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The bluegrass band that keeps on giving, and giving

In March 2015 we reported on the charitable work that the Ocotillo Rain and Thunder Bluegrass Band was doing.

Recently we learned that they had collected over $10,000 in two years. That’s a remarkable achievement.

Members of the 11-piece southern Arizona bluegrass band have been playing for charities since the winter of 2014 with the first monies, $180.00, going to the benefit of the local Adopt a Family for Christmas organisation.

Earlier this month we spoke to their representative, guitar player Jeff Collins, to find out more about their charitable work since we last spoke to them.

What are the highlights for you during this time? What is the most that you have collected in any one event?

It’s hard to pick just one highlight, we’ve played so many fun events and got to know some of the people from the Charities we give to. We had a fun time at an event in Tucson called Tucson Meet Yourself. We got paid $200 this year and $100 last year, but it’s a cultural happening in which cultures from all over the world, that reside in Tucson, share their cooking and music. A gentleman from Sri Lanka filmed us and put it on YouTube. He loved the music and that we gave to charities. We were the only bluegrass band at the event and the only fully acoustic as well; we only play through microphones. Got to meet new friends and last year got a gig out of it playing for a birthday party at a downtown business.

The most we collected was this year at an Adult Community Resort; they book some big acts there of all genres and have an acoustically superb theatre in which to play; we had never played in anything that size. we tried to use our system and it was a disaster; we just didn’t have enough power in our system. Luckily it took only seconds to hook into the house system which was just incredible; all computer controlled, state of the art. It saved the day, the audience loved us. We were paid $800 for the two-hour performance.

Which charities have benefited most (if it really matters, as it’s not a competition)?

Well there is a local charity called Interfaith Community Services which provides transportation, has a food bank, and helps find jobs for the poor, elderly, and handicapped. We’ve given to them twice and played free fundraisers four times for them, one of which raised $10,000+, but it involved raffles and other fundraising, not sure how much our music was instrumental in that. Very nice people, the door is open for them to use our services. My 85-year-old mother occasionally uses this service for transportation, she can’t drive. We also gave the most money to CurePSP, which is a rare brain disease; Dudley Moore died of it, so did our banjo player’s wife. Every October is dedicated to raising money for CurePSP; the anniversary of his wife’s passing. We’ve given a total of $2,500 to that charity alone.

Over what geographical districts are your local charities located?

The CurePSP is Worldwide, Pancreatic Cancer is another one that one of our guitar player’s wife passed away from, is National. All others are the Tucson and Southern Arizona Area; most are local chapters of a bigger organizations. But we’ve given to Marana Food Bank which serves a community of about 10,000 people. The Reid Park Zoo was one we gave to which is basically the Tucson Zoo; we play at their Zoo Lights celebration at Christmas time; fun show!

Is there any benefit in inviting charities looking to boost their income contact you? If so, in what ways can they reach you?

Of course! We try to stay local and like the smaller charities where our money really means something; but we are willing to go National or International; just so it really means something to them, they’d have to be rather small. We also investigate and research the charities to make sure most of the money goes to the cause, not just big administrative costs. A good way to reach us is to friend Ocotillo Rain on Facebook. We don’t have a website but have a free blogsite, www.ocotillorain.blogspot.com, or I can be reached via email at maranadba@gmail.com. We’re looking to collaborate on fundraising concerts with other bands in the area for special victims of crisis like earthquakes, floods, natures mishaps. We are on YouTube, just do a search on Ocotillo Rain and Thunder. most of it is from a live show at a Farmers Market, but we hope to post more and get a CD out in 2017.

I am sure that in this season of good will to all, others have staged (or will) benefits for the less privileged. One band that has been organising charitable events is Eddie and Martha Adcock, with Tom Gray and now with former IInd Generation colleague Gene Johnson, who will stage their annual Christmas Bluegrass Benefit Concert for the Homeless in Nashville this coming weekend. Are there others? More later ….

Heidi & Ryan… worth the wait

For this reviewer, the most anticipated album of 2016 has been this self-titled, debut project from Heidi & Ryan on Mountain Fever Records. It’s been on my mind since I first saw them perform live at the SPBGMA convention in Nashville this past winter, and was instantly smitten.

At the time they were working as The Kentucky Mountain Trio, Heidi and Ryan Greer plus a dobro and a bass player. So they had already branched into a quartet, and it was no surprise to see a name change. Plus this group is all about the voice of Heidi Greer, and her husband’s fine harmony singing. Heidi & Ryan makes perfect sense.

