Fans of Minnesota alt-grass heroes, Trampled By Turtles, will want to jump on this. The band’s most recent recording, a 5 song EP called Sigourney Fever, will have a one day vinyl release this Friday (April 17).
Only 1,000 copies of this record will be offered, and only through a pair of Minneapolis retailers who are jointly celebrating 100 years in business. Down in the Valley and Electric Fetus are the exclusive outlets for this limited run on 12” vinyl. Copies will only be available from them online, and pre-orders can be placed now.
The Turtles have been known since their inception in 2004 for a rock-tinged bluegrass sound, and for their adventurous acoustic covers of pop and rock hits. Combining a sort of garage band vibe with a punk attitude towards bluegrass has found them a large and enthusiastic audience who pack their live shows wherever the band appears.
You can hear that style on this track from Sigourney Fever, their take on The Faces 1973 hit, Ooh La La. It was written by Ronnie Wood and Ronnie Lane, and became a staple for British rocker Rod Stewart on his live shows.
The 1,000 vinyl copies of Sigourney Fever are sure to go quickly, so be sure to visit Down in the Valley or Electric Fetus online to secure one for yourself.
Pert Near Sandstone has launched a new podcast, Road To Blue Ox, to help promote and prepare people for their annual festival in their native Wisconsin.
The alt-grass quintet hosts the Blue Ox Music Festival each June, inviting many of the top acts in progressive and contemporary bluegrass to appear with them in Eau Claire. Mando-fiddle man Nate Sipe and bassist Justin Bruhn will host the occasional podcast, sharing information about artists appearing there this year, and behind-the-scene details about running a festival on this scale.
The debut episode finds Nate and Justin interviewing Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles, who are headlining the 2019 fest.
You can listen or subscribe to the podcast using any of the multiple podcast aggregators out there, or by using the widget below.
All the details about the 2019 festival an be found online.
The photos in this article were taken by Milo Farineau, and the report is from his son, Kirby.
Only two seasons into its lifespan, Red Wing Roots Festival has already won the love, support, and excitement of the thousands of attendees who visited last weekend. The sophomore incarnation of the music fest put on by The Steel Wheels was held once again at the foot of the awe inspiring and titanic Natural Chimneys of Mount Solon. The chimneys were formed of stone that was hardened by pressure millions of years ago, and were left to stand as they are now after erosion washed the weaker earth away. Red Wing serves as a natural extension of the chimneys, celebrating the roots and influences of music that have hardened over time, and over the years, still stand today.
Local residents and far flung fans, joined together to enjoy a diverse lineup of bluegrass, blues, jazz, and Americana assembled by The Steel Wheels. The first day of the festival was host to genre defying groups like David Wax Museum, The Hackensaw Boys, Trampled by Turtles, and Pokey LaFarge. At the end of the night, attendees were left to wander back to their campsites in awe after a particularly emotional and energetic performance by Larry Keel and Natural Bridge.
The second day of the festival was also saturated with talent, featuring relaxed sets from Mandolin Orange,and The Tara Mills Band. There was a clear shift in energy as the day went on, the afternoon featuring performances full of energy from The Brothers Comatose, and Miss Tess and the Talkbacks. A particular highlight on the south stage was a haunting performance from the recently rejoined Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott. As day turned to night, the performances became more grand and intense; The Steel Wheels performing their blend of Appalachian Americana and Gospel for the crowd. The Devil Makes Three and Yarn finished out the night leaving an ecstatic crowd to continue the party at their campsites and motels.
The third day of the festival, despite its shorter duration, lacked nothing in entertainment. The, hopefully annual, gospel set performed by The Steel Wheels was a perfect wake up. The always crowd pleasing Love Canonplayed a great set at the south stage right before the illustrious and venerable Peter Rowan took the main stage. As he started the set Rowan remarked “We’re might as well pick that old time bluegrass music; they’re going to accuse us of it anyway.”
Very simply, Red Wing continues to impress, improve, and entertain, and I’m sure fans of Americana everywhere are excited to see what the future holds for this band and its festival.
