Podunk Festival Preview

Surrounded by a bustling city, picturesque Martin Park sits on 26 acres of open space in East Hartford CT. Fortunately for fans of Bluegrass on the last day of July through the third day of August it becomes a mecca for music. It's baseball diamond will become a concert area with stage and tents for the artists and the audience, and its perimeter will be lined with food vendors, instrument dealers and more.Its fields will become campsites and workshops for the hundreds of fans that stream into the park to enjoy one of the strongest lineups in Bluegrass bands today.

photo by Larry Bilansky

The Larry Stephenson Band will take the stage on Saturday for two sets. Larry is one of the most prominent tenors in bluegrass, winner of the SPBGMA "Contemporary Male Vocalist Award in 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2006 and also a member of the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame.

Larry Stephenson

The Dale Ann Bradley Band can be heard for two days, aah, what a treat, I fell in love with her voice immediately, it's unique, smooth, clear and the kind of voice that can make an otherwise forgetable song, unforgetable Can't wait to see her.

Dale Ann Bradley

Dan Paisley and Southern Grass has to be one of the hardest working bands around, they seem to be booked at most of the Festivals in the country and it's no wonder, they provide PURE bluegrass delivered at a blistering pace, very little banter on stage, just song after song. Dan's voice is made for grass, high tenor, nuance, emotion, he's got it all. Happily, he's surrounded by super talent: Donnie Eldreth on mandolin; Bob Lundy on banjo; TJ Lundy on fiddle and Mike Paisley on bass.

Dan Paisley

The Steeldrivers are a group of veteran songwriters/studio musicians/performers who've decided to come together and take their brand of bluegrass to the masses. Singing mostly original music penned by the band, particularly Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson, the strong, gruff, bluesy voice of Stapleton is the sound of the band. Mike Henderson, an award winning songwriter whose songs have been done by the Dixie Chicks, Kenny Rogers and many other top Nashville artists plays mandolin and sings harmony. Tammy Rogers on fiddle and vocals comes from a bluegrass family and has played and sung all her life as well as touring with the likes of Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire. Grammy nominated Richard Bailey plays the banjo and veteran Mike Fleming plays bass and baritone vocals. This is a group you wont forget.

The Steeldrivers

The Infamous Stringdusters captured the IBMA's 2007 "Album of the Year Award" with their CD titled "Fork in the Road", its title track won "Song of the Year" and the band won "Emerging Artists of the Year", that ought to tell you there worth the ticket price right there. Known for their virtuosity and gifted improvisation this band is not to be missed. The members are: Andy Hall, dobro; Andy Falco, guitar; Chris Pandolfo, banjo; Jeremy Garrett, fiddle; Jesse Cobb, mandolin and Travis Brook bass.

Infamous Stringdusters

Nothin Fancy is a band of really friendly, genuine, human beings that can also play and sing bluegrass, in fact they do that so well that SPBMGA awarded them "Entertaining Group of the Year" in 2008. Known for strong vocals and dynamic instrumentation, this band has developed a devoted fan base, many say that if they were only allowed to see one band a year it would be "Nothin Fancy". With Mike Andes on lead vocals and mandolin and guitar; Mitchell Davis on banjo; Gary Ferris sings tenor and plays guitar; Chris Sexton on fiddle and on bass Tony Shorter.

Nothin Fancy

2005 IBMA's "Entertainer of the Year," "Grammy" nominated in 2006 Cherryholmes is known for beautiful harmony an aggressive rhythm style, drive, and high energy. I especially like how each member of the band gets to highlight their talent as they take turns singing lead or soloing on their instrument. In addition to bluegrass you'll see traditional country, twin fiddling, Irish step dancing and clawhammer style banjo. The Cherryholmes band appears often on the "Grand Ole Opry".Jere "Pop" the father of the clan, emcees and sings and plays bass, Sandy Lee (Mom) handles the mandolin, sings, and switches to clawhammer banjo when needed. Cia Leigh plays banjo and sings beautifully at tenor and high baritone. BJ plays fiddle and sings lead and harmony. Skip plays both lead and rhythm guitar and sings as well. Molly Kate plays fiddle, sings lead and harmony.

Cherryholmes

2004 IBMA showcase band Cadillac Sky is best described as progressive, with superfast picking and edgy vocals. Bryan Simpson plays mandolin, fiddle and sings lead. Brian is an accomplished songwriter as well with some of his work recorded by several mainstream country artists. Matt Menefee is an award winning banjo player. Mike Jump plays a hot guitar, Andy Moritz plays bass and Ross Holmes does the fiddle playing.

