That’s the name chosen for the latest modern bluegrass supergroup to emerge on the scene. Mighty Poplar consists of members from four of the top draws on the contemporary acoustic music scene. Banjoist Noam Pikelny and guitarist Chris Eldridge come from Punch Brothers; fiddler Alex Hargreaves from Billy Strings; bass player Greg Garrison from Leftover Salmon; and mandolinist Andrew Marlin from the Watchouse Band.
That’s quite a collection of string music experience in one group, who have assembled out of their sheer love for the music, and with being together to make it. Garrison already knew Eldridge and Pikelny from the first iteration of Punch Brothers, and Marlin became friends through touring alongside the Punchers last year with Watchouse. Hargreaves knew them all through multiple backstage jams over the years.
Andrew served as the impetus for their upcoming self-titled album on Free Dirt Records, in his capacity as a song collector and lead vocalist, but he admits he sees himself as a bit out of place among these recognized masters of their instruments.
“When I think about it from a player’s perspective, I didn’t feel like I belonged in this group; I haven’t spent my life trying to improve my chops. I’ve been more of a song gatherer.”
In truth, though Andrew is the primary singer, it was Greg who first pitched the idea of this project with these artists as collaborators, inspired by the concept of a modernized version of the iconic recordings of the Bluegrass Album Band in the 1980s.
“My love for the sound and feel of those Bluegrass Album Band records–the energy, the undeniable chemistry, the subtle virtuosity–led me to imagine what that might look like in our collective gumbo of today’s bluegrass.”
Chris agreed, recalling the times he spent digging through those albums and studying the musicians who played on them.
“We grew up on those records. We loved the idea of musicians banding together for a special project where you explore your common influences.”
And he said that getting together for this Mighty Poplar project was as simple and comfortable as a friendly jam session.
“It felt so special and effortless; it didn’t take work, other than the work and effort we’ve put in the rest of our lives.”
A debut single is released today, their version of Martha Scanlon’s Up on the Divide, an easygoing waltz about life in the mountain west.
Here the Mighty Poplars perform it in a music video.
The single for Up On The Divide is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Pre-orders for the Mighty Poplar album are also enabled online ahead of its March 31 release.
Engelhardt Music Group has released a single from their new project with guitarist/vocalist Bob Minner, and his tribute to the iconic flatpicker, Norman Blake.
The record is titled From Sulphur Springs to Rising Fawn: The Songs of Norman Blake, and contains 15 duets between Minner and his many friends in the music world, Guests include Ron Block, Ronnie Bowman, Dale Ann Bradly, Shawn Camp, Mike Compton, Vince Gill, Trey Hensley, Kenny Smith, and Tim Stafford. The arrangements are simple, allowing Blake’s classic songs to shine, with a respectful and even reverential approach from the performers.
If the name Bob Minner isn’t familiar to you, it’s because he has worked as a sideman most of his career. He has played guitar with country star Tim McGraw for years, but he is a bluegrass boy through and through. He picks the banjo as well, and plays fiddle, mandolin, reso-guitar, and bass. Also a talented songwriter, his compositions hav been recorded by Volume Five, Dailey & Vincent, Sideline, Blue Highway, Ronnie Bowman and more.
Today’s single is a less known number, Ridge Road Gravel, but recognized by true Blake-ophiles from its inclusion on the Blake & Rice record in 1987. Minner duets with Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers on this cut.
Bob says it was one with deep meaning for him.
“It meant so much to me to record this version of this classic written by Norman Blake from the first Blake & Rice album. Partly because the great Chris Eldridge (who’s relationship with the late Tony Rice is well known) lent his talents to the cut. And also because when I told Norman that Chris and I were recording it, he said, ‘Be sure to dedicate it to Tony from me because he was a friend of mine too.’ That’s what I did, and it doesn’t get any more special than that.”
Have a listen…
Ridge Road Gravel and the full From Sulphur Springs to Rising Fawn album are available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers can get the tracks at AirPlay Direct.
Chris Eldridge, guitarist with Punch Brothers and noted soloist and educator, has been named as a Visiting Associate Professor of Contemporary American Acoustic Music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The appointment begins with the Spring 2021 semester, running through the Summer and Fall semesters.
Chris, know as ‘Critter’ to his family and friends, has been active in bluegrass music since he was in high school. His skills on the guitar became such that his dad, Ben Eldridge, would invite him to join Seldom Scene on stage while Chris was still in high school. That was a very different look for the burgeoning guitar hero, with long straight hair half way down his back.
