Upcoming shows

The Killingly Grange will be hosting a Bluegrass show and dinner on Saturday the 28th. of October. Opening the evening will be the Nick Anderson and Shady Creek Band offering solid traditional Bluegrass. Second band will be fronted by Mike Boulay backed by the Hope Valley Volunteers. Both bands are top notch having performed over decades. Check it out, should be a good night of Bluegrass and good food provided by the Grange. Location is Route 101 and Dog Hill Road, Killingly, Ct. show time 7 pm

While enjoying a hot cup of coffee at a local bakery my wife said to me "look at that hot air balloon up in the eastern sky." I told her it didn't have a basket and it appeared to be a parachute. We watched it for ten minutes and it didn't seem to be getting any lower in the sky. I commented that the person controlling its movement must be really talented at controling it as it seemed to be at the same altitude the whole time. We decided to head over to the local airport hoping to see it land and when it finally appeared we realized the skydiver had a propeller driven by a gas engine strapped to his back and a wing instead of a canopy. How cool.

This happy couple can be found playing for folks who are enjoing sitting by the Galilee R.I. breachway on a beautiful day.

Scenes of Fall in Connecticut

Got out for a nature ride Saturday and came across a wedding going on in Woodstock Ct. Weather was not great but they carried on anyway. Beautiful venue known as Roseland Cottage. Cottage was a summer home of Woodstock native Henry Bowen who was a successful New York businessman. Owned now by Historic New England.

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Season starting soon

Covid numbers are falling and many of us are getting back to live music either one night concerts or festivals. I'll try to get some photo's and reviews up as soon as possible. Please protect yourselves and stay safe.

Christmas at GrassRoots

It's always nice to listen to masterful musicians in performance, I can't think of a better way to spend an evening. So it was with great expectation that we drove an hour to see a Christmas show in Northbridge, Mass., the first of six shows in three states, this one at the Northbridge Congregational Church. The evenings lineup was full of talent: The Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band, Amy Gallatin with Roger Williams and guest vocalists, Karen Wilber and Krissie Dick along with acclaimed songwriter Rick Lang. The talent loaded lineup brought in a full house and we were fortunate to find seats. The set list for the night was loaded with Rick Lang originals as well as traditional and contemporary Christmas songs from long ago and more recent covers. The music was excellent as expected given the talent on stage and the presentation included lots of humor from folks who are really comfortable in front of an audience, lots of easy banter and humorus teasing which drew laughter many times throughout the performance. Karen Wilber and Rick Lange sang several of Rick's compositions from the album "Season of My Heart," and the BVBG guys offered traditional and contempory material. Amy and Roger along with Krissie Dick filled out the set with their fine vocals of classic songs and some novelty tunes like "Santa Baby." The instrumentation of the evening was great, and the whole evening was well paced and great fun. The series continues at locations noted on the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass website

Dan Knowlan and Ken Taylor

Roger Williams, Amy Gallatin, Bob Dick, and Dave Dick

Dan Knowlan, Karen Wilber, Rick Lang, and Bob Dick

Santa's Helpers

Krissie Dick at the mic

Karen Wilber

DiQuattro and Day

The Pomfret Senior Center has a brand new look. Completely refurbished and modernized, very open, bright and comfortable, its kitchen gleaming and full of gadgets that make preparing food easy. A nice setting for the first Bluegrass show in this new venue. The newly formed band called "DiQuattro and Day" took the stage at eight and energized the packed house with a mix of traditional Bluegrass and ballads from early country and folk. The harmony of the duo is exceptional and the lead singing of both performers was highly enjoyable. Cathy Day is well known for her talent as a Bluegrass fiddler and vocalist and recently joined up with Bob DiQuattro after meeting him at a jam and realizing they had a fine harmony blend. The performance was well received by the enthusiastic audience who called for encores and helped make the night, as DiQuattro put it, "electrifying". The duo was backed by three veterans of the Bluegrass scene, Tom Bowman on bass and harmony, Cheryl Plecan on bango, and Jim Plecan on mandolin.

Bob DiQuattro

Cathy Day

Cheryl Plecan

Tom Bowman

Jim Plecan