Florida winter bluegrass concerts

Winter in Florida is always a time for bluegrass concerts. The past weekend was no exception. We were able to take in two of them in very different settings.

The first was at the Leesburg Arts Center on Saturday evening. It is a small, intimate venue. Max and Ruth Bloomquist play there on their annual Florida tour. They are a bluegrass, folk, Americana duo from Muskegon, Michigan. Ruth is a past MerleFest Gospel Songwriting winner. She is a prolific songwriter with a signature song, Michigan Girl. We always look forward to seeing Max and Ruth perform – whether at home in Michigan or in sunny Florida.

Sunday afternoon found us at the First United Methodist Church in Homosassa to see Sideline playing to a sold out house. Sideline has gone from a part-time gig to one of the top touring bands in bluegrass music. Steve Dilling, Skip Cherryholmes, and Jason Moore are original members of the band. Jamie Harper, Jacob Greer, and Zack Arnold round out the band. They present a high energy mix of traditional and contemporary bluegrass with some great Gospel thrown in. The band won Song of the Year at IBMA with Thunder Dan. See them if you can!

The next stop for CandidPix.info is the Palatka Bluegrass Festival at the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch. See you there!

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