The band that has dominated the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart for the past half year is coming to Madison’s Orton Park Festival, thanks to a grant from SWBMAI. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform at 7:00 pm Saturday, August 28.
The San Franciso Weekly raved: “The Carolina Chocolate Drops are something else. First, they’re black. Yes, African-American. What? You never heard of black country folksong? “Negro” string bands go way back. We’re talking pre-Civil War, pre-Revolution even, when African slaves brought the banjo to the colonies, paired it with the European violin, and voila! The first New World mashup: dance music, American style.”
And the New York Times wrote: “They dip into styles of Southern black music from the 1920s and ’30s — string-band music, jug-band music, fife and drum, early jazz — and beam their curiosity outward. They make short work of their instructive mission and spend their energy on things that require it: flatfoot dancing, jug playing, shouting.”
The Carolina Chocolate Drops will highlight the free, four-day festival, where talented local performers will join with celebrated musicians from around the nation and the world to create a musical tapestry of the highest order. Bluegrass and country bands performing include Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (featuring dobro virtuoso Cindy Cashdollar), Getaway Drivers, Robert J and the Rowdy Prairie Dogs, Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, and many more. International acts include Razia Said (NYC/Madagascar), and Monika and Christian Nieves (Puerto Rico). Click here for the full schedule.
Admission to the festival is free; are encouraged festival-goers to leave their coolers at home and support the free festival by purchasing food and beverages benefiting the Wil-Mar Center and Marquette Neighborhood Association.
The Lonesome River Band and SWBMAI Member Band Above the Town will provide the musical highlights for the fourth annual Gandy Dancer Festival on the Promenade in historic Mazomanie, Wis. this Saturday, August 21. Free and open to the public, this popular family event is truly a day-long festival featuring an array of activities with something of interest for every family member.
Headlining this year’s music festival is the Lonesome River Band. The band’s career spans 25 years and includes multiple awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. And their current album, “No Turning Back”, was number one on Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s Top 15 Album Chart for an impressive three months.
Show times for the musical performances on the main stage are:
Queens of Harmony (African-American Gospel) – 11:00am
Above the Town (Bluegrass) – 12:30pm
The DitchLilies (American Roots Music) – 2:00pm
Cork ‘n Bottle String Band (Bluegrass) – 3:30pm
Harmonious Wail (Gypsy Swing, Jazz) – 5:00pm
Lonesome River Band (Bluegrass) – 6:30pm
Programs and show times in the Exhibits tent are:
Dave Landau (music for kids) – 12:00pm
Bobbie Malone (history detective program for kids) – 1:00pm
Dave Landau (music for kids) – 2:30pm
Meet the Headliners: Lonesome River Band – 3:00pm
Bluegrass Jam led by Above the Town – 3:30pm
(bring your own instrument and sit in with the pros)
Mid-Continent Railway Museum store – all day.
Gandy Dancer Festival T-shirt sales – all day
Also taking place around the Promenade:
Jacob Mills (Juggling) – times vary.
Dave Lee (Gandy Dancer demonstration) – all day.
Museum for the Milwaukee Road – all day.
Mazomanie Historical Society – all day.
Food and beverages by local vendors and service clubs – all day
You want to do some jamming? You want to have some fun?
On Saturday and Sunday, September 4th and 5th, the SWBMAI is hosting music in the Pavilion at the Rock River Thresheree in Edgerton.
Jamming will be from 10am to 12pm and again from 3pm to 5pm on both days. For an added extra special treat, we will be having Member Bands playing – 3 each day – from 12-3pm! A sampler for folks who may not know about our music. Mark this event on your calendars and watch for updates!
We are looking for volunteers to help us with our association table – selling our raffle tickets, giving folks Membership Forms and just plain meeting people and having a nice time. Let me know if you want to join in the fun: Mary Helmke helmkemary6@gmail.com or 608-838-4852.
Archie Loman’s annual bluegrass bash, ArchieFest, is back this year, even bigger than ever. The free one-day festival will feature 11 bands performing from noon until 11 pm this coming Saturday, July 10.
