This past weekend’s Joe Val Bluegrass Festival presented an amalgam of top-notch talent and wonderful regional bands. From the extensive hallway jamming by festival participants at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham to main stage and showcase stage performances, there was something to do at all hours. Though I missed headliner Michael Cleveland, whom I heard put on a terrific set late into Saturday night, I did catch music by the Steep Canyon Rangers on Friday and by Blue Highway late Sunday afternoon, closing out the festival.
The producers of a documentary called “The Tao of Bluegrass – A Portrait of Peter Rowan” are seeking funding to complete the film about the native of Wayland, Mass., a well-loved almost cult-like figure who has entranced fans of progressive bluegrass music everywhere. Rowan, a former member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, spent about one year in 1964 with the Father of Bluegrass before forging his own path in a multitude of groups. Though his musical journey began well before that, performing rockabilly and blues, he was later influenced by the first generation bluegrass performers and the 60s folk revival. (Read Rowan’s biography.)
If you follow bluegrass music, the names Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland and the Steep Canyon Rangers mean something to you. They are all award-winning, top-of-their-art bands. Each of them will headline the 27th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, which begins this Friday, Feb. 17 and ends Sunday, Feb. 19th at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, Mass.
It’s nice to see that a bluegrass video is getting well-deserved attention. Granted, this particular video of world-class, award-winning guitar player and singer Josh Williams, is getting its due because of a little sparrow. But it’s great to see that more than 800,000 people have enjoyed this video by fellow photographer, videographer and blogger Ted Lehmann, who hints the video, shot at the Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival at Denton Farm Park in Denton, N.C., might soon be shown on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Jake Armerding and Mark Erelli are singer-songwriters following their own unique paths down the folk music highway. But they are no strangers to collaboration. The pair also are part of the new group called Barnstar! I emailed them a few questions in advance of their show this Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, Mass., and I asked them not to share their answers:
Jake Armerding and Mark Erelli are Boston-area singer-songwriters who, in their own right, are phenomenal performers. The pair has collaborated on a few projects over the years and they also perform in the band Barnstar! But it’s a treat for them to bring a duet to the stage. Saturday’s show at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, Mass., will be a special show, perfect because not only will you be entertained by two of the finest contemporary singer-songwriters, but it will help you forget last weekend’s Super Bowl debacle.
Fiddlers Julie Metcalf and Andy Reiner will perform at Loring-Greenough House, 12 South St, Boston on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. Metcalf has immersed herself in traditional folk and contemporary styles of music, including Celtic, Appalachian, bluegrass, jazz, and Latin music. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Violin Performance. Reiner tours with Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, The Earth Stringband, and Intergalactic Blam as well as teaching lessons, composing, and running his own production and publishing companies.
David Buskin and Robin Batteau will return to the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin, Mass., on Saturday, Jan. 28, with opener Trina Hamlin. Buskin & Batteau are working on a new CD, but have taken time out to do some touring. The duo, who were popular in the Cambridge folk scene through the 70s and 80s and had toured with folksinger Tom Rush, rejoined forces in 2008.
I was tweeted a link to this wonderful short Matt Morris film that I thought everyone would enjoy. It combines the feel of Mayberry with the bluegrass music embedded in North Carolina culture. “Pickin’ & Trimmin’” was an Emmy® nominee, and an official selection of over 60 film festivals, along with the Best Documentary Short Film winner at the Florida Film Festival and Woodstock Film Festival. This film has been out there for 3 months. But it’s new to me. 
Recently, the brother-sister duo The Roys released their new music video, called “Trailblazer,” a song off their successful album, “Lonesome Whistle.”
I recently had the pleasure of meeting them in Nashville at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass. The duo, signed to Rural Rhythm records, was hard to miss, with their mugs painted across the sides of a very hefty tour bus. But in person, the pair, from Fitchburg, Mass., was down to earth, wonderful singers and musicians, and put on a good show on the IBMA main stage.
While some other coffeehouses canceled their shows Saturday night as snow fell through the day, Antje Duvekot responded defiantly “Snow schmoe!” The show went on at Mansfield’s Rose Garden Coffeehouse, as the Lincoln, Mass., singer-songwriter was met by some 175 intrepid fans.