Many of the songs on this record were showcased there at SPBGMA, in a small room upstairs in the hotel. Not many in the room knew much about this young couple, though I had been keyed in to be there and check them out. Steve Gulley, who was working with them at the time, made a point to mention how special this group was, and it wasn’t long into the first song before that became abundantly clear.

Heidi has that rare vocal quality that allows her to squeeze every drop of emotion that a human voice can convey into a line, so that you have no doubt that she believes what she is singing, and makes you want to believe right along with her. For a Gospel music artist, with a sincere faith and a passionate desire to share it with her audience, this is a valuable commodity.

But Heidi & Ryan isn’t fully a Gospel album. About half of the songs are secular in nature, and all the material would be more properly described as bluegrass or contemporary acoustic Christian music. Less Bible stories and Scripture quotes, and more positive messages about living right and accepting faith.

Among the secular songs is a strong rendition of Oh Atlanta, popularized by the mighty Alison Krauss. It takes a confident singer to tackle this number in Krauss’ shadow, but Heidi has the pipes to pull it off. In fact, Alison seems to have been a powerful influence on Greer, who can whisper out a lyric so daintily that you hear her intake of breath almost as clearly as the line she delivers, but can then belt it with authority when the situation demands.

We get a touch of both on Somebody’s Prayin’, which closes the album, another gutsy cover of a song Ricky Skaggs recorded in 1990. Heidi’s rendition is an impassioned tour de force, supported only by Ryan’s guitar and Tim Crouch’s fiddle. It is perfectly lovely.

On The Darkest Day, a new blugrass number from Jeff Partin, who plays reso-guitar on the track, Heidi is in powerhouse mode, with Ron Stewart on banjo and producer Aaron Ramsey on mandolin. Money Won’t is another that suits her voice perfectly, growing in intensity as the song progresses. It’s a fine song about what the riches of the world can’t do for you, from Scottish acoustic Gospel prodigy Brendan MacFarlane.

Three of the songs come from the Greers. The debut single, Grandma’s Knees, is Heidi’s, a homey song recalling days spent listening, sitting on the floor ’round granny. It’s a feel-good song that should get some traction on bluegrass radio. She and Ryan wrote Come To Jesus together, another inspirational song that would fit right in on any contemporary Christian station. Heidi’s ability to add tricky vocal slurs at the end of a line, without making it the primary focus, displays a gift for subtlety and restraint that is a real tribute to her artistry.

The Greers also wrote Will You Be Ready, a familiar formulation that asks how the listener might react were they present at the crucifixion. Not many can answer positively to the question, “Would you be ready to take his place?” Doyle Lawson’s There’s Fire Down Yonder gets an old time bluegrass workout with standout dobro again from Partin, and Lee Roy’s Pictures is another fast-moving song that fits the album’s mood.

Bottom line: Heidi Greer is a force to be reckoned with in our music, and this first record is a firm statement of that fact. It is hard to imagine who wouldn’t enjoy listening to her sing.

Give Heidi & Ryan some of your time.

And the 2017 Grammy nominees are…

The nominees have been announced for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards this morning, and our eyes quickly jumped to the all-important Best Bluegrass Album category. We understand there are others as well.

And the nominees for Best Bluegrass Album are…

Original Traditional – Blue Highway, Label: Rounder Records
Burden Bearer – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Label: Mountain Home Music Company
The Hazel And Alice Sessions – Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands, Label: Spruce And Maple Music
North By South – Claire Lynch, Label: Compass Records
Coming Home – O’Connor Band With Mark O’Connor, Label: Rounder Records

Other artists with a connection to bluegrass showed up in the Best Folk Album category. Sierra Hull is nominated for Weighted Mind, as is Sarah Jarosz for Undercurrent, and Rhiannon Giddens for Factory Girl. The Time Jumpers and The Avett Brothers both received a nod for Best Americana Album for True Sadness and Kid Sister respectively.

Dolly Parton was also nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her a cappella version on Jolene with Pentatonix.

The awards will be announced on Sunday, February 12 during a gala awards show on CBS. The awards described above will be announced earlier on Sunday afternoon.

A complete list of nominees can be found at grammy.com.

Good luck to all our nominees!

