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Monroe Crossing Christmas tour begins this week

Bluegrass fans in the Upper Midwest have several chances to catch some special holiday music this next two weeks when Monroe Crossing takes their annual Christmas tour through Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Billed as A Bluegrass Christmas with Monroe Crossing, the shows include a mix of familiar seasonal favorites played in a bluegrass style, along with selections from the band’s two holiday albums.

Though only occasionally seen in the southeast or on the west coast, Monroe Crossing is consistently one of the busiest touring acts in the business. They typically perform 100 or more shows each year, often bringing bluegrass to audiences that may not be as familiar with it as audiences at the larger southern festivals.

Here’s one of their original Christmas numbers, written by bassist Mark Anderson, featuring fiddler and vocalist Lisa Fuglie. It’s called The Happy Holidays.

Shows for the 2023 A Bluegrass Christmas with Monroe Crossing include:

Friday, December 1 – North Branch Area High School – North Branch, MN
Saturday, December 2 – Lakeville Area Arts Center – Lakeville, MN
Sunday, December 3 – Pittsville School Auditorium – Pittsville, WI
Tuesday, December 5 – Crooners Lounge & Supper Club – Fridley, MN
Saturday, December 9 – Chisholm Baptist Church – Chisholm, MN
Sunday, December 10 – Braham Event Center – Braham, MN
Wednesday, December 13 – Grace Lutheran Church – Erhard, MN
Thursday, December 14 – Old Log Theatre – Excelsior, MN
Friday, December 15 – Pioneer Place on 5th – St. Cloud, MN

After taking a break over Christmas, the band will be back for their News Years Eve concert at The Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, MN.

More details about times, tickets, and directions can be found on the Monroe Crossing web site.

You can check out all the Christmas bluegrass we have covered at Bluegrass Today by following this link.

Hard Life – Derek Johnson

Recording and producing an album has its own set of challenges. With the rise of COVID and the global shutdown that occurred nearly two years ago, there were even greater obstacles to making a successful project. Derek Johnson guitarist with the popular Minnesota-based group, Monroe Crossing, rose to the challenge with Hard Life, joining him virtually speaking with many great musicians from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

As Johnson himself states in the liner notes, Hard Life is an album that “was recorded backwards.” Since the individual musicians couldn’t get together to record in person, audio files were sent back and forth, and the whole project was put together with minimal editing. Truthfully, it’s difficult to tell that the recording was done in this manner. Hard Life has such an organic feel to it. Although the musicians couldn’t be with each other in the same room, the camaraderie comes through wonderfully.

Hard Life has a nice even mix between original material penned by Johnson and cover songs. The project’s title track is a solid opener detailing the struggle of how to make it through each day. Texas is a straight ahead piece that features Derek on guitar and mandolin, Eric Christopher on fiddle, Anthony Ihrig on banjo, and Rich Casey on bass. All Points Bluegrass is the only original instrumental on the record. Johnson, along with banjoist David Robinson and bassist David Tousley, all bring great creative energy to their performance on this tune. North Dakota Wind differs a bit from the other tracks in that it has Johnson singing alongside mandolinist Clint Birtzer and Eric Christopher. As good as this song is lyrically, it has a lot going for it melodically speaking. The musicianship and the harmony between these men are sublime as a result. Ballad of the 1^st Minnesota Volunteers which closes the album, tells the story of the 1^st Minnesota Infantry Regiment that was active between April 29, 1861 to April 28, 1869. It’s a nice ending and a good overall fit to this project’s theme.

As previously mentioned, there are several covers sprinkled throughout Hard Life. While some may be familiar to listeners, they aren’t songs that are terribly overdone. On top of that, Johnson brings his own fresh and creative approach to each one. This is most notable in his rendition of The River, originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen, as well as If I Needed You, written by Townes Van Zandt. On the bluegrass side of things, Derek Johnson does a wonderful job with Hazel Dickens’ Won’t You Come and Sing For Me and Bootleg John, which was popularized by Ralph Stanley.

As Johnson has suggested, Hard Life is an album that was slowly constructed digitally and virtually, and he “doesn’t recommend doing it this way.” With that said, the truth is that it’s a really fine effort, and an enjoyable one at that.

David Robinson scaling back with Monroe Crossing

David Robinson, who has spent the past several years touring with Minnesota’s Monroe Crossing on banjo, has announced that he will be scaling back his commitment with the band, to allow him to pursue some other interests and opportunities.

