Tag: Young Uns

Young Uns – Brayden Williamson

Watching the Grass Grow is a recent song written by the subject of this Young Uns feature, Brayden Williamson. In it he talks about the youth of bluegrass growing in the music, and how the pioneers of the music inspired them to do great things with the music, and inspire other Young Uns to keep the original style alive. 

From Logan County, West Virginia, Brayden Williamson has only just celebrated his 17th birthday but, the singer and guitarist already has two Gospel albums and a Folk/Country album. 2019 has been a very busy year for him. 

The area is rich in music history with Frank Hutchison and Dick Justice, two coal miners who worked in the county, being perhaps best known. However, genetically, of greater importance to Brayden Williamson are Okeh recording artists in the late 1920s, The Williamson Brothers; singer and guitarist Ervin Williamson being his grandfather. 

The guitarist/bluegrass, Gospel and Country music singer has “always liked bluegrass”; at age eight he really started to appreciate the style and the sound, and what it took to do it right. 

Additionally, Williamson has taught himself to play the mandolin to add fill-ins with his recordings, “I’ve picked around on it until I felt I was doing well.” Similarly, he plays some bass, just a “few times for some recordings I did.”

As well as being busy with recordings he has played at many venues, benefit shows, Gospel events, and services, mostly around the West Virginia and Kentucky area. 

Williamson has been interviewed on air by David Pugh for his Mountain Bluegrass show, on World-Wide Bluegrass (September 2019) and earlier this month (November 2019) he recorded a spot on WSAZ Studio 3 in Huntington, West Virginia, to be broadcast on December 5, 2019.

He spends most of his evening time after school-working on music related projects, recordings, advertising his music, and dealing with bookings. 

Were you born into a musical family? If so, what is the background, please?

My grandfather, Ervin Williamson, was very musically inclined, and he had made six recordings under the Okeh Record Company in 1927-29. He was featured in the PBS documentary, American Epic, and has a several page section about him in the American Epic companion book. There will soon be another book released that mentions his music in it. My grandfather was also the first to record the original John Henry song, and the end credits of the documentary state that he and my uncle composed the song (Gonna Die with a Hammer in my Hand).

He had my dad at a late age and passed in the 1970s. My mom and dad don’t play instruments, but my dad sung in church as a kid, though, and did very well. 

My uncle and great uncle (dad’s brother and dad’s uncle) and many of my cousins are very musically inclined (guitar, mandolin and banjo) and have made home recordings.

My grandfather on my mother’s side played guitar and sang. So did my grandfather’s brother. 

I believe that is why I have a passion to do what I do! I believe some of us are called to do this music. I believe this is my calling!

When did you became aware of music and what part did it play in your early life? 

The first time I heard a Martin guitar was the first time I was turned to bluegrass music, in my elementary school music room. We had a music class when I was younger where our teacher, Mr. Robert Leete, would play his guitar and teach us folk songs with it. 

The guitar had such a sound that I can remember it to this day. That’s what got me started on playing guitar.

I’ve had a guitar in my hand since I was two years old. Whether it be a little plastic one or a wooden beginner’s guitar when I was younger. I can remember Road Less Traveled coming to town and inviting me up on stage in church to play mandolin with them when I was eight years old. 

I began really learning how to pick on a Stagg acoustic guitar when I was 10. Then a couple years after I got my first Martin guitar. I was 12 years old, and it was a DX1Kae Martin mom and dad got me for Christmas one year. That’s the guitar I learned how to pick mostly bluegrass on (I also began to go to different churches and local events within that time and play/sing).

Mom and dad got me my Martin D35 about two years ago. That’s around the time when I began to travel around and get paid to sing places. God really has blessed me in my young age through my music, to meet and sing/pick with great people that have helped me along the way. 

Who have been your biggest influences? 

The first time I can recall listening to a bluegrass song was when my dad played Don’t Neglect The Rose by Larry Sparks. I was around eight years old. I was also introduced to the music of Ralph Stanley, Flatt & Scruggs, Tony Rice (guitar), Ricky Skaggs, and the Primitive Quartet (Gospel bluegrass). 

Mr. Sparks has been a big influence to me in music also. He probably is the biggest person I’ve taken an inspiration from. 

Him and his awesome booking agent, Phyllis Rice, have helped me with a lot of things that I needed to know, or by just giving me advice. I give a lot of credit to them. 

My mom and dad are really supportive of my music, and I can’t be more thankful for all they’ve done for me in promoting my music.

I am thankful for the blessings that God has given me in my youth to grow in my love of bluegrass and Gospel music.

You say that you play mandolin and guitar; how did your playing of those instruments progress? Did you have lessons? 

I learned the chords from just watching people play that used to come to the house and church. 

When it came to picking guitar breaks, I would just listen to it over and over until I felt I got it right. 

Same with mandolin. I’ve watched a lot of Ricky Skaggs picking. 

Thanks to YouTube when I was younger, I’ve been able to easily listen to any song and slow it down when I wanted!

So, how did you progress with your singing during that time?