Jeremy Stephens leaving Chuck Wagon Gang

Jeremy Stephens has announced that he will give up his position as guitarist and bass singer with The Chuck Wagon Gang at the end of this month. He has spent the last six years touring with the venerable Gospel group who have been performing under that name since the mid-1930s.

Stephens is also a long time bluegrass musician from Danville, VA, now living in the Nashville area. Playing both guitar and banjo, he is a serious student of the music of the ’40s-’60s, and a devoted follower of the banjo work of Don Reno. He and his wife, Corrina, have a fantastic throwback band called High Fidelity and also perform together as a duo playing older bluegrass and country music. Both also do freelance work in town, and Jeremy says that he is departing the Gang to focus more on work with Corrina.

He shared a few words on what he was able to do with the Gang.

“I started my work with the Chuck Wagon Gang on November 4, 2010, making for a little over 6 six years with them. I’m very thankful for these wonderful six years.

I’ve been so blessed. In the time I have been with them, they appeared on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium 3 times (Marty Stuart’s Late Nite Jam, Friday Night Opry, and Opry Country Classics), Marty Stuart’s TV show 3 times, Ronnie Reno TV show (Reno’s Old Time Music), and at hundreds of other places across the country.

Karl Smakula, a recent bluegrass program graduate at ETSU, will be taking the guitar duties and Wyatt Austin, a friend and fan of the Chuck Wagon Gang, will be taking the roll as bass singer. I have loved all of my time with the Chuck Wagon Gang. It has been a wonderful six years and certainly my leaving is bittersweet, but I am very excited to be more involved again with the bluegrass community.”

And we’re glad to have him back!

Cleverlys to Moonstruck Management

Moonstruck Management has announced the signing of bluegrass parody act, The Cleverlys, to their talent roster.

The group takes on the pose of a family band, led by a Digger Cleverly, Sr. who plays guitar and sings lead. When the group first emerged a few years ago, he was accompanied by his two sons, Digger Jr, and Digger Jr.Jr. Now he is assisted by his “brothers” Vernon Dean “VD” Cleverly on banjo, and Munk on mandolin, with Ricky Lloyd on bass, his sister Delva’s boy.

The set up is ripe for rural humor, and that’s what these boys deliver. Having built an audience primarily through their mishmash videos, taking recently popular songs and giving them an over-the-top grassification, The Cleverlys have reformed after a hiatus, and are ready to get to work.

That brings Moonstruck into the mix. Their management and booking services have brought great gains to a number of bluegrass, old time, and acoustic country acts. Lonesome River Band has seen their career revitalized in the last few years, party due to the work of the Moonstruck team. They also represent top artists like IIIrd Tyme Out, The Church Sisters, NewTown, and Dave Atkins.

Depending on your threshold for silliness, you may find The Cleverlys routine hilarious, or simply heretical. Either way, bluegrass can only benefit from bringing new people in through humor.

Moonstruck principal Josh Trivett says that he is delighted to bring them into the fold.

“I have been a fan of The Cleverly’s for the last 4-5 years. Their stage show is one of the most entertaining and well-crafted shows in music today. I booked them for the 2016 Huck Finn Festival in California that Moonstruck Management was organizing. Once again, we watched them wow a crowd like no other band. I was so excited when Digger called me back in September and couldn’t be more excited about the future.”

Their current album, Cash Crop, is available in iTunes.

New videos have featured the boys’ original material as well, all available for viewing online.

UNC School of Music adds bluegrass concentration

The School of Music at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley will begin offering a new Folk and Bluegrass Studies program starting in the Fall of 2017. This will be an instrumental concentration in the common bluegrass instruments for any UNC students in the music department. This includes undergraduate music degree programs for Education, Performance, Composition, Jazz Studies, Music Business, or Liberal Arts. Students in the Graduate Performance Certificate program may also follow this concentration.

The school has hired Natalie Padilla to teach fiddle, Jordan Ramsey for mandolin, Dusty Rider for banjo, Martin Gilmore for guitar, and Eric Thorin for bass.

Michael Alexander, Director of the UNC School of Music, says that they are pleased to welcome these new string players into the program.

“We are excited to expand access to our music school to musicians that have an interest in folk and bluegrass music. As a school of music, we seek to embrace all outstanding emerging artists, regardless of the genre of music that they produce, and look forward to the interactions that will occur between our current students and those that enter the folk and bluegrass program.”