Alternative bluegrass is everywhere lately, and one of the most recent additions to the subgenre is The Pine Hearts, a newly formed trio from Olympia, Washington. This group, which has been together for close to a year, offers listeners a catchy, peppy mixture of folk, indie, and jamgrass on its debut album, Distant Lights.
The album opens with Don’t Let the Stars Bring You Down, a positive tune which discusses nature and science, and suggests that we shouldn’t be bothered by things we can’t change and don’t understand. The song has a pleasant, cheerful sound with an interesting banjo solo in the middle. Paralyzed by Fate finds the singer lamenting the hesitancy he is encountering while trying to begin a relationship, with a chanted, toe-tapping chorus.
When It Comes to You offers another take on relationships. This familiar tale of someone who can’t let go of someone he knows is bad for him has a stripped-down arrangement. It’s also about as mournful as this album gets. Even Heartache or the Whiskey, which asks “Which is worse, being wrong or being alone?”, has a good-time feel, and it’s easy to imagine it as a crowd sing-along at a festival or bar.
Other tunes are more introspective, such as the subdued Alright Fine, which finds the narrator reflecting on a not-entirely-positive encounter during a relationship, and the more upbeat Somewhere Between, with its narration by a man who is working through difficulties in life. This tune is one of the album’s most enjoyable, and also has some of the grassiest banjo on the album. On Our Own also leans closer to the bluegrass side of things.
The songs on Distant Light are all originals (with the exception of the instrumental Big Sciota), which makes for an interesting listening experience. Though the songs all seem to capture certain emotions – heartbreak, frustration, apathy – the lyrics and the images they describe are somewhat ambiguous, perhaps drawing inspiration from the band’s punk and indie influences. Fans of those genres should feel at home here, while those who favor more traditional bluegrass might find the tunes unclear.
Both the vocals and arrangements here are reminiscent of Old Crow Medicine Show (though a little less old time), with some Trampled by Turtles thrown in for good measure. Fans of these edge-of-bluegrass bands and others like them should enjoy The Pine Hearts. Joe Capoccia (guitar and vocals), Lob Strilla (banjo and vocals), and Derek McSwain (mandolin and vocals) do folk-grass well.
For more information on The Pine Hearts, visit their website at thepinehearts.bandcamp.com. Their album can be purchased from several online music retailers.
We’d like to introduce David Smith, who will be providing on-site coverage during the Telluride Bluegrass festival next weekend in Colorado. He will join Jason Lombard who will be photographing the event for us.
I’m thrilled to be joining the Bluegrass Today team for the extended weekend of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 20 through 24. Please allow me to share a bit about myself, so that you may know more about my perspective on the festival to come.
I was born in Washington D.C. a few blocks away from and a few days after what I would deem to be a defining moment in bluegrass music: the performance and recording of the Seldom Scene’s Live at the Cellar Door album. Being born in Washington D.C. and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia my young ears were drawn to the vocal harmonies and acoustic sounds of bluegrass music.
Over the last 20 years or so, upon moving to Durango, Colorado to attend college in 1993, I have been involved in many areas of bluegrass: DJ with community and public radio stations, board of directors of the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown festival, feature writer for a bluegrass publication (Colorado Bluegrass Music Society’s Pow’r Pickin’), a musician and of course – a fan. I also attended nearly every Telluride Bluegrass throughout my 18 years living in Durango. It’s been two years since I moved from Durango to North Dakota, and two years since I’ve been to the festival. Rarely does a day go by that I haven’t thought about the good times in the epically beautiful locale of Telluride.