Cadillac Sky

With a sweet, warm, lilting voice Claire Lynch has long been a favorite of the bluegrass world. She's won IBMA's "Female Vocalist of the Year" and has had two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album. She's received praise from Dolly Parton, Pam Tillis, Patty Loveless as being one of the best vocalists in the business today. She's surrounded by talent as well. Jim Hurst, her guitarist has won two IBMA Guitarist of the Year awards and Mark Schatz two IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards. Jason Thomas plays superb chops on fiddle and mandolin. I know you'll love this band.

Claire Lynch

Dailey and Vincent have to be the hottest band in bluegrass today. The lead singers Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have won so many awards over the life of their careers I don't have room to list them. Jamie played with Doyle Lawson and Qicksilver for about nine years and then decided to try a new direction with his friend Darrin Vincent. Darrin was a member of the Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder Band for ten years. Darrin plays bass, mandolin and does lead and baritone vocals, Jamie sings lead, tenor and baritone and plays guitar.

Dailey and Vincent

The other bands performing are: Gravity from Sweden; Auldridge, Lester and Ferguson with Gail Wade ( a wonderful singer from CT )Keene Hyatt and Marc Roy; Karl Shiflett and Big Country; The Muellers; Blue Moon Rising; Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson and Jerry Salley; Joy Kills Sorrow; Tony Trischka; Blistered Fingers and Pine Mountain Railroad.
A popular event on Sunday is the performance of the Kids Academy Band. Tutored and mentored by accomplished CT musicians Tim St.Jean and Vicki Baker and staff the kids learn a little more about their instruments, how to play in a group and how to present themselves on stage.

Danny Paisley at Jenny Brook

Danny Paisley always gives his all, never a let down, high energy all the way. He did four sets over the weekend,all of them sensational. From heartbreakers like "The Room Over Mine," which is the title of his new Rounder release,and "The Convict and The Rose," to lightning fast tunes such as "I'm Leaving Detroit." Dan and his superpicking sidekicks deliver raw bluegrass with soul and deep felt emotion that keeps the audience either on the edge of their chairs or dancing in place. After inviting Danny on stage during their set and having him sing one, Adam Steffey remarked,"I think I just lost my liver or something," alluding to the pure power of his voice on the high parts. This band always leaves you wanting more even after four sets in two days. Danny's band mates are: Donnie Eldreth Jr. playing mandolin and lead or harmony vocals. Donnie is a gifted player and fine singer; The talented Bob Lundy on banjo and harmony vocals; Fine fiddle player Brother TJ Lundy, and Dans brother Mike Paisley holding it all together and Man, he can play the fire out of that bass. After the final set folks were screaming for more, just one more, Please.Danny Paisley
Donnie Eldreth
Bob Lundy

Dan Paisley sings with DTB

Dan Tyminski at Jenny Brook

The DTB performed before a loving crowd in Dan's home state of Vermont this weekend and they were even better than anticipated. He was totally at ease before these folks and as he said himself he had probably jammed with half of them many times on his way to the top. The audience was loving it and they showed it with rounds of ear splitting applause. Adam Steffey, Justin Moses and Ron Stewart provided stunning solo's with Barry Bales providing perfect rhythmn to the mix. Dan Tyminski
Adam Steffey
Barry Bales
Ron Stewart
Justin Moses

IBMA Awards

The first round nominations for various categories of performance for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards show,(to be held this fall, September 29 through October 5, 2008, in Nashville, Tennesee) are in the hands of the accountants (Riney Hancock and Co.)
From this first batch of candidaates, those receiving ten or more votes will be placed on the second round ballot list to be voted on and submitted to the accounting firm by July 31
The third round in September will have the top five vote getters in each catergory with the winners announced at the IBMA Awards show on October 2, 2008.
I'm hoping some of my picks will make it to the second round. For "Entertainer of the Year" one of my picks was Danny Paisley and The Southern Grass, others are: The Gibson Bros; The Grascals; Seldom Scene; Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. For vocal group of the year: Gibson Brothers; Seldom Scene; Jerry Salley; Claire Lynch and The Grascals. Male vocalist: Eric Gibson; Danny Paisley; Lou Reid; Steve Gulley; Terry Eldredge. Female vocalist: Rhonda Vincent; Dale Ann Bradley; Carrie Hassler; Amanda Smith and Claire Lynch. It's too bad that you're limited to five choices because there are so many talented people in bluegrass today, many not named here are on the same level as those mentioned. To continue on. Song of the year: Pickers Blues by Eric Gibson; The Day Lester Died by Claire Lynch; Alisons Band by Charlie Sizemore; Through The Window Of A Train by Blue Highway and Cabin Down Below by Eric and Leigh Gibson. This is only a partial list as there are other categories.
In about twenty days I'll have the pared down list of nominees to comment about.
Please continue to support your local bands, that's where it all started.