He came by the nickname in the grassiest way imaginable, being called ‘Critter’ by the one and only Tony Rice, for the way he was always scampering around when the adults were picking and socializing. The name stuck.
When we caught up with Chris this morning, he was in Nashville with his Punch Brothers, working on material for their next recording, and their two live stream concerts this week and next.
“Everybody just came in… we circled up to start working on a record, so we’re doing these live streams while we’re all in Nashville. We haven’t seen each other since we played a private gig in January. It really feels nice.
Punch Brothers is a crazy band, but there’s something really comfortable about it. It pushes you in uncomfortable ways.”
Eldridge is an Oberlin graduate (2004), so he jumped at the chance to return as a visiting professor. He will start offering classes and lessons virtually in January, hoping to spend time on campus when things open up again.
We asked what led a bluegrass kid from Fredericksburg, VA to attend Oberlin, all the way in Ohio.
“I enrolled in the college to study math. They have such good academics, a great faculty, and a lot of brilliant students. When we visited in high school, my mother and I saw the Oberlin Orchestra performing. They played a piece by Stravinsky with a piano soloist, and they were incredible. The soloist was a star student… it was this amazing, crazy, dense music, and at that moment I thought, ‘if I could go to school here where people are playing music like this, I would love it!’
When I was young, I had no intention of being a professional musician. I grew up in the paradigm of the Seldom Scene, where all the guys had fairly intense day jobs, but also had this band which was really great. I always figured I would follow in those footsteps.
Once I got to Oberlin, I ended up not even studying math, and immersed myself in music.”
As it happens, this opportunity to be a visiting scholar came by way of Ed Helms, who has endowed the Oberlin Conservatory to enhance its music program with more roots music. Helms, the famous actor, is himself an Oberlin grad, and a major supporter of bluegrass, folk, and Americana music.
“Ed went to Oberlin (’96), and he and I have become good friends over the years. At a certain point about seven or eight years ago, he created some funding to bring Americana roots music to the Oberlin Conservatory. That led to Punch Brothers coming in several times one year, doing small concerts, and teaching lessons. It was a really great experience, and we got a lot out of it.
There’s something really energizing and invigorating being in that environment. We would not only teach, but use the time together to write and work on music. It’s a charged environment being around these bright, switched-on kids.”
And what of the instruction he will offer at Oberlin?
“I’m putting together a syllabus now, and having conversations with the associate dean, Peter Swendsen. I’ll probably do a class that explores bluegrass and related music over a certain time period – somewhere between music history and music appreciation, introducing them to American string band music.
These courses will be open to both college and conservatory students, and I’m hoping to keep class sizes small.”
But a big part of his desire for working with Oberlin students is to impart the lessons he has learned from spending the past 16 years as a professional musician. Shortly after his graduation in 2004, Critter left his first full time band, The Infamous Stringdusters, to be a part of Chris Thile’s vision for a new kind of bluegrass ensemble, one that would eventually morph into what we know today as Punch Brothers.
“I also want to teach a class on musicianship, the different things I have learned as a pro musician that helped me grow and thrive. Cultivating musicianship, cultivating your best self… it’s very easy to get in our own way, with the common universal traps we fall in to. Focusing in and trying to understand these things have helped me in many ways in my music.
This will be fundamental, basic musicianship stuff – kind of through mindfulness. I think these can hopefully be of value to anyone in music, looking at the human potential side of things.”
His animation built the more he talked about returning to the old school, this time as an educator. The excitement clearly was bubbling up.
“I’m excited for the chance to interact with these students, offering a different perspective than what they are getting from the conservatory. These students are smart, curious, and driven. I’m super-psyched to spend some time with them next year.
Just incredibly excited about it. Oberlin is such a great school… a great bubble, it’s own little bubble in the middle of Ohio.”
The students there are quite fortunate for this opportunity.
Let’s finish with another look at Punch Brothers during their time at the Conservatory in 2014.
Congratulations, Critter. You’ve earned this moment.
Before virus avoidance became the order of the day, Mike Twelve used some down time early in the year recording some covers with some of their friends added in to the mix. They will be incorporated into an EP called Roll the Tapes All Night Long, which is set for release on May 29.
This is a departure from the band spirit to date, which has been to focus on original material written by the members of the group. But every musician has some songs that they love, and which have crept into the live set over time.
This second single is a Darrell Scott number called Hopkinsville, sung by Punch Brother Chris Eldridge, raised in bluegrass royalty as the son of Ben Eldridge of Seldom Scene fame. Brittany Haas is also featured on twin fiddles with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes of Mile Twelve.
