SWBMAI’s newest member band, the Mad City Jug Band, will perform an evening of jug band and hokum music at the Wild Hog in the Woods this coming Friday, Sept. 3rd, starting at 8:00 p.m.
The Mad City Jug Band was formed in December 2009 for the SWBMAI’s Got Talent show, where they won the Audience Favorite award. They were one of 20 bands to receive a coveted spot at the 2010 Battle of the Jug Bands in February. The band loves the jug band sound and is dedicated to preserving the classic repertoire from the 1920s, as well has the hits from the jug band revival of the 1960s.
Band members include Dave Bacholl (Bass); Arvid Berge (Harmonica, Guitar, Vocals); Denise Berge (Washboard); Beverly Hills (Kazoo, Guitar, Vocals); Scott Knickelbine (Jug, Banjo, Vocals); Amy McNally (Fiddle, Vocals) Dave Nance (Dobro, National Steel, Vocals); and Catherine Rhyner (Mandolin, Vocals).
Wild Hog In The Woods performances are held at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer St. in Madison. A $5 cover benefits the Wild Hog in the Woods.
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.
SWBMAI member band the Nob Hill Boys will give a free concert tomorrow night, July 22, at Harriet Park in Verona, WI, starting at 6:00 pm.
The Nob Hill Boys are an established bluegrass unit whose commitment to tradition is clear in every aspect of their per- formances. This award-winning band has produced three CDs and entertained audiences all across the Midwest for the past six years in venues of all sizes from coffeehouses to festivals to a performance on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. The group’s four fine singers take a traditional approach with a nod to the standard repertoire of the past, but also bringing obscure gems and fine original material to light. The Nob Hill Boys also are fortunate to feature some of the finest instru- mentalists in the Upper Midwest. Those of you looking for a hot banjo number, a driving fiddle breakdown or superb flat picking guitar will not be disappointed .
Harriet Park is located along Mary Lou Street, Arthur Street, Westlawn Avenue and Harriet Street on the Verona’s north side.
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
SWBMAI Member Band Northern Comfort makes its debut at the Memorial Union Terrace in Madison on Thursday, June 24, starting at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Patti Graham (dobro), Tony Hozeny (mandolin), and Mark Peterson (guitar) have spent many years playing and singing bluegrass and traditional country music. Their sound comes straight from the heart and features high lonesome vocals and harmonies, a driving beat, and tight instrumental passages. For more on Northern Comfort’s schedule see their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/northerncomfrt
SWBMAI Member Band Sparetime Bluegrass provided fans at the recent Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival with a breakneck performance of the “Roxbury Breakdown.” Peripatetic videographer Denny Egstadt caught it on video:
SWBMAI member band The Henhouse Prowlers are celebrating their sixth anniversary with a special concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Saturday, July 17th starting at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s by far the best room in Chicago to see acoustic (or any) music,” the band proclaimed in a recent release. ” There isn’t a single bad seat in the house and the acoustics are pristine.”
Opening for the Prowlers will be songwriter and clawhammer banjoist Mark Dvorak, one of the performers traveling with the Weavers tribute band Weavermania.
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!
SWBMAI member band Truman’s Ridge will be hosting a release party to celebrate the new Long Way Home CD.
The party will be at The House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Highway (route 38), Dekalb on Friday, June 11, from 6:00-8:30pm.
The band will perform music from Long Way Home and some other favorites. The band’s banjoist, Bruce Wallace, promises, “There will be cake!” For more information on the band’s upcoming schedule, see their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/trumansridge
Come see seven-time IBMA bass player of the year, Missy Raines, and her band, the New Hip, perform in an intimate setting, Sunday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. This incredible musician has surrounded herself with the best up and coming talent to form a band that creates a fusing of bluegrass virtuosity, jazz-tinged groove and a song-driven sensibility.
Robert L. Doerschuk of All Things Strings says, “Missy Raines harbors different priorities. She has chops to burn, but that’s not as important to her as finding the right note, dropping it in the pocket, and either letting it ring or clipping it short to let the silence speak in the aftermath.”
Her band on this tour includes Ethan Ballinger, a protege of Matt Flinner, Dominick Leslie, and Robert Crawford on drums. See missyraines.com for much more info about Missy and her hot band.
For reservations and directions to the concert, call Jim or Nancy Nikora at 608-233-0150 or e- mail Nancy at nancy@blue-note.com. Make your reservations now as seating is limited.
SWBMAI’s newest member band, the Mad City Jug Band, will perform an evening of jug band and hokum music at the Wild Hog in the Woods this coming Friday, Sept. 3rd, starting at 8:00 p.m.
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.
SWBMAI member band the Nob Hill Boys will give a free concert tomorrow night, July 22, at Harriet Park in Verona, WI, starting at 6:00 pm.
SWBMAI Member Band Northern Comfort makes its debut at the Memorial Union Terrace in Madison on Thursday, June 24, starting at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.
SWBMAI member band The Henhouse Prowlers are celebrating their sixth anniversary with a special concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Saturday, July 17th starting at 7:30 p.m.
Come see seven-time IBMA bass player of the year, Missy Raines, and her band, the New Hip, perform in an intimate setting, Sunday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. This incredible musician has surrounded herself with the best up and coming talent to form a band that creates a fusing of bluegrass virtuosity, jazz-tinged groove and a song-driven sensibility.