This group works a rigorous road schedule, as demanding as any in our business, and Robinson tells us that while he isn’t stepping away completely, he will only be doing selected dates with his friends in Monroe Crossing.

“The last eight years have been a whirlwind, but I’m glad I got to spend them with Monroe Crossing. I enjoyed traveling to some amazing places, and sharing experiences that not many bands get to see. From Carnegie Hall to South Korea, I have had the chance to meet wonderful people, and I have learned quite a bit along the way. I would like to thank Monroe Crossing for these wonderful moments.

While my time with the group has certainly been educational, the band’s busy schedule doesn’t leave a lot of time to pursue new musical experiences. So even though this is not goodbye to Monroe Crossing for good, I look forward to devoting my time to other projects and touring with some very talented bands from the Twin Cities and elsewhere.

To the devoted fans of Monroe Crossing: thank you for your friendship and the good times over the years. Continue to follow the band’s schedule because you’ll still be able to catch me occasionally with group in the year to come. Until then… Look after them for me will ya?”

For the time being, Monroe Crossing has opted for a “banjo-by-committee” approach, and will call on two Minnesota banjo veterans, Barry St. Mane and Graham Sones, to work with them on the road.

Monroe Crossing has been working all over the US for nearly 20 years, often bringing bluegrass to audiences unfamiliar with the style. But with a mix of classic and original music, and a highly entertaining stage presence, they create new fans everywhere they visit.

You can learn more about the band online.

Lisa Fuglie recovering from a rocky cruise

Lisa Fuglie, fiddler with Minnesota’s Monroe Crossing, had to go on the disabled list recently during the band’s Caribbean cruise. She went ashore in Nassau, and took a fall which left her with both a broken left arm and right ankle.

She took a flight from Nassau to Minneapolis, where she underwent successful surgery to help the bones reset properly. The broken ankle will keep her off her feet for a while, but for a fiddler, a broken arm is a major setback.

Monroe Crossing is soldiering on in her absence, working as a four piece until Lisa can return. They say that it feels a bit odd this way, but hope to see her back on stage with them soon.

“The band is definitely not the same without Lisa but the guys stepped up and put on some fun, entertaining shows. Lisa, and her beautiful voice, will be back on stage with us in February, but, unfortunately, no fiddle until her arm heals. We look forward to having her back!”

Get better soon, Lisa!

Winter Wonderland from Monroe Crossing

Monroe Crossing also has a new Christmas project released this holiday season. It’s called Winter Wonderland, and as a band from Minnesota, that’s something they know a little about!

This marks their 16th album in 17 years, featuring a dozen Christmas favorites and a pair of new songs from fiddler Lisa Fugile. There are hymns dating back hundreds of years, and popular songs from the 1950s and ’60s that appeared on television and the movies. And a powerful banjo number whose name is the only thing that really associates with wintertime.

The rest of Monroe Crossing includes Derek Johnson on guitar, Matt Thompson on mandolin, Mark Anderson on bass, and David Robinson on banjo. They work a full time schedule, performing all across the US. In fact they have a big southern tour coming up after Christmas, hitting Florida, Georgia, and Alabama while the snow will be piling up in the Twin Cities.

A full track listing for Winter Wonderland follows:

Winter Wonderland
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays
It’s Christmas Time
Blue Christmas
Joy to the World
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Christmas Time Is Near
The Mitten
Sledd Ridin’
O Holy Night
Let It Snow
Linus & Lucy
Sound the Bells
Go Tell It on the Mountain

The album is available for ordering from the band web site.

Silver Dollar City adds Bluegrass Cruises

Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ festival has added a new wrinkle for 2013. The annual mega-fest which runs continuously from May 9-27 in Branson, MO, will feature bluegrass lake cruises on their paddlewheel showboat, Branson Belle, May 24-26.

Monroe Crossing will perform May 24, Larry Stephenson band May 25, and Special Consensus May 26. The noon cruises include a bluegrass concert, a three-course lunch and an excursion around Table Rock Lake.

The festival has earned its share of awards in recent years, being named IBMA’s Event of the Year in 2011. Festival organizer D.A. Callaway was also chosen as the 2013 Promoter of the Year by SPBGMA.

Find all the details about the 2013 Bluegrass & BBQ talent roster, and the schedule for their single mic and youth band competitions, online.

