Sunday,
November 7, 2pm
Sweet North
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
Progressive Bluegrass and Americana
Sweet North was formed in 2009 with experienced
musicians from Cannon Falls, Northfield and Red Wing, Minnesota. The band
plays acoustic instruments typical of a bluegrass band, with the exception
of a banjo. (Sorry banjos!)
Four of the members first played together at a private party.
It worked so well that they decided to keep getting together, and have done
so weekly since August 2009. In November 2009 the lineup was completed when
John Reed started playing violin with them.
The musical performance history of the band includes rock,
country, jazz, blues, folk and classical. The band currently explores progessive
Bluegrass and Americana, and you'll find their current song list contains
much of that type of music.
The Sweet North Band consists of Sandy Jensen
on vocals & Octave Mandolin; Doug Duncan on vocals &
Acoustic Guitar; Tom Erickson on vocals & Upright Acoustic
Bass; Tom Sampson, Mandolin, and John Reed
on vocals, Violin & Viola.
Visit
their website!
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Sunday,
December 5, 2pm
Blue Wolf
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
Jerry Spanhanks, Shirley Mauch Spanhanks,
Nick Larson and Beth Mead are Blue Wolf. The love of bluegrass music
brings this pack of musicians together.
Jerry Spanhanks on the guitar and dobro dazzles
the audience with his smooth and innovative picking. Shirley Mauch Spanhanks
flatpicks the guitar and sings lead and harmony. Nick Larson, bass player
and fantastic lead singer, is the backbone and drive behind Blue Wolf. He
does a fabulous job of keeping the band in the groove. Beth Mead is a very
accomplished banjo player and singer with Blue Wolf.
Blue Wolf's first CD, "Red River Moon"
is available and their second CD "Brown Shingle Shack" was released
in August of 2005. "Red River Moon" was nominated in the bluegrass/old-time
music category at the 2003 Minnesota Music Awards.
Visit
their website!
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Sunday,
January 2, 2pm
The High 48s
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
The High 48s have grabbed the
attention of festival audiences in the Upper Midwest and beyond, toured steadily,
released three critically acclaimed CDs and won first place in the 2008 RockyGrass
Band Competition in Lyons, Colorado.
Appearing with The High 48s for the first time
is Marty Marrone of Tangled Roots. Marty is well-known for
his soulful singing, blistering guitar leads and unstoppable rhythm playing.
The High 48's play bluegrass in the traditional
style, with close three-part harmonies sung around a single microphone. But
unlike many traditional bluegrass bands working the festival circuit today,
the High 48s don't draw their material exclusively from the hallowed back
catalogs of bluegrass's "first generation" artists such as Bill
Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and Jimmy Martin.
The High 48s focus instead on writing original
material that combines the soul and drive of first-generation bluegrass with
the harder-edged sound of alternative country and roots rock. It's a style
of music the band calls Hard Grass.
Comprised of Rich Casey (bass),
Eric Christopher (fiddle and vocals), Chad Johnson
(mandolin and vocals), Derek Johnson (guitar and lead vocals)
and Anthony Ihrig (banjo), The High 48s formed in Northeast
Minneapolis in 2006, taking their name from the railroad slang term for boxcars
on the fast-moving Hotshot freight trains.
The
High 48s
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Sunday,
February 6, 2pm
Ivory Bridge
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
The Ivory Bridge Bluegrass Band
defines the edge of traditional acoustic string band music. The group integrates
original song writing with traditional material. Their vocals capture that
“high lonesome” sound of the grand old duets and trios and the
instrumentation is modern, strong and varied. You won’t hear the same
set twice when you see them because this band enjoys variety and possesses
unusual depth of experience, drawing on the cumulative century and a half
of performance background of its members: Kathe Liners, Lincoln Potter,
Jim Tordoff, and Bill Liners.
Songwriters Lincoln Potter and
Kathleen Liners tell stories but they also believe that the
words and the music must swing. No, they are not brother and sister but their
harmony sure sounds like it. They have the best vocal blend in the region;
as of September of 2008 they became the Minnesota State Duet Champions.
Visit
their website!
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Sunday,
February 27, 2pm
Art Stevenson
& High Water
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
Art Stevenson & High Water
are Wisconsin's best-known bluegrass show, and have been in demand throughout
the Midwest festival circuit since 1993. The band's bluegrass sound comes
from the close duet singing of husband and wife team Art and Stephanie
Stevenson, along with the spirited banjo and Dobro playing of Dale
Reichert, and the hard-driving mandolin picking of Bruce
King. They have released six albums: “Art Stevenson & High
Water” (1996), “Dusty Boxcar Wall” (1998), “Lonely
Days” (2000), “The Winding Stream” (2001), “Like A
River” (2004), and "New Ground" (2006).
High Water's music is heard on bluegrass radio
programs around the USA and has received critical acclaim in the magazines
Bluegrass Unlimited and Bluegrass Now. Recording artist James King and country
music historian Bill Malone agree that Art and Stephanie Stevenson rank among
the best duet singers active today.
Art
Stevenson and High Water
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Sunday,
March 20, 2pm
Long Time Gone
$10/$12 at door
kids 10 and under: free
Founded in the year 2000, Long Time Gone
has evolved into one of the Twin Cities' favorite bluegrass ensembles. We
originally created the band because: we all love the classic Bluegrass and
Old-Time String Band tunes, we really enjoy playing together, and we like
to get out once in a while. Long Time Gone represents the sound and band camaraderie
that we had all been looking to find for a long time. The enjoyment and "comfort
zone" of the band clearly comes through in the music we make together.
The members of the group have a combined professional
stage experience of over 100 years, which is not to say we're all really old;
in fact, several of us started playing out in public as extremely young people!
Our favorite habitat ranges all the way the South of the River suburbs of
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota down the Mississippi River to Red Wing, MN,
but we are willing to range further if the occasion calls for it. We are happy
to play festivals, weddings and other events; give us a call or send an email
to schedule your special event.
The members of Long Time Gone are Ben
Manning (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Katryn Conlin
(string bass, vocals), Leo Rosenstein (mandolin, guitar,
vocals), Barry St. Mane (banjo), and Mike Hildebrandt
(fiddle, mandolin, vocals).
Long
Time Gone
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