Friday at Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival 2017

Dailey & Vincent perform at the March 2017 SOIMF – photo © Bill Warren

The March 2017 Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival (SOIMF) kicked off Friday with one of Ohio’s special musical groups, Alternative Strings, based in Centerville, Ohio. The group is the brainchild of orchestra director, Doug Eyink who started in 1998. These young musicians explore types of music beyond the classical realm, including folk, bluegrass, jazz, and rock. They have also formed some vocal groups and presented songs from Sierra Hull, Alison Krauss, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Consisting mostly of high school aged students, Alternative Strings have several CD projects, and have recorded memorably with Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers.

They were followed by a new group, Heidi & Ryan, from Kentucky. Heidi Greer gives a fresh, new voice to bluegrass music. Sideline was next on the SOIMF stage. This is a group that has gone from a part time adventure to one that is booking over a hundred shows a year. Steve Dilling MC’s and holds down the banjo slot as he has for the majority of his career.

Flatt Lonesome continues to amaze audiences with their wonderful sibling harmonies. They have created a “must see” show. Host band, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, put on two great sets of music. They invited the Alternative Strings on stage to perform a couple of songs. A full orchestra backing up All Dressed Up was riveting.

Dailey & Vincent closed out the day’s entertainment in true D&V style. They put on a nearly two hour show of bluegrass, Gospel, old country, and humor.