All of the Twelvers are included as well: Evan Murphy on guitar and tenor vocal, Catherine (BB) Bowness on banjo, Nate Sabat on bass, and David Benedict on mandolin.
Bronwyn shared a few words about the session that produced this cut.
“We had a blast recording this one back in January. We were able to take our time with it, which is always a luxury when you’re recording. We had a whole day set aside with Sean Sullivan at The Butcher Shoppe Recording Studio in Nashville just for this song, and we spent the morning getting the arrangement right with Chris and trying a few takes. Then we took a long lunch break at the Farmer’s Market and everyone got ice cream. When we came back, things started clicking and we got the take we wanted. Brittany came in early that evening and we recorded the twin fiddles sitting across from each other in the main room.”
Have a listen.
Hopkinsville is available now wherever you stream or download music online. Pre-orders for Roll the Tapes All Night Long can be placed online.
Last weekend, GuitartownCT Productions held their Tony Rice benefit at the Unitarian Hall in Hamden, CT. A bevy of top northeastern bluegrass talent performed to help raise money to support Tony financially while he works to reclaim his voice, and receive treatment for the arthritis that has stolen away his ability to play guitar.
Chris Wuerth, who arranged and promoted the event, shared this mini-review of the show.
“Josh Williams led a stellar band with Rob Ickes dobro, Jesse Brock mandolin, Mike Barnett fiddle, Paul Kowert bass and Gary Filgate banjo, playing an hour and a half set of Tony’s songs. The second set featured Tony Trischka’s solo banjo, and Phil Rosenthal, formerly of the Seldom Scene. Chris Eldridge and Dominick Leslie played Church Street Blues, among others.
One of the highlights of the evening was Josh Williams and Chris Eldridge playing, in unison and note for note, the entire Tony Rice solo from Cattle In the Cane. The whole band got back on stage for a long and fired up Nine Pound Hammer. The concert, presented by GuitartownCT Productions of Hamden, CT, raised almost ten thousand dollars, which will be given to Tony, along with a guest book signed by most of the patrons.
It was amazing, Tony’s spirit was fully in the house. I hope he can translate all the support into some positive energy that will help him recover physically and emotionally, and get back out on the road again. Fingers crossed.”
Sounds like a magical night. Hats off to Chris for staging this concert, to all the artists who donated their time, and to the music lovers who came out in support.
Over this next few weeks, two benefit concerts will be held to raise funds for The Tony Rice Foundation, which is collecting donations to assist Tony while he seeks to recover from both his arm and voice problems. Over $60,000 has been raised since December, with more coming in all the time.
Since recent aggravations in his arthritis, Tony has been unable to reliably play guitar, forcing cancellations of his scheduled performances, and the interruption in his ability to earn a living. Unfortunately, bad weather has forced postponement of scheduled procedures this past few months to try and remove scar tissue in his arm. This first scheduled surgery is said to be minimally invasive, and his doctors hope for success with that before moving on to more involved procedures.
Tony has been working diligently on what his voice therapist wants him to do, and reports from friends suggest that he is making encouraging progress on that front.
But he’s still unable to work, and donations from the Tony Rice Foundation, run by his close friends Terry and Jeff Pinkham, are making a big difference.
The first of these two concerts is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25 in Nashville. It will be held at 3rd and Lindsley with a projected start time of 7:00 p.m. Committed to perform so far are Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Dailey & Vincent, Tim O’Brien and Bryan Sutton, and Don Rigsby, with more entertainers expected to be added by show time.
The club owner has donated the space and all proceeds will go to Tony.
Local bluegrass lovers and area real estate developers Richard King Sr and his son Richie are promoting the show. Richie said that the whole thing is blowing up.
“When I first read the story about Tony’s condition on Bluegrass Today, I knew that I needed to do whatever I could to help. All the artists we have reached out to have been eager to help, even though a number of them had prior commitments and couldn’t be there on the 25th.
We’re just amazed at how big it has become – it’s a bit overwhelming. We’re just honored to be a part of it.”
Ticket prices are not yet certain, and pre-show sales should be enabled on the 3rd and Lindsley site in the next few days.
On Saturday April 19, you’ll know where to find all the flat pickers in Connecticut, and neighboring states as well. GuitartownCT Productions in Hamden, CT will host Give Back to Tony Rice, a benefit concert at 7:00 p.m. at Unitarian Society Hall. Scheduled performers include Rob Ickes, Josh Williams, Tony Trischka, Chris Eldridge, Luke Bulla, Tim Stafford, Jesse Brock, Dominick Leslie, Cody Kilby, and Sam Grisman, with others likely to be added.