More on Matt Thompson’s mandolin

On Monday we posted a sad story with a happy ending. It was the story of Matt Thompson of Monroe Crossing whose mandolin was stolen from his hotel room, only to be recovered and returned to him later that evening by a Good Samaritan.

The band was performing in Phoenix, AZ when the 2003 F-5 LaPlant mandolin was taken, along with Matt’s nondescript fiddle. Needless to say, he was devastated by the theft, and overjoyed when it was returned during that night’s show.

Jerry Wright from nearby Scottsdale bought the mandolin from a peddler who was offering it for sale, going from car to car in a gas station parking lot. A musician himself, Jerry presumed the instrument was stolen, and researched it online as soon as he got home. Finding it listed as such, he contacted Monroe Crossing and brought it out Monday evening to Fiddler’s Dream, where the band was performing.

KPHO TV in Phoenix ran a brief story yesterday about the incident.

Warms your heart, doesn’t it?

Stolen instrument alert: LaPlant mandolin updated – found

Matt Thompson, mandolinist with Monroe Crossing, had a pair of cherished instruments stolen yesterday afternoon. His 2003 F-5 LaPlant mandolin and an unlabeled fiddle were taken from his hotel room in Glendale, AZ.

The mandolin carries serial number 125 and has a dark brown finish. Matt says it was taken in its yellow, rectangular case. The few pictures we could obtain are below.

The band is offering a reward for their return, no questions asked. They expect that the mandolin and fiddle are probably being offered for sale together.

You can contact Thompson by email or phone (651-276-7778) with any information you may have.

UPDATE 1/16: Wonderful news. Matt’s mandolin has been returned to him. Someone who bought it on the street contacted the band, and the mandolin is reunited with its owner.

Monroe Crossing – The Road Has No End

Among the pre-Christmas releases is The Road Has No End (MC 1212), the latest album from Minnesota-based quintet Monroe Crossing. It’s their thirteenth CD – equating to one album per year since their formation in 2000.

Not wanting to push their luck too far, The Road Has No End consists of a generous 14 tracks, with a mixture of new songs from band members and others, and older material, including a song taken from the classic rock repertoire.

Lisa Fuglie (fiddle, guitar and vocals) starts off this travel-themed collection with Cool, Cool Ride, and, along the way chimes in with the frenetic Bullet Train (co-written with Mark Anderson (bass, snare and vocals)), Rain Was Turning Into Snow – actually a Matt Thompson (mandolin and vocals) composition, Bread and Milk and Heavenly Table, which is given an old-time treatment. Fuglie composed the sole instrumental piece Cicida; another number on which David Robinson (banjo, resophonic guitar, harmonica and vocals) plays frailing banjo.

Derek Johnson (guitar and vocals) penned Chattanooga, after one of the band’s favorite stops while on the road, and Easy To Get Lost, prompted by an amusing incident that he experienced one time.

Folk singer Bill Isles contributed the intriguing little known song about an aspect of life during the Great Depression, Hobos in the Roundhouse.

The passing of Earl Scruggs led the band to working out several Flatt and Scruggs songs in his honor; of those Jimmy Skinner’s Doing My Time gelled the best.

The album is rounded out by Last Letter Home, a song that the band has played for years, but mostly associated with Sam Bush, and the Hollies’ Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.

For fans of Monroe Crossing this is first opportunity to hear recorded contributions from the promising 18 year old David Robinson.

The Road Has No End is already available from the band’s website. Tracks will be available as digital downloads from February 1, 2013.

The first single from the album is Chattanooga, released on December 12 ….

The Road Has No End from Monroe Crossing

Minnesota’s Monroe Crossing has a new album, The Road Has No End, due in December.

There are no audio samples up yet online, but the band has posted a live video they recorded for MN Original, a weekly program produced by Minnesota Public Television Association that features original works of art by residents of the North Star State.

Here’s Monroe Crossing performing Easy To Get Lost, a new song by guitarist Derek Johnson, which is included on The Road Has No End.

Other members of the band are Lisa Fuglie on fiddle, Matt Thompson on mandolin, David Robinson on banjo, and Mark Anderson on bass. All share in vocal duties.

More live performances of music from the new CD can be found on Baby Blue Arts, another Minnesota organization that produces content for public television.

Look for The Road Has No End on CD December 15, and by digital download in February 2013.