The festival is held at the Mondeaux Dam Lodge in the scenic Chequamegon National Forest. This year’s band lineup includes Archie, Jim & friends, Big Daddy and the Feather Pickers, The Lang Bothers, Staff Infection, Mountain Sky & Friends, Prairie Smoke, Northern Comfort, the Mad City Jug Band, and Dick, Goldie & Mark.
Admission is free (no carry ins allowed) Food and beverages will be available on site. Bring your lawn chairs.
Mondeaux Dam Lodge is located in North Central Wisconsin in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest just 20 miles north west of Medford. The lodge offers a full lunch and dinner menu, boat, canoe, paddleboat & pontoon rentals, a shower area for campers and a small camp store.
The Lonesome River Band will headline the 4th Annual Gandy Dancer Festival on Saturday, August 21 in Mazomanie. Sammy Shelor, a four-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year, leads the band along with Andy Ball (mandolin), Brandon Rickman (rhythm guitar), Mike Anglin (bass), and Mike Hartgrove (fiddle). They will appear at an informal “meet the headliner” session at 3:00 p.m. and there will be a Bluegrass jam led by Above the Town at 3:30. The complete main stage music schedule is listed below.
Family-friendly activities highlight the Gandy Dancer Festival, which is presented by the Mid-Continent Railway Museum and the Village of Mazomanie. New this year is a “History Detectives” activity organized by Bobbie Malone of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Children will have the opportunity to learn about riding and working on trains by interacting with a panel of old-timers who actually did it. There will be music especially for kids by Dave Landau at noon and 2:30, a real-life gandy dancer demonstration by Dave Lee and incidental juggling by Jacob Mills. Horse-drawn wagon rides, the mini-train for kids and historical displays at the public library (former Milwaukee Road depot), the Mazomanie Historical Museum and the Mazomanie Regional Heritage Center will round out the day. Food and beverages will be readily available from local civic groups and businesses,
This event is supported by the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional funds from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, and the Overture Foundation.
Gandy Dancer Festival
Westland Promenade (Brodhead Street at the railroad tracks), Mazomanie, Wisconsin
Saturday, August 21, 2010 – 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., rain or shine
Admission is free – contributions to Mid-Continent Railway Museum are warmly appreciated.
11:00 a.m. Queens of Harmony, African-American Gospel
Audie Baylock and Redline provided bluegrass fans with one of their patented virtuoso performances last weekend at the Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival. SWBMAI member and bluegrass videographer Denny Egstad caught one of the band’s hot numbers on tape:
Shooting any video of your own this festival season? Don’t forget to let us know about it at swbmai@gmail.com!
The Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival is back this weekend, June 11 – 13, with another outstanding line up of bluegrass bands creating the unique Brooklyn bluegrass experience., National touring artist Audie Baylock and Redline are headlining this old fashioned, outdoor, bluegrass festival, sponsored by the Village of Brooklyn, now in its sixth year. SWBMAI is a supporting partner of this event.
Audie has enjoyed a long career in bluegrass music, and has received a multitude of honors and awards including: Male Vocalist nomination; IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year; a Grammy® nomination for “Best Bluegrass Album” and an IBMA nomination for Recorded Event of the Year for “A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass.”
The rest of this year’s lineup features an exciting mix of great local and regional bluegrass bands. Friday night’s lineup will include the Mecan River Ramblers and the Bluegrass Tribute Band. On Saturday the music starts in the afternoon with Oak Street Ramblers. The Ramblers are followed by the Old Tin Can String Band, the Pike Creek, the Spare Time Bluegrass Band, Truman’s Ridge, and headliner Audie Blaylock & Redline.
New this year, the Festival will host a Sunday morning Gospel lineup featuring Jerry Wicentowski & Lucky Break. Also playing sets on Sunday are the Krause Family Band and the James Creek Road.
