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

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

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

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

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'

 

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

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