We also contacted Annie Sklar, Enrollment Manager at the School of Music, who explained a bit more about how they envision the new program unfolding.

“Initially the curriculum will be performance-oriented, including lessons, ensembles, and repertoire study. We also plan to develop academic course content that focuses on the history and context of Folk and Bluegrass in the American musical landscape, but these courses may launch later than Fall 2017.

One of the core features of this program will be the creation of dedicated folk and bluegrass ensembles. Our hope is that not only will these be important educational opportunities for students to develop as players and musicians, but will also lead to professional performance opportunities in the Northern Colorado community and beyond.”

Applications for the Folk and Bluegrass studies program are being accepted now, with auditions scheduled for February 2017. More details and dates can be found on the School of Music’s web site.

Greeley is in the north central part of the state, between Denver and Ft. Collins. UNC has a particular focus on arts education, including theater, dance, and commercial art in addition to music, in a large, university residence community.

Kudos to the university for recognizing the importance of including bluegrass in their educational offerings. This could be a great opportunity for young grassers unable to travel east to study the music they love.

Won’t it be great when every major university feels obliged to offer such programs?

Away In A Manger from Redhead Express

Redhead Express is sharing their Christmas spirit this season with a music video of their arrangement of the classic, Away In A Manger. Featuring the four Walker sisters from Alaska, redheads all, the video captures their blending of the bluegrass instruments with the familiar sound of this 19th century carol.

Kendra Walker is on guitar and lead vocals, with LaRae Walker on banjo, Alisa Walker on fiddle, and Meghan Walker on bass.

The family has become prominent in bluegrass, largely through their many high-quality music videos, created by their own family production company, Red Handed Productions. Brothers Sean and Jospeh Walker run the business along with Darryl Cunningham. Often these videos are their bluegrass arrangements of pop music hits, bringing the grass to viewers worldwide who may not know much about our music. Pretty girls with banjos and fiddles is enough to capture anyone’s attention!

They finance these often lavish productions through crowdsourcing at Patreon, where patrons have access to exclusive content from the Walkers. A pair of albums, Covers and Covers 2, include their takes on pop, country, and Gospel hits.

The Walkers stay on the road year round, and are spending much of December in Key West, FL. Tough duty, that.

Check them, and their many videos, out online.

Thomas Point Beach lives again

One of the most enjoyable and relaxing festivals I ever attended back in the 1980s was the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival near Brunswick in southern Maine. A perfectly bucolic setting, along a sandy beach on one of the area’s many tidal inlets, the event had been run by Pati Crooker Mulligan since 1979 at her family’s campground.

When Pati passed away earlier this year, bluegrass fans in the northeast mourned not only this lovely lady who had hosted them so often at the festival, but also the Labor Day event they had cherished for so long. Her son, Michael Mulligan and his wife, Jennifer, have taken on the management of the campground, and announced today that will be continuing the festival going forward.

The 2017 Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival is scheduled for August 31-September 3 in the same park as before, with headliners Earls Of Leicester, The Gibson Brothers, Dailey & Vincent, and The Del McCoury Band on the bill. Attendees will not only have a full weekend of bluegrass music on stage, and in the campground, but also access to the other recreational amenities at the park including volleyball, disc golf, boating, and the beautiful beach just steps from the concert area.

Michael Mulligan says that he feels like the festival is part of his family. He remembers selling ice cream there for the first time when he was a lad of six, and is sure that his mom would be happy to see them continue it for another generation.

“This festival is important, not only to us, but so many people in the bluegrass community. It’s only natural that we continue. Where else would we be, or what else would we be doing on Labor Day weekend? This is as much a family reunion as it is a festival, it is a part of us, and we are incredibly lucky to have a strong network of support to help us continue my mother’s legacy in a big way. I think she would be proud.”

He also mentioned that he and Jen are all in with the festival, in 2017 and beyond. They have already started working on the 2018 event as well.

This is actually the second rebirth for Thomas Point Beach. After running it at the park for 30 years, Pati had decided to give it up in 2008, wanting to have that additional time with her family. But response was so intense from long-time festival goers that she brought it back in 2011, branded as The Bluegrass Special and ran it for the next five years. This summer, a Celebration of Life for Pati was held instead over Labor Day, and her memory will live on now at Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival for as long as it runs.

Details about tickets for the 2017 festival will be available at the Thomas Point Beach web site, or by calling the park at 207-725-6009.