VIDEO: Brockton native Bill Keith among recipients of Boston Bluegrass Union Heritage Awards
Brockton native Bill Keith, known for his innovative banjo playing and a former member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, is among the recipients for the 2012 Boston Bluegrass Union‘s Heritage Awards. Named along with Keith for the Musician Award was Dedham native Jim Rooney, who paired up with Keith in the 1960s. The Music Industry winner is the Crooker Family, presenters for more than 30 years of the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival in Brunswick, Maine. The awards honor those who have made substantial contributions to furthering bluegrass music in New England, and they will be presented at the upcoming 27th Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, held Feb. 17-19, 2012, at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, Mass.
Laconia’s Jack Polidoro (“The Good Dr. Jack”) has written many beautiful songs over the past couple of decades, but his most recent one comes straight from the heart. He wrote “Goin’ Off to War – A Father’s Lament” for his son who is now serving overseas in Oman with the US Navy. Jack just finished penning the song this past fall and recently finished recording it at Rocking Horse Studios in New Hampshire with some fellow pro musicians.
VIDEO: Singer-songwriter Antje Duvekot to unveil new CD at Rose Garden in Mansfield on Saturday
Boston’s Antje Duvekot (pronounced AN-tyuh DOO-va-kot) returns to the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, Mass., for the fourth time on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, this time with a new CD in hand. Duvekot has grown immensely in popularity over the past few years. Her down-to-earth songwriting, wonderful voice and ebullient stage presence captivate audiences. read more…
For Conor Smith of Quincy, playing music has always been a passion, so when his wife took a job at UMass-Boston, it was an easy decision for the 35-year-old, classically trained violinist to leave a career in corporate finance for a full-time music career.
Almost a year and half ago, Smith found his niche by chance with Three Tall Pines, a Boston-based quartet that has just released its second CD, “All That’s Left.” The group will be celebrating its release Thursday at The Narrows in Fall River and Sunday at Club Passim in Cambridge.
“Getting in with the Three Tall Pines has been great,” Smith said. “The wheels have been turning this last year since our record was recorded and it seems like we’re hitting a good pace right now … It’s great playing original music. You have your own form, your own art installed in the music, you know?”
The group’s Americana, old-timey and bluegrass styles offer a hint of a tighter Old Crowe Medicine Show, sans harmonica. Sweetly honed harmonies mix with rustic images of love and living in the country. In performance, they sing around one microphone, which adds to the energy level. “Not only can you feel the energy when you’re standing right next to someone, but you can also make eye contact,” Smith said. “Even being in the studio, we were right next to each other, and we did the whole thing live … so there’s no overdubbing on our record, which is amazing. It’s really an organic sound.”
Rockland, Mass.’s Blue Moon Coffeehouse will feature a performance by Boston-based Ethan Robbins & Cold Chocolate this Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. The music from this group is hard to pin down. It’s a fusion of folk, funk and bluegrass that they call “Bluegrass Funk.”
Danny Paisley is becoming a classic. Taking the reins from his father, the late Bob Paisley who died in 2004, Danny has continued the classic high-lonesome sound of the Southern Grass with his phenomenal tenor vocals. Now, add his 11-year-old son Ryan, a third-generation player on mandolin. Ryan is just a starting player, but he held his own at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s showcase in September.
The beautiful thing about attending the annual gathering of bluegrass in Nashville is not just seeing the well-known, amazingly talented musicians that I’ve admired over the years, but also seeing the up-and-comers.
Which young-ins are rocking the bluegrass genre, making traditionalists cringe or stand slack-jawed in fascination? One such musician was 16-year-old mandolinist Cory Piatt of Tennessee, who blew a room of people away at an after-hours showcase, and even got veteran bassist Mark Schatz to join him.
It’s a bit disappointing that one of my favorite performers, Vance Gilbert, won’t be back in our region until Feb. 4, 2012, when he visits the Beal House/South Shore Folk Club in Kingston, Mass. Gilbert is among the finest *entertainers* I’ve seen on the folk scene. But the man needs more regional gigs!
I call him more an “entertainer” than a “folk-singer” or “singer-songwriter” because he has mastered the art of performing, interacting with his audiences, no matter how large or small, and keeping his musical act finely honed. He pays attention to his material, of course, but connects with his audiences better than most performers I’ve seen. And, he seems to do it so effortlessly.
VIDEO: PBS presents Country music In Performance at the White House
They gave us a tease before Thanksgiving, but PBS now has posted its country music performance at the White House, featuring Alison Krauss with Sierra Hull and many other performers including Dierks Bentley, Lyle Lovett, Darius Rucker and Kris Kristofferson, the Band Perry, James Taylor, Lauren Alaina and Mickey. I have embedded the entire 55-minute show so you can watch it here.
