Chris Thile, formerly of the Grammy Award-winning Nickel Creek, will appear with Punch Brothers at the Wisconsin Union Theater March 4th.  Thile, who has been called  “the most virtuosic American ever to play the mandolin,” will front the Punch Brothers; a super-quintet featuring equally youthful, prodigiously-gifted bandmates who are among the most in-demand performers in the worlds of bluegrass, folk, and traditional music (including Madison native Paul Kowert on bass).

Named after the Mark Twain short story Punch, Brothers, Punch!, the band’s first project, The Blind Leaving the Blind, is a 40-minute, four-movement suite using the dismantling of Thile’s marriage as a jumping-off point for a rumination about the loss of innocence, the sobering transition into adulthood, and the sudden disruption of a young man’s spiritual journey.

Punch Brothers with Chris Thile
Thursday, March 4, 2010, 8pm
Wisconsin Union Theater
Ticket Prices: General: $28
UW-Madison Students: $10

Bluegrass mandolinist and jazz clarinetist Andy Statman will be joined by Wisconsin artists Jerry Wicentowski and Lucky Break for a concert at the UW Hillel Foundation February 23.

Born in Brooklyn, Statman first gained acclaim as a mandolinist in pioneering bluegrass bands Country Cookin’ and Breakfast Special. He then turned to Klezmer music, recording several albums that were influential in the Klezmer revival that began in the late 70s. In the 90s, Statman began playing Chassidic melodies, fusing bluegrass, klezmer, and jazz along the way.

In 2008, Statman appeared as a guest on Bela Fleck and the Flecktones holiday album Jingle All the Way, playing both clarinet and mandolin. The album won a Grammy for  Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Andy Statman with Jerry Wicentowski and Lucky Break

Grammy-winning bluegrass fiddler/vocalist Laurie Lewis and her mandolin-playing partner, Tom Rozum, will return to the High Noon Saloon this Saturday at 7:00 pm.  The event is being cosponsored by th Mid-Continent Railway Museum and WORT 89.9FM.

Since forming a musical partnership in 1986, when Tom first joined Laurie’s acclaimed band Grant Street, Lewis and Rozum have recorded 12 alblums and performed around the globe. These Grammy-nominated artists (for their 1995 album The Oak and the Laurel) are widely regarded as among the leading lights of modern bluegrass.

In their concerts, Lewis and Rozum pay homage to such eminent influences as Woody Guthrie, Hazel Dickens, Grandpa Jones and Bill Monroe, and add their own distinctive touches to traditional favorites. They also perform several of Lewis’ highly acclaimed compositions.

Tickets will are $14 in advance and $17 on the day of the show. More information at http://high-noon.com.

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.

By Chirps Smith

World-Class multi-instrumentalist from Finland, Arto Järvelä, is coming to the Kettle Moraine State Forest!  He plays fiddle, mandolin, mandola, guitar, kantele, etc and plays with several groups including JPP, and the Helsinki Mandoliners.  He will be teaching workshops in the afternoon- one for fiddle and one mandolin (other string instruments are welcome too- main focus is mandolin).  The workshops will be followed by a concert in an intimate setting.  Here is your chance to see and learn from a master musician.  For more info about Arto Järvelä and music samples see his MySpace page:  http://www.myspace.com/artojarvela

Reservations (it would be nice to have an idea how many folks might show up), more info, directions: send email to:   LPFConcerts@gmail.com

We are located in the Town of LaGrange, WI, 1.4 miles north of the intersection of US Highway 12 and County Road H on the west side of County Road H.  We are immediately south of the entrances to the Nordic Ski & John Muir Mountain Bike Trails.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve had the good fortune to be running around Australia with mandolinist Mike Compton. This was especially nice as I missed the last few weeks of snow and cold, and instead, was enjoying Australia’s summer of blue skies and 80˚ weather. I joined Mike onstage for a few numbers each night and was able capture a bit of video from the show in Margaret River, Australia. To say the trip was absolutely fantastic is an almost criminal understatement!

The International Bluegrass Music Museum has now opened registration to its 2008 Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp. This popular, internationally attended camp coincides with the anniversary of Bill Monroe’s birth (he would have been 97 on September 13). Dates for this year’s camp are September 12-14.

Most of the full weekend of events will take place within the Museum, located at 117 Daviess Street, on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Owensboro, Kentucky. Campers will find themselves learning the performance style of this legendary musician, while being in a welcoming yet rarified environment surrounded by the history, artifacts, and collections of bluegrass music from around the world.

The Monroe-Style Camps have been designed for Monroe enthusiasts with a desire to immerse themselves in–and to assimilate–the highly acclaimed and unique performance style of the “Father of Bluegrass Music.” The 2008 Faculty includes these world-famous mandolinists: Richie Brown, Mike Compton, Bobby Osborne, Frank Wakefield and Butch Waller.

With a curriculum that focus on Monroe’s tone, historical influences, nuances, rhythm chop, implied melodies, right & left hand technique, utilization of blues music, translation of traditional fiddle tunes to mandolin, and the art of the waltz, this specialized camp is heaven to any mandolinist or budding mandolinist with an interest in Bill Monroe.

The camp also features an All-Star Faculty Concert wherein all five instructors will be accompanied by singer/guitarist, Tom Ewing. Ewing played with Monroe as one of his “Blue Grass Boys” from 1986 until 1996.

New to the camp this year is a field trip to the historic music barn in Monroe’s birthplace; Rosine, KY. Campers will enjoy a fish fry at the General Store next door to the barn, pose for a souvenir group photo, then join in a giant jam session with scores of musicians who attend the Barn jams on Friday nights.

More information as well as 2008 Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp Registration Forms are available at Bluegrassmuseum.org or by calling 888 MY BANJO.

The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra will be performing this Saturday at the Stoughton Opera House with special guest Mike Marshall. The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra started in 1900 as a group of musicians who enjoyed playing together and has since evolved into what it is today: musicians dedicated to playing traditional American mandolin orchestra music.

If you are like me and have no idea what that really means, here is what I came up with: In the 1890’s, Orville Gibson came up with an innovate design for mandolins, which had traditionally been lute-like. Gibson designed a pear-shaped A-style mandolin and a fancier Florentine style mandolin. To market his new styles of mandolins, he decided to design an entire family of mandolins, each with a different size and sound. To promote all of these mandolins, Gibson came up with the idea of a mandolin orchestra. The idea worked as Mandolin orchestras became popular in the early 1900’s, and most of these players bought Gibson mandolins. (Check out the full article by Lee Griffith.)
The performance is at 7:30pm on Saturday evening.

Being that it was the instrument of choice for the Father Himself, it’s not surprising that there are so many fine mandolin players in Bluegrass. But inquiring minds want to know… who’s your favorite? And feel free to leave a comment with your own write-in nomination.

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Bassist Edgar Meyer and Mandolinist Mike Marshall play the Wisconsin Union Theater, Wednesday, October 10th at 8pm. Both are absolutely fantastic players and should not to be missed! They will play an eclectic program featuring classical music, bluegrass, Brazilian tunes and their own compositions. General public tickets start at $18. UW-Madison student tickets are only $10.

You can also have a listen to a sample of their music.