Here we are one month after the 2007 IBMA World of Bluegrass. If you followed along here on the blog you saw a lot of the photos and video we posted, but content is starting to find its way to the web in other places.
Our good friend Dave Roye has started posting galleries of his photos from the event. Dave tells me he took over 2,000 photos this year and it’s taken him a while to go through them all. But he’s made it part way and he’s edited a bunch of them and resized them for viewing online.
He currently has photo galleries up from the Business Conference that took place Monday – Wednesday. He’s also got galleries from some of the artist showcases that occurred during the early part of the week. He promises more galleries soon from the Awards Show and Friday and Saturday at Fan Fest.
If you missed the event this year, this is a great way to check out what happened. And if you were there, you might relive a little of the fun and excitement while going through Dave’s photo galleries.
Stephen Mougin, of the Sam Bush Band, just emailed in to let us know that he is currently visiting Slovakia and doing a number of shows with friends while there.
He played last weekend with the band Fragment. Fragment has toured several times in the US and features Steven’s wife Jana on bass and vocals, along with Petr Brandejs on banjo, Ondra Kozak on fiddle, guitar and vocals, and Henrich Novak on dobro and vocals.
I chopped along on mandolin and added some solos when I thought I knew the tune!! The band sounds great as usual… my only question… where do they keep finding those HOSS guitar players???? There’s got to be something in the water over here! Or is it the beer????
This weekend Stephen will be playing a concert with Henrich on Sunday. The show will focus on Henrich’s resophonic guitar playing with Stephen accompanying him. Material will range from bluegrass to americana, in Slovakia folks! Stephen also suggested that members of the band Grass Country Drive may join them towards the end of the show for a few traditional bluegrass numbers.
His visit will culminate with what he termed an “out and out bluegrass celebration” on November 3, 2007. The concert that evening will feature Sidlo, Grass Country Drive, and Stephen Mougin. Stephen will play guitar and be joined that evening by some native Slovakian pickers, some of whom will be familiar to IBMA 2007 attendies. Milan Benkovic (resophonic guitar) and Michael Barok (mandolin) from the band Meantime will be part of Stephen’s ensemble that evening. Rounding out the sound will be Richard Cifersky on banjo, and Roman Sykora on bass.
Here’s what Stephen has to say about picking with these guys.
I rarely get to front my own band and I’m really having a great time with all of these fine pickers! They truly understand OUR music and try their best to honor it with every note!
Be sure to check out Sam Bush’s tour schedule to find a time when you can hear Stephen back here in the states.
We got to see a great deal of good music last night. The official IBMA showcase presentation in the main ballroom featured one strong act after another, and we managed to catch one after hours show before the travails of a day at IBMA sent us scurrying for the covers.
First up was Meantime, from The Slovak Republic. They are fronted by Daniela Hroncova, a talented vocalist and one of the primary songwriters in the band. They are popular in central and eastern Europe, and they are hoping to build an audience in the United States as well. The band’s sound – both in performance and in their choice of songs and arrangements – is decidedly modern, and they were very well received in the hall.
They were followed on stage by Grass Cats, a band that has existed in many different forms since 1997 as a vehicle for North Carolina singer, songwriter and mandolinist Russell Johnson. Their short set featured several of Russell’s songs, including Home To Carolina, which has spent a number of months on the Bluegrass Unlimited’sNational Bluegrass Survey.
Any time Steve Gulley is singing, it’s time to pay attention, and last night was no exception. I had been looking forward to seeing Grasstowne live at IBMA, so when they took the stage next, my ears were perked up. The combination of Gulley with Alan Bibey on mandolin and Phil Leadbetter on dobro is the basis of this new group, still less than a year old, but with quite a reputation already in place.
As you might expect, they put on a strong show, mixing songs from their solo projects and the band’s debut CD, The Road Heading Home.
We also caught John Reischman & The Jaybirds, a Canadian band that performed an interesting mix of old time, bluegrass and folk music. John is known from his time as a member of The Tony Rice Unit and the Good Ol’ Persons. I was unfortunately beset with a computer issue while they were on stage, and wasn’t able to focus on their show, but they were very enthusiastically received in the room.
Dale Ann Bradley closed the evening’s showcase, and was joined by Mike Bub on bass and Ramona Church on banjo. Her set was mostly drawn from here current CD, Catch Tomorrow. There are few singers in bluegrass who can captivate an audience the way she can, and the band was sharp and on top of their game.