The 40th Anniversary lineup promises to be both a walk up Telluride’s Tomboy Road in the days when school buses lined up as summertime homes, as well as a portrait of things to come. Alas, legends of past Telluride Bluegrass Festivals such as John Hartford and Vassar Clements are now late greats, and others aren’t touring with the vivacity of their younger years. Our walk into the goodle days won’t be giving us a glimpse into the storied gatherings of the late 70s and early 80s, but with musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, and Peter Rowan, as well as bands such as Hot Rize, Leftover Salmon, and String Cheese Incident, I feel that the 40th does a nice job in remembering the excellent lineups throughout the 80s and 90s. The portrait of things to come is easier to paint. Each day will bring the audience the best in modern-day acoustic music: Steep Canyon Rangers, Greensky Bluegrass, Trampled By Turtles, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, The Infamous Stringdusters… on and on…
One of the coolest aspects of this notion of past and future are the bands that live in both worlds. Past Telluride Bluegrass attendees may have seen Leftover Salmon with Mark Vann on banjo bursting out of the Fly Me To the Moon Saloon on a late night of years gone on – or sat in Colorado admiration as Charles Sawtelle surprised one and all with each note played in a Hot Rize solo – but what praise we should all declare for these bands as they bring their best (now with Andy Thorn and Bryan Sutton respectfully) to the event’s main stage. These two bands symbolize all that is great about the Telluride Bluegrass Festival: like the ying and the yang of the festival organizer’s Planet Bluegrass logo, past and future are symbiotic and create a sound as unique as its magnificent mountain setting.
For my Telluride Bluegrass blog posts I hope to go beyond the main stage sets and give you an inside look at several different aspects of the festival. A talented songwriter, Pete Kartsounes, is a finalist in the Troubadour Contest and will share his words with us. I’ll be backstage with the Infamous Stringdusters during their late night “Nightgrass” set – and I’m lined up to be a judge in the nationally-recognized Band Contest, where past winners have included the Dixie Chicks, Nickel Creek, The Hillbenders, and Greensky Bluegrass. Of course I’ll be in the crowd for what’s to emerge on stage and will put pen to paper – later to type and submit – on standout songs and guest musician sit-ins.
I’m looking forward to bringing all of this and much more to the readers of Bluegrass Today.
Here is our last gallery of Milo Farineau’s images from DelFest 2013, though we have several more on the way from Gina Proulx who shot with Milo on site last month.
It’s that time of year again, where pundits assess various aspects of the past 12 months.
One of the first to do so and publish their list of favourites is PopMatters, the international magazine of cultural criticism.
PopMatters’ bluegrass Top Ten listing includes a good sample from mainstream bluegrass with albums from Lou Reid & Carolina, The Grascals, Town Mountain, Steep Canyon Rangers and Balsam Range among the favored few.
That said, PopMatters has a big tent philosophy, which is demonstrated by the inclusion in the Top 5 of Trampled by Turtles’ Stars and Satellites and, at No. 1, the Punch Brothers’ Who’s Feeling Young Now? album.
Here’s their Top Ten ….
10. Ricky Skaggs – Music to My Ears (Skaggs Family)
09. Lou Reid & Carolina – Calling Me Back Home (KMA)
08. The Boxcars – All In (Mountain Home)
07. The Grascals – Life Finds a Way (Mountain Home)
06. Town Mountain – Leave the Bottle (Pinecastle)
05. Trampled by Turtles – Stars and Satellites (Banjodad)
04. Bill Evans – In Good Company (Native and Fine)
03. Steep Canyon Rangers – Nobody Knows You (Rounder)
02. Balsam Range – Papertown (Mountain Home)
01. Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now? (Nonesuch)
A critical review of each album can be found here.
What do you think? Let us know. If there’s enough interest we might publish a readers’ Top Ten.
We’ve just enjoyed back-to-back sets by Trampled by Turtles and the Emmit-Nershi Band. If the Turtles got paid by the note they could retire…that is some blazing bluegrass.
Emmit-Nershi is an interesting marriage of bluegrass royalty, Drew Emmit of Leftover Salmon and Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident are joined by Andy Thorn on banjo, Johnny Grubb (Railroad Earth) and today they added to their ranks Darol Anger (Psychograss and frequent addition to the Yonder Mountain String Band) on fiddle.
I’d never heard these guys, but they were amazing. In addition to songs from their recent release (New Country Blues) they played a great cover of Dylan’s Tangled Up in Blue (did they know his birthday was earlier this week?). Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) took a turn on stage for the final number off the new album, and to whet the audience’s appetite for the full RRE set next.
Not sure we’ll have a chance to upload pictures tonight….we’re afraid to leave the stage for fear of missing any of this evening’s acts: RRE, Del McCoury Band, and Warren Hayes Acoustic with “Special Guests.”
Any guesses? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