All the Rage, Volume One – Rhonda Vincent & the Rage

Even if you get to see your favorite band multiple times a year, it’s still a treat when they release a live album. If done right, live albums capture bands at the top of their game. They’re filled with hits, fan favorites, and perhaps a new track or two, and they showcase all the best elements of the group – their crystal-clear harmonies, instrumental wizardry, or the like. The new live album from Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, All the Rage, Volume One, checks off each of those boxes.

Recorded at Bethel University in McKenzie, TN, All the Rage includes fourteen tracks that not only highlight Vincent’s powerhouse vocals, but also allow each member of her band to step out in front for a song or two. From the energetic drive of opening track Muleskinner Blues to the reverential tones of The Old Rugged Cross, the group keeps both the live audience and CD listeners thoroughly engaged throughout the concert.

Muleskinner Blues is an excellent opening choice. Fueled by Aaron McDaris’s powerful banjo and Mickey Harris’s forceful bass playing, the song kicks things off with plenty of momentum. It’s followed by well-written tribute song Is the Grass Any Bluer (On the Other Side), which Vincent sings with plenty of feeling – even brand-new listeners would be well-aware of her respect for the Father of Bluegrass. Other hits from the band’s repertoire include Kentucky Borderline, written by Vincent and Bluegrass Today’s own Terry Herd, and rendered here with ample vigor, and You Don’t Love God (If You Don’t Your Neighbor), with its fine Scruggs-style guitar and earnest vocals.

Much like the band’s regular live shows, this concert features the members of the Rage performing their own fan favorites. Guitar player Josh Williams is featured on Freeborn Man, which has been one of his signature songs for years. Fans of his picking will enjoy the guitar acrobatics at the beginning of the number. Hunter Berry’s fiddling here is also of note. Berry himself is spotlighted on Wow Baby, a fiddle tune he composed several years back. It’s a fiery tune with a frenetic pace that has the audience cheering throughout. Another instrumental comes courtesy of McDaris. The rollicking All About the Banjo maintains the style of much of the rest of the album – high-energy and full of drive. Brent Burke, who has a clear, country-style voice and is no slouch on the resophonic guitar, either, takes the mic for a fine version of Girl from West Virginia, while bass player Mickey Harris sings his own Gospel composition, the classic-sounding If We Would Just Pray. Harris’s playing is solid as a rock throughout the album, and on this song, he reminds listeners that he’s a strong vocalist, as well.

Other highlights here include two excellent lost love numbers, Missouri Moon and I’ve Forgotten You. In contrast to most of the album, these two songs are slower, with more subdued instrumentation and an acoustic country feel. Vincent can belt it with the best of them, but she’s also skilled at wistful heartbreak numbers like these. Missouri Moon is a more straightforward break-up song – “Who would ever thought we’d end this way, as I watch you go the tears are rolling down my face” – while I’ve Forgotten You approaches the theme with a twist. “I’ve been hanging out with Elvis, and all my bills are paid, and they’re giving away Cadillacs for free. The whole world gets along,” Vincent sings, “And I haven’t thought about you once since you’ve been gone.”

All the Rage – Volume One is a very satisfying album that truly captures the musical spirit of Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. Fans of the band will enjoy the live experience coming through their speakers at home (though it is minus much of the stage patter you’d likely hear at an in-person concert), and for those who prefer the visuals of a concert, there’s also a DVD version of the album. Vincent plans to release the rest of the performance, at which they recorded nearly thirty tracks, as a second volume CD/DVD set at some point in the near future.

All the Rage – Volume One is available now from a variety of music retailers. For more information on Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, visit their website at www.rhondavincent.com.

David Davis & the Warrior River Boys return to the Northeast

David Davis & the Warrior River Boys journeyed from Alabama to the snowy northeast November 26 and 27 for concerts in Bainbridge and Porter Corners, NY, for the Jericho Arts Council and Adirondack Bluegrass League. They drew solid crowds of traditional bluegrass fans. And they SATISFIED. I attended the show at the old-time Bainbridge Town Hall Theater – “home of bluegrass in the Southern Tier.”

It’s reassuring that live traditional bluegrass, with the classic five pieces and “manly” vocals, is in good hands — alive and KICKING. David Davis & the Warrior River Boys take you back to the well. But they don’t limit themselves to covers of classics. They’ve developed a repertoire of their own, with the old look and sound.

