Podunk came to an end last Sunday the memories linger. It was wonderful. The festival was so organized and well run I don't think you could ask for more either from the fans view or that of the performers, everything was done right, the campground was clean and well groomed, the vendors were friendly, the food was good and diverse and of course the music was the best. All the bands it seems cranked it up a notch and all received robust applause and there were many encores. The Tony Trischka Band performed for two hours Saturday night and folks were still clamoring for more, that set, with banjo superstars: Marc Johnson, Bill Keith, Joe Mullins, Alan Munde, Ron Block, Pete Wernick and Ned Luberecki showing off their talent was just superlunary. Danny Paisley gave us his usual outstanding lead vocals and the band, Southern Grass was on the mark.

Danny Paisley

Donnie Eldreth Dan and Bobby Lundy

Blue Moon Rising, a young band of talented singers and songwriters pleased the crowd with their original material and fine pickin. Bandmembers are: Keith Garrett, mandolin; Chris West, guitar; Justin Jenks, banjo and Harold Nixon on bass.

Keith Garrett

Chris West and Justin Jenks on banjo

Michael Daves handled the vocals for the Trischka band and he did it well and he also played blistering guitar solos.

Tony Trischka Band

Ned Luberecki

Joe Mullins

Pete Wernick

Jon Weisberger

Ron Block

Bill Keith

A super picker, Michael sings like a mountain man

Michael Daves

Marc Johnson

Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle and Jerry Salley, singer, songwriters with more hits than you can shake a stick at thrilled the crowd with a bonanza of wonderful songs they have written over the years.

Jackson,Cordle and Salley

Larry Cordle and Jerry Salley

Carl Jackson

The Larry Stephenson Band

Jason Barie Kristin Benson Kyle Perkins

Four time winner of SPBGMA's "Male Vocalist of the Year", Larry Stephenson's fine tenor voice was a treat for the senses. Backed up by the talented band of : Dustin Benson, Klye Perkins, Kristin Scott Benson and Jason Brie.

Larry and Dustin Benson

The Steeldrivers rocked the crowd with their blend of edgy bluegrass and bluesy country. Each member of the band has played with the best of both country and bluegrass bands. They know how to entertain and did.

Tammy Rogers,Mike Fleming and Chris Stapleton

Mike,Tammy and Chris

The Muellers are another young band (except for Mom Karen, on bass, and Pop, Curt, on banjo)that display talent beyond their years. They feature twin and triple fiddling good vocals and musicianship.

Laurah Mueller

Laurah and Sarah Mueller

A very popular event at the Podunk Festival is the Kids Academy that brings together young folks who have never played together and in fact are at different skill levels and melds them into a functioning band in only two days. The Director, Tim St.Jean is assisted by talented musicians: Vicki Baker, Gail Wade, Cathy Day, Peggy Harvey, and Dave Dick.

Kids Academy

Tim St.Jean

The always entertaining Karl Shiflett and Big Country gave us their blend of early Country and Bluegrass, fans love em

Karl Shiflett and Big Country

Claire Lynch can't be beat, with that mesmerizing, smooth, clear voice that you just can't get enough of and she's surrounded herself with top shelf musicians: Jim Hurst with his rapid solos up and down the neck of his guitar that are not just fast but they sound good too, Jason Thomas, also a virtuoso playing fiddle, and Mark Schatz who is a master of the base and can hambone with the best of them, and did I mention, he clogs as well.

Jason Thomas

Claire and Mark Schatz

Jim Hurst

Claire Lynch

Podunk Day One

2008-08-01T09:56:00.014-04:00

Rain and thunder turned into sunny and warm thursday at show time.A good crowd on hand for the opening of the Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival, a very well organized program that has taken all the needs of the artists and fans into consideration. For the present I'll just post some photos as time is not on my side.

Bryan Simpson of Cadillac Sky

A super high energy set by these cutting edge musicians.

Ross Holmes

Mike Jump

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Matt Menefee

Cadillac Sky

Gravity from Sweden

Dale Ann Bradley

Getting Ready

After a 10 hour drive from Virginia the band, Nothin Fancy, still had enough energy to thrill the fans with their routine of songs, jokes, songs and more jokes. These folks are entertainers in every sense of the word.