Concert organizer Chris Wuerth tells us…
“Tony Rice is my hero, as he is to many people. His life is so private, but Tony’s IBMA speech encouraged me, and gave me the impression, wrongly it turns out, that he was doing OK. When I heard through Bluegrass Today that he was in trouble, my immediate thought was to try and organize a concert of his fellow musicians, to raise money for him until he can get back on his feet. The bluegrass community has really pulled through for him. I’m not sure he realizes how loved and treasured he really is.”
The concert is special for GuitartownCT as the first show they ever held was the Tony Rice Unit back in May, 2008, and they have been back three times since. This benefit show next month will be their 44th concert.
For those with an urge to help out, but unable to attend either of these shows, donations are still being accepted through PayPal, either as a one-time gift or in recurring, regular payments.
Just use the Donate button below.
Tony has told Terry Pinkham that all the outpouring of love, and the support that has come his way, has really made a difference in his recovery. He reports that his health is getting much better.
A new album from Tony Trischka is always big news in the banjo world. Since the 1970s he’s been cranking out music to challenge 5 stringers and banjo fans alike, and reworking what can be expected from his instrument along the way.
For his 2014 release, Great Big World, Tony has produced a very traditional album, in the sense of what one expects from a Trischka CD. There is plenty of new banjo music, and a number of surprises; lots of guest artists, but not always the ones you might expect.
All but 3 of the 13 tracks are his originals, including both songs and tunes. For 40 years we have enjoyed innovative banjos tunes from Tony’s fertile mind, but this new project includes six songs for which he has written both words and music.
In a recent interview, Trischka told us that while he wrote poetry as a teenager, writing songs seriously is a fairly new endeavor.
“I wrote songs when I was 12 years old. Listening to Dylan, I wrote some protest songs, but it was just for fun.
It’s only in the last 3-4 years have I gotten strongly into it. Sometimes I would write a banjo tune, and then decided to add lyrics to it. I did that on Lost, which I arranged for a chamber group on the album.“
In addition to his instrumental and vocal compositions, Great Big World includes a rollicking arrangement of Woody Guthrie’s Do Re Mi, and the bluegrass classic, I Wonder Where You Are Tonight, written by Johnny Bond.
Things get started in a grassy vein with a Trischka song, Say Goodbye, sung by Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers fame. The track also features Tony’s son Sean on mandolin, who turns in a very credible Andy Statman impression. Anyone who has studied Tony’s banjo playing carefully will recognize some of his stylistic quirks in how the melody lays out here.
Trischka tells us that he wrote this one on demand.
“The first two tracks we cut were bluegrass, and Rounder wanted the opening track to be bluegrass. I didn’t think either grass track was right as an opener, so I decided to write one.
I wrote Say Goodbye in a day, and we cut it the next.”
Promontory Point works some familiar ground, recorded largely as a banjo duet with Steve Martin. The contrast between instruments is focused by the fact that Martin plays clawhammer, while Tony plays in a single string style on a cello banjo, something he reprises for the final track. It’s a lovely tune, supported by a full rhythm section.
For banjo aficionados, perhaps the most satisfying track will be Single String Medley, a grouping of five separate banjo tunes, each written for and performed on only one string. The various melodies are distinct, as are their arrangements, ranging from Celtic to swing, yet the five short pieces make perfect sense together with fiddle, cello, and guitar accompaniment.
Tony says that this one was inspired by discussions with a pair of fellow musicians.
“Brittany Haas inspired me to do the Single String Medley. We did a workshop together in New York state, billed as five string vs five string, with her on a five string fiddle. We didn’t have any repertoire, and we sat down to go over things before the workshop and she suggested doing things just on one string. We had a great time and when I got home I started thinking I should explore that further.
My idea was to do 5 songs, one on each string. Steve Martin was the final push when he suggested the same. I found it funny how the limitations we place can dictate the composition.
Plus I have long suffered a phobia about breaking strings, since I perform so often solo on stage. So I wrote songs for every string of the banjo in case one breaks.”
Another standout is Ocracoke Lullabye, recorded with banjo, cello and folk harp. Maeve Gilchrist provides the harp and vocal, with Tristan Clarridge on cello.
The title track finds Noam Pikelny joining Tony for a double banjo arrangement, with the real Andy Statman on mandolin. It is paired in a medley with Purple Trees of Colorado, where Mike Compton picks up the mando. Great Big World also has an uncredited clarinet part, which one assumes is Statman as well.
Michael Daves turns in his usual gutsy vocal performance on I Wonder Where You Are Tonight, done in the key of F, which Tony says he modified slightly from the standard version.