David wears the Stetson and does the emceeing, playing his old mandolin and POURING himself bodily into his performance. He “grooves” to the music, and he’s got all the “soul” of any top bluegrass lead singer. His picking is very Monroe-influenced. He gets an ancient tone that can be blocky, gravelly, granite-like or flinty – and what a rhythm chop. It’s not surprising he admires the Father of Bluegrass. David’s uncle Cleo Davis was Bill Monroe’s first Blue Grass Boy guitar man in 1938-39.

Phillip James has recently returned to the Warrior River Boys on fiddle, and he’s a dandy. I label him a “strong-arm” fiddler like Paul Warren or Eddie Stubbs. This in no way implies lack of finesse. He’s an Oklahoma state champion and can do all that’s required from breakdowns to blues to back-up. But he excels at “power” and drive. His bow hair must not last too long.

Stan Wilemon has also returned to the band, now on guitar instead of bass fiddle. He leads most of the trios and quartets. Stan’s stage demeanor is the most sober or stolid of all the fellers — the most Blue Grass Boy-like. He also played a good bass solo opening the second set.

Marty Hays has been beside David for over 20 years playing bass fiddle and matching voices. His singing is smooth and exactly on pitch, a great foil for David’s bluesy tenor. Marty also added some subtle clowning to the show that everyone enjoyed. Plus he did a very entertaining salute to his “namesake” Marty Robbins.

The banjo man is all-around entertainer and national old time banjo champ Robert Montgomery. Robert plays a blisteringly swift mix of traditional banjo styles including Scruggs and Reno, and for those few who recognize it, Rudy Lyle too. His back-up on I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome was a salute to Lyle’s nearly forgotten original licks. Robert also did a turn of Uncle Dave Macon banjo twirling (asking the audience “please don’t tell Leroy Troy”), and played some excellent finger-style guitar reminiscent of Sam McGee and Merle Travis. He and Stan also told the best new bluegrass joke I’ve heard in years.

David and the Warrior River Boys are fun to watch, as they weave around one vocal mic placed between just two instrument mics. Phillip James tended to stay in the back, but his back-up was easy to hear. And when he stepped to the mike for a break, he came STRONG – his bow flashin’ and rosin a’ flyin’. There was dancing too…some good, some bad. These guys are no stiffs! Terrific to see bluegrass performed this old school way.

The material ranged from fierce renditions of fiddle and banjo tunes, through plenty of classic Gospel, to some of their newer material like Today’s The Day I Get My Gold Watch and Chain, the intense duet Leaving Tennessee, and the spine chilling trio harmony of their perennial favorite The Lonesome Cry of the Whippoorwill.

As emcee, David is so polite and sincere that he seems courtly. Mandolinist Mike Compton says, David is “a true southern gentleman.” During the intermission, David mingled with the crowd, renewing acquaintances and making new friends. He just about had to be dragged back on stage. The band played nearly three hours and seemed like they could have kept it up all night.

They have a new CD nearly completed, expected out in 2017 – all Charlie Poole songs. They closed the show with Poole’s Milwaukee Blues which was just plain rollicking.

David also shared the happy news that he is re-establishing contact with northeastern promoters, and the band will appear at the Jenny Brook Festival in Tunbridge, VT in June, and at other Yankee venues. There are plenty of traditional bluegrass fans up here who will welcome them back.

Overall the Warrior River Boys show has such drive, soul, and power that I almost wanted to describe their music as “old hairy-legged bluegrass,” but that wouldn’t be fair. There’s not a drop of crudeness in their music. They can drive it HARD, but with restraint and skill, too. This is not “rough and ready” traditional bluegrass. These pros are top drawer and polished.

We older fans really need to drag our young picker friends out to see the Warrior River Boys, and show them how it used to be done (and still is done).

David and the boys did another great show for the ABL on Sunday the 27^th. See video on the Facebook page of Deanna Sayre McLellan (linked with her permission) for a sample.

It’s wonderful to find David and the boys back on more northerly roads: Lucketts VA, Pennyroyal Opera House in Ohio, and twice here in New York in November. They’re rolling in a huge new white Ford van too. Watch for them near you, and get out and see how the best in traditional bluegrass continues to excite folks. And take those young fans along.

Best wishes for big success and radio play with their Charlie Poole CD in 2017. You know folks, all it takes is a phone message to Sirius/XM Bluegrass Junction to request their music!