Bluegrass is my Second Language

I've just finished a fascinating book by John Santa called "Bluegrass Is My Second Language". Santa hails from Bluegrass Heaven, North Carolina that is, and he knows what he's talking about when it comes to explaining the atmosphere of the jam session. He made the transition from a long history of playing the blues to the frenetic world of bluegrass sorta" cold turkey" when asked by a new friend that he had only just recently jammed with to help out at a benefit for a large group of important people. The other players were complete strangers to him. In the book he humorously explains the emotions he has on the ride to the gig and how he gets thru it all.
The rest of the book takes the reader on many long rides to magical places where the people are warm and wonderful. You get to meet folks that are sometimes a bit different, maybe even quirky and some of the surroundings where the jams take place are almost mythical. Santa tells us about the many emotional relationships he develops with folks at the jams and shows us the basic goodness found in all of them, how they help him get through sad times as when his beloved dog passes or when a particularly bad winter puts him into a depression. Santa has the ability to put the reader right into the middle of a jam with his vivid recollections of how each player takes his turn on a solo or backs up the group and the audiences reaction to the music. This turned out to be a fun read and I know I'll go back and reread chapters just to enjoy the books characters.

To learn more about the book click here




EIGHTwentythree


John Santa

L-R John Santa Keith Carroll Jeff Wiseman Gregg Eldred

Gibson Brothers Iron & Diamonds

You know you've got a good audience when your marketing table is swamped long before the start of the show. And it proved to be a great audience for the Gibson Brothers "Iron and Diamonds" CD release party at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, Mass. The energy was very high and the band seemed to feed off it performing a sensational set starting with "Cabin Down Below" which got the folks in the groove and continuing with the title cut, "Iron and Diamonds," about the lives of hard working miners and how they came alive on sunday to play ball. The Brothers played most of the new self written material as well as some requests of tunes from their previous release "Red Letter Day". My favorite of the night was "Pickers Blues", this song starts with a powerful guitar solo and wonderful rhythm and it's easy for a picker to relate to the lyrics. All in all it was a great night of music, the band was tight and right with Rick Hayes on mandolin, Clayton Campbell on fiddle and of course Mike Barber on bass , they played nearly two hours and probably would have played even longer but they had to stop in order to get bass player Mike Barber home by morning so he could get to the fishing hole.

Bluegrass Millionaire

A recent study indicates there are over 18 million bluegrass consumers around the planet buying CD’s, attending concerts and spending money supporting the artists. The minute I read that I thought that’s wrong. No way is there that many fans following bluegrass. How’d they come up with that figure? I’ve been to concerts of some of the best BG performers around and watched them play to a few dozen believers. That’s just the nature of our music, feast and famine. Of course the big festivals can draw thousands but the general rule is if you want to get rich, don’t choose bluegrass as the vehicle. Were the survey accurate most bluegrass bands would be rolling in dough, riding in their own busses, own houses in luxury spots around the globe. Furthermore you would be able to see your favorite bands on morning TV shows singing their latest hits, on late night shows chatting happily about their kids and their latest “project.” Wouldn’t that be nice?
I’ for one would like to see this happen. I’d like to see the artists enjoy fame and fortune. But wait! If that happened would they become like the stars of other genre’s , isolated from their fans, surrounded by bodyguards, segregated, aloof, somewhat arrogant. I don’t want to see that happen. I like it the way it is now, where you can sit down and chat with your favorite band members just as though they were school buddies or neighbors, no pretensions, just regular folks, willing to teach you some licks or give you some insight about performing and traveling place to place, interesting stuff that you’ll never be able to experience your self. I guess I’m really torn because on the one hand I want the musicians to be successful but I wouldn’t want to lose the closeness and sharing and the community spirit of the present bluegrass community.