Once again, rough camping is available with a campfire jam, in our beautiful 15 acre Legion Park. The Festival is a short 20 minute drive south of Madison. To learn more about the Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival please visit www.brooklynbluegrassfestival.com. View Larger Map
Wisconsin native and East Troy Bluegrass Festival founder Melissa Sherman was recently named Composer of the Year at the 2009 Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards. The band which Sherman writes for and helps manage, Ontario-based Hard Ryde, won nearly all the instrumental player of the year categories, picking up awards for Banjo, Fiddle, Bass, Guitar and Mandolin. Hard Ryde’s front man, Doug de Boer was named the Entertainer of the Year.
“I was extremely proud to represent Wisconsin as I accepted my award,” Sherman told SWBMAI shortly after the awards ceremony. “My heart has never left Wisconsin and I truly miss and adore my Bluegrass family there!”
“I founded and still direct the East Troy Bluegrass Festival 17 years ago,” Sherman said. “I have been writing music since I was 16. Since living with my partner Doug and having this wonderfully talented band Hard Ryde in my life, I have finally found the right group to make my songs come alive! As a family we live the Bluegrass life. We have 5 family festivals here in Canada , along with my festival in East Troy. We host a winter series in the spring from Feb-April and produce the Bluegrass awards for Central Ontario. Hard Ryde is on the road constantly playing festivals both in the US and Canada.”
Watch Hard Ryde perform one of Melissa Sherman’s songs, “Turkeyville Road”
Nadine Walsten, organizer of the Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival, needs volunteers to help on the planning committee for next year’s festival. Nadine writes: “I need to find bluegrass fans who either live in the Village (preferred but not essential) or near by who would be willing to work on the bluegrass committee (planning). I need some planners/deciders. The tasks are laid out so the biggest part is selecting bands, finalizing publicity, etc. etc. and then getting the publicity out.”
Those interested in helping to keep this great annual event going should contact Nadine at nwalsten@charter.net.
Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective kick off their 2009/10 Sugar Maple Concert Series on September 23 at the High-Noon Saloon.
Headlining the show is former member of the prestigious US Navy Country Current band, Frank Solivan II. Bluegrass Unlimited calls Solivan is “a major talent,” while Bluegrass Breakdown writes, “It would be relatively simple to describe Frank using standard marketing jargon and cliché terms of praise, but his creativity and unparalleled artistry seem to begin where those descriptions leave off” (Bluegrass Breakdown). A multi-instrumental master, Solivan sings with power and passion, writes articulate songs that go straight to the heart, and combines the pure, hard drive of classic bluegrass with twenty-first century sophistication. His quartet Dirty Kitchen, features a venerable line-up of nationally-connected pickers like banjo player Mike Munford, who has toured the world with top notch bluegrass artist like Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, the Rice Brothers featuring and Lynn Morris.
The September 23 kick-off is also billed as FLTMC’s 3rd Annual Volunteer Holler. While the event is open to the public, it offers special nod to more than with 100 volunteers who power the non-profit organization and it’s annual summer festival. These volunteers are welcome to attend the event for free.
The show starts at 8pm with Kristy Larson Honky Tonk Trio. Country music historian, author, musician and WORT radio host Bill Malone describes Kristy Larson as “one of the shining lights of Madison roots music”. Her light burns even brighter as she joins forces with husband and multi-instrumentalist Mark Roeder. Together, they’re a midwestern Rawlins and Welch.
A portion of the Sugar Maple Concert Series’ proceeds help produce the annual festival, typically the first full weekend of August at Lake Farm County Park in Madison. Contact www.fourlakesmusic.org or 608/227.8685 for more information.
The band that has dominated the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart for the past half year is coming to Madison’s Orton Park Festival, thanks to a grant from SWBMAI. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform at 7:00 pm Saturday, August 28.
By Mary Helmke
Archie Loman’s annual bluegrass bash, ArchieFest, is back this year, even bigger than ever. The free one-day festival will feature 11 bands performing from noon until 11 pm this coming Saturday, July 10.
