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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass

Monthly Archives: March 2017


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FloydFest 17 offers nine weeks of On-the-Rise competition in April, May

From the good folks over at FloydFest:

Need a FloydFest warm-up!? Get your groove on with nine straight weeks of FloydFest On-the-Rise-competing performers at The PHOENIX, our cubby-of-cool in downtown Roanoke. Click HERE for a schedule and details on our $5 battle-of-the-band Saturdays, in April and May!

While you can’t put a price on true freedom, $230 for a full 5-Day ticket to experience that freedom against the brilliant backdrop of music, magic and mountains that is FloydFest 17~FREEDOM, is a straight steal. But don’t wait, ticket prices go up on April 1, 2017!

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This is no April Fool’s: Billy Strings to bring his unique talents to the Rives Theatre on Saturday, April 1

If you haven’t heard Billy Strings perform, you haven’t been to a recent Americana music festival. This uber talented 24-year-old tore up stages last year at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and Appaloosa Roots Music Festival, just to name a few.

Strings became a sensation in his home state while still in his teens. “He has an almost supernatural ability on guitar, banjo and mandolin that has set the region’s bluegrass and folk scene on fire,” according to a profile published in 2012 in Northern Express, a Michigan arts weekly.

He eventually moved to Nashville to further his career. Strings released a self-titled, six-song EP in 2016, which contains an eclectic and foot-stomping mix of originals and traditional songs such as “Black Mountain Rag,” also covered by Doc Watson.

Strings, né William Apostol, will demonstrate his unique brand of bluegrass at The Rives Theatre on Saturday, April 1, in uptown Martinsville, Virginia, at a Rooster Walk 9 preview show. ShadowGrass, a group of young musicians from Western North Carolina and Southwestern Virginia , will open.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 day of show. Season passes are accepted. Tickets available online HERE and available locally at Daily Grind and Rising Sun Breads in Martinsville. Music starts 8:30 p.m. with Strings taking the stage around 9:15 p.m. NCAA basketball fans take note: The Rives will also be showing the UNC/Oregon Final Four game on the upper theatre’s movie screen beginning around 8:50.

You can also catch Strings at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 31, at the Duke Energy Center in Raleigh, North Carolina,

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The Avett Brothers to perform special tribute to Doc Watson at 30th anniversary of MerleFest

This just in from the good folks over at MerleFest:

Seth Avett of The Avett Brothers announced via email today that the group has a very special tribute planned for the 30th anniversary of MerleFest, which is coming up April 27-30, 2017, in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

“On Saturday we will perform a full set comprised entirely of songs we learned from Doc Watson. His influence upon this band is of such a profound nature that the task of narrowing the setlist to a reasonable length is nearly as difficult as the material itself. No one could play those songs like Doc, but we look forward with great enthusiasm to the chance to honor him by sharing our renditions at one of the finest festivals we’ve ever been a part of.”

The tribute will be performed on the Hillside Stage before the popular Album Hour. The Avett Brothers are scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the festival.

 

 


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Earls of Leicester, Dark Star Orchestra coming to Greensboro’s Carolina Theatre

From the good folks over at the Carolina Theatre of Greensboro:

Greensboro, NC – The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro is pleased to announce the 2017 Spring Season, including two new concerts: Jerry Douglas presents the Earls of Leicester on Friday, March 31, and Dark Star Orchestra on Wednesday, April 5.

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Yonder Mountain String Band’s 16th Annual Northwest String Summit adds to already impressive lineup

From the good folks over at Northwest String Summit:

Portland, OR — Thursday, March 23, 2017 — The 16th Annual Northwest String Summit (NWSS) presents an array of today’s top live music acts for a blow-out return to Horning’s Hideout (North Plains, OR) from July 13 – 16, 2017. Located just 20 miles outside of Portland, OR, Horning’s Hideout stands as one of the most scenic festival sites in the country; NWSS is the only music offering this year taking place at Horning’s Hideout. A family-friendly and locally sourced festival, NWSS caps its capacity at 5,000 attendees to ensure an intimate experience for all festivalgoers at an incredible ticket price.

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Mipso and The Bluegrass Situation to host MerleFest Midnight Jam, Front Country to host Saturday Night Dance

From the good folks over at MerleFest:

WILKESBORO, N.C. (March 21, 2017) – America’s top roots music festival MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 27-30, 2017, is pleased to announce the return of two well-known, innovative Saturday night events for late night festival revelers.

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Delfest 2017 final lineup announced

The good folks over at Delfest have announced the final lineup for the 10th-annual event set for Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-28, 2017, just outside Cumberland, Maryland

The lineup includes Railroad Earth, Tim O’Brien, The Gibson Brothers (special trio set: Leigh & Eric Gibson and Mike Barber), Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers, River Whyless, Dead Man Winter feat. Dave Simonett from (Trampled By Turtles), Cris Jacobs, The Broomestix, Dead Winter Carpenters, The Ballroom Thieves, Head For the Hills, Ghost of Paul Revere, Kitchen Dwellers and Grand Ole’ Ditch have all been added to the DelFest lineup. Sierra Hull, Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton will be Artists-at-Large and Pete Wernick, Nick Forster and Joe Craven will all lead workshops. See the full lineup here.

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Scythian to wrap up St. Patrick’s Day 2017 ‘Border Scramble’ tour on storied Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

MerleFest fan-favorite Scythian is launching its “Board Scramble Tour” this week just in time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2017. When you’re a Celtic rock band, St. Patrick’s Day is your Super Bowl and this year is no exception for the Washington, D.C.-based group.

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Ninth annual Rooster Walk Music and Arts festival announces full lineup with addition of 25 acts

From the good folks over at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival, this just in:

Martinsville, VA – Rooster Walk 9 announces final lineup today. Mandolin Orange, Pimps of Joytime, Mountain Heart and more than 20 other bands have been added, completing the Memorial Day weekend festival’s band lineup. Progressive stringband Greensky Bluegrass and legendary reunited reggae band The Wailers were announced in early January as overall headliners of the festival.

Rooster Walk, scheduled for May 25-28, 2017 at the idyllic Pop’s Farm festival venue just outside of Martinsville, Va., was named one of the Top 5 festivals in Virginia by the Richmond-Times Dispatch last year.

With more than 40 bands performing on five different stages, an eclectic roster of great music guides the Rooster Walk experience. In addition to four days of amazing music, the family-friendly festival offers a wide variety of kids’ activities, craft beer, great food, arts and numerous opportunities to enjoy Virginia’s great outdoors with a 5k trail race, yoga, a disc golf course and beautiful on-site camping.

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Must-see fresh faces at MerleFest 2017, band competition returns

From the good folks at MerleFest:

WILKESBORO, N.C. (March 14, 2017) – For 30 years, MerleFest, presented by Window World, has been known for discovering new talent in American roots music. From Old Crow Medicine Show to Gillian Welch, the Avett Brothers to Tift Merritt, many artists’ careers blossom after their breakout performances at MerleFest, where outstanding talent enthralls the festival’s many music enthusiasts. This year’s celebration, slated for April 27-30, will introduce what Steve Johnson, MerleFest artist relations manager, calls “must-see talent discoveries” made during his travels around the globe this past year. Johnson has identified 10 of these artists who will perform at MerleFest 2017.

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