Mike Andes of Nothin Fancy

Tony Shorter

Chris Sexton

Mitchell Davis

Tim D'Emore

Tim sat in for guitarist Gary Ferris who lost a family member

PineCone Bluegrass Blast

2008-07-27T16:41:00.007-04:00

PineCone, a part of the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music is a non-profit organization formed in 1984 as a vehicle to honor traditional and “old time music” which is a large part of North Carolina’s heritage. In an effort to raise 5,000 dollars to help support its concert series PineCone will present its first ever “ Bluegrass Blast and Silent Auction” at Lake Benson Park in Garner, NC on August 16. The Gibson Brothers, International Bluegrass Music Association’s “Emerging Artist of the Year," 1998, have been invited to perform their mix of traditonal and original bluegrass. The folks at Garner will be treated to wonderful brother harmonies as well as exciting, masterful picking by Leigh Gibson on flattop guitar, Eric Gibson on banjo, Rickey Hayes on his own "Hayes" mandolin, Clayton Campbell on fiddle and Mike Barber on bass. The Gibson's are always a joy to hear.

Eric and Leigh Gibson

Mike Barber and Rick Hayes

Clayton Campbell

Mike Barber

Eric Gibson

PineCone is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and the City of Raleigh as well as the North Carolina Arts Council. Garner, is located in the north central section of NC known as the “Triangle” ( anchored by the cities of Chapel Hill; Raleigh and Durham.)

Buttery Brook Festival

2008-07-21T14:47:00.020-04:00

The fifth annual Buttery Brook Bluegrass Festival got off to a hot and humid start saturday under threatening skies in So. Hadley Mass. The concert area is in sort of a shallow bowl surrounded by grassy hills which made for good viewing and the music could be heard easily from any area. Most of the audience sat on the hill under the trees but for those who like to be close to the band there was a tent close to the right of the stage and lots of grass right in front. There was a good crowd on hand even though Grey Fox was in full swing in nearby New York.
The featured band, "Travers Chandler and Avery County" came on just before a thunderstorm which thinned the crowd considerably, but those who stayed were treated to some rollicking, gritty traditional bluegrass played with intensity by some very talented musicians, who, by the way, were dressed to the "nines" and sporting some colorful footwear, (Travers in orange shoes with white uppers and Jay Armsworthy in black shoes with white uppers) They were going for the "speakeasy" look of earlier days. At any rate they put on a heck of a show with fine vocals and super pickin and got some laughs with their antics, at one point Travers and Jay were jumping in time to the music, I mean in sync jumping at least six inches off the stage and never missed a note. They proved to be crowd pleaser both as musicians and entertainers.

Travers Chandler and Avery County

Mike Mumford Travers Chandler Brad Wood and Jay Armsworthy

Mike Mumford

Travers Chandler

Jay Armsworthy

Travers

Hailing from Cape Cod, Mass., "Crabgrass" is a band made up of veteran musicians who sing and play with confidence and ease, trading lead vocals, as they all can step up to the mike and tear it up. They play old and new bluegrass equally well and all are fine instrumentalists. They do tunes such as: "Big Spiked Hammer"; "Blues Stay Away"; "I Dont Do Floors" and so on, a real treat to hear. On banjo and lead vocals, Les Beavan, Chris Miner on mando and lead vocals, Steve Finch and Dan Fortier, guitar and lead vocals, and Steve Healy on bass and lead vocals.

Crabgrass

Steve Finch

Chris Miner

Dan Fortier

Twelve year old Joshua Alan Williams and his band North Country were a big hit with the audience. Joshua seemed right at home and perfectly confident in his delivery of early country tunes and some traditional bluegrass. He's got a strong tenor voice and is a joy to hear. Joshua's accompanied by his father Dan on guitar, Jon Roc plays the mandolin and Herman McGee plays banjo.

Joshua Alan Williams

The Bristol Boys deliver a mix of early country, (Jimmy Rodgers, Hank Williams Sr.)and traditional bluegrass. Matt Nozzolio sings lead and plays a bluesy dobro while Dave Orlomoski plays guitar and sings lead on occasion. Dave Aston plays bass and often takes breaks that are a treat to hear. I particularly enjoyed the train songs the band does, with Dave singing the "Wreck of the Old 97" in his smoky mellow voice and Matt doing "Peach Picking Time in Georgia" in his clear tenor voice. They sing well, good harmony, and the pickin is sweet.

The Bristol Boys

Dave Orlomoski

Matt Nozzolio

Unfortunately we had to leave before Mac and Hazel McGee and White Mountain Bluegrass took the stage, but my friend Matt said "they did a fantastic job..." and, "few singers can project a song like Hazel does, and her harmonies with Mac are what bluegrass is about." My thanks to Dave Helman of "Country Corner Productions" and his pleasant staff for a fun, and well run festival.