“I had to get a little twist in there, so I added two extra beats like I had heard in a rare Opry recording of Monroe from ’42 with Clyde Moody.”
Another “big song” is Tony’s Wild Bill Hickok, sung by folk hero Ramblin’ Jack Elliott with actor John Goodman adding a dramatic recitation. It takes on the legend of one of America’s most colorful characters of the Old West.
Trischka said that this one started out as a song.
“I love history, and that era truly fascinates me. At one point I saw that I had written six verses, and as I kept going, I just kept adding more.”
Closing out the proceedings is a lovely tune in the classic banjo tradition, Swag Bag Rag. It is a banjo duet between Tony on his John Hartford model banjo, which uses a wooden tone ring, and Tony again on a second banjo track with his cello banjo, tuned an octave below the normal five string.
“The first germ of that wasn’t intended to be classic, but I started seeing how it could be a turn of the century piece.
I really enjoyed working up the bass part on the cello banjo. It was fun trying to think like a bass player.”
Great Big World offers the most complete picture yet of Tony Trischka the artist. The tune writer, and the songsmith. The banjo player, and the arranger.
Maybe we can convince him to sing on the next record.
Applications for the 2014 Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival must be turned in by December 1. The week long seminar runs from March 30-April 5 in Savannah, GA and is open to musicians 22 and under (as of April 2014).
All string players are welcome: violin family, banjo, mandolin, guitar. Education Director Jenny Woodruff tells us that they have also had harpists and dobro players attend. The seminar runs for 6 days, with hands-on mentoring in musicianship, songwriting and small-ensemble work.
Instructors for next year include Julian Lage, Tim O’Brien, Daniel Hope, Bela Fleck, Darrell Scott, Abigail Washburn, Chris Eldridge, Casey Driessen, Avi Avital, Mike Block, with others expected to be announced, all under the direction of Mike Marshall.
Only 16 players will be accepted into this elite program, all of whom attend on full scholarship, including room and board.
IBMA’s World of Bluegrass gives folks many chances to meet and learn from others in the industry, both from experts on panels and just chances to mix, mingle and swap stories with other musicians, broadcasters, mangers, and festival promoters.
I attended a few of the seminars where I learned things, and got new ideas to chew on in each one.
All sorts of topics were covered, like grant writing, getting radio or internet play, using new forms of media, getting gigs, song publishing, among them. One of the more popular seminars this year was headed up by Murphy Henry who brought together a panel of female musicians to discuss some of the concepts in her new book, Pretty Good For A Girl. I am happy to report that the room was well represented with both men and women in attendance. Some good points were brought up, questions pondered, and stories told.
My favorite seminar yet again, I have to say was headed up by Tony Williamson. He has an amazing collection of delectable vintage instruments and also knows a phenomenal amount about the instruments, their history, and bluegrass history in general. The last two years he has had amazing seminars on the instruments of bluegrass and their history, combined with hot jammin’ on the ones he was discussing.
Last year it focused on many vintage mandolins (particularly Lloyd Loar histories), and this year he mixed in history, examples and music on the banjo and guitar as well. He had Jim Mills on the panel giving loads of cool histories and details of the banjo, and Chris Elderidge on old pre-war guitars. I highly recommend his talks to anyone interested in what we play and why they are the way they are, or what type of instrument was actually used by whom and when.
Tony isn’t dry at all either. He has so much fun talking about this musical ear candy, and bluegrass history is so full of funny stories, that it is hard not to get excited about all the instruments in the room right along with him.
Here are a few clips so you can pick up a few things too.
In this first one he tries to get as close as possible to using the “right instruments” that were used in the old famous recordings of Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Lester Flatt and they jam on some Bluegrass Breakdown.
In this next, they discuss Lloyd Loar mandolins and how they got help from Henry Ford’s idea on car paint methods, and how Loar influenced banjo development too with ball bearing and cast tone ring banjos, just to mention a few topics they covered.
Eldridge is a progressive grasser, whose primary performance venue is Chris Thile’s Punch Brothers. With the band on a break, he has been collaborating with acoustic six string jazzer Lage. The duo have assembled a trio of original instrumental compositions, slapped on a version of the flatpick favorite Cattle In The Cane, and released Close To Picture via Bandcamp.
Both men recorded using vintage Martin guitars. Chris is playing his 1939 D-28, and Julian his 000-18, also a ’39.
Downloads are available now from Bandcamp, and the guys will have CDs at their shows, which start next week in DC.
You can find details on the Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge shows online.