I tried to model my singing after the people that were singing the songs that I was learning. It was just a matter of paying attention to the vocals of the artist that I was listening to.

I record myself when I learn a new song and keep recording it until I think it sounds good. Then I keep that cut and practice from it. As I improve my voice, I record it to keep in the groove of my vocal style. 

In what ways are you developing your skills to ensure that you have your ‘own’ voice, both vocally and instrumentally?

Vocally, I try to sing as natural as possible the way I would talk, and just keep it my own way without trying to copy someone else’s voice. I want people to say, “that’s Brayden’s voice,” when I sing, so I try to just keep my voice true to my accent.

When I play guitar, it’s a combination of flat picking and cross picking (sometimes); I’ve taken a big inspiration from Larry Sparks’ style of picking, but I have made sure to keep my own sound original when I can. It’s all a matter of trying to do it the way the pioneers of picking did it, but putting your own twist to it. I also want people to know who it is when I’m playing my guitar; I want an identity sound. Every guitar picker has a different style even if they play a song note for note, in my opinion. I sometimes use blues licks in my breaks and sometimes a good ole “G” run and just branch a melody and add fill-ins that accompany the sound of the song. I am still very much learning and still have a long way to go before I have a set identity sound. 

You have written a couple of songs; when did you start and what prompted you to do so, please? Who are your primary influences?

The first song I wrote is called Watching The Grass Grow; I wrote it thinking about the youth of bluegrass music and how they are taking inspiration from the legends/pioneers of the music, and making a life with it. 

My main inspiration was just the thought of how my generation (the youth) is the generation that needs to take hold of bluegrass and keep the tradition going as strong as it has ever before. 

In August 2019 Larry Sparks invited Williamson to be a special guest on his show at the Mountaineer Opry House Barboursville, West Virginia.

Supporting musicians in this live offering of Watching the Grass Grow are Michael Feagan (fiddle); Evan Wilson (mandolin); Jacob Wright (banjo), and Matthew Madden (bass). 

Tell me about I Just Go to The Cross please. 

I was sitting in class a couple months ago at my high school, and I was thinking about how great it would be to be able to write another song and it be a Gospel song! 

I sing several that other artist have written, but to have done one for my own would be a blessing. So, I began to think of what Jesus really means to me; I thought about the cross. If it wasn’t for him going to the cross, we would not have an easy way to salvation. When he died on the cross, that opened up a way for people to become saved and heaven bound. 

I sat and thought about the steps that it takes to become a Christian, and that’s where I began to write the chorus. The term “I just go to the cross” relates to when you kneel down and pray that you believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins. You’re not actually going to the cross, but in prayer you are. 

Then I began to think about how great it must be when we get to Heaven, so I wrote a little about that too – “Knowing that One Sweet Day I’ll Meet my Savior There” is another line of it. When we get to Heaven, that is the first thing we want to do! Is meet the one who died for us. 

I wanted to talk about my personal experience with the Lord, so I started a line of the song with, “One day in my bedroom I read this holy book, it mentioned of a faithful life and showed me what it took.” The words just came to me, andthat line talks about how you have to read the Bible to learn more about the man upstairs and how to be saved. 

The rest of the song just fell right together, I wrote it in about 30 minutes all together; having to change some things up in it, of course, in the studio the next day. It has a guitar and mandolin instrumentation in it, with a soulful attitude. I honestly think it is my best poetry work I’ve ever written! 

Have other songwriters inspired you to pen your own songs? Or influenced the way that you write? 

I have not taken any inspiration from a certain songwriter while writing my song, Watching the Grass Grow. I did get that term ‘watching the grass grow’ from a great friend of mine that attended a summer cookout I had at my home. We began talking about how the youth of bluegrass is “growing” in the music, and really taken off with it. 

To write the song consisted of me just writing down words and phrases that connected to the soul meaning that I wanted to broadcast with the song. The kids of bluegrass music are growing in the tradition, therefore, fans are (watching the “blue” GRASS grow).  

It took me a solid month to get everything together for the song then to begin going into the studio and playing with different instrumental variations to make the song my style. 

Tell me about your ambitions please.

My ambition all stems from the love I have for the music, the feel it gives me to hear and play it. My goal is to keep the tradition of bluegrass alive.

(A) Heart That Will Never Break Again, from Williamson’s Brayden Williamson Gospel Vol. 2, was written by Edd, James and Russell Lee Easter, and recorded by the Easter Brothers and Green Valley Quartet in 1984….. 

This instrumental version of Wildwood Flower is also from Williamson’s guest appearance at the Mountaineer Opry House, supported by Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers ….  

Sparks’ booking agent Phyllis Rice is full of praise for Williamson .. 

“Brayden is the perfect example of what a young man and musician should be. The first time I met Brayden I asked him to come on Larry’s bus and meet Larry. He was very appreciative of that and thrilled him to death. 

He helped Larry with his show in Barboursville, West Virginia. He worked and help put up posters for the show. 

Brayden is very talented and a good entertainer. 

His mother and dad, Raymond and Teresa, are good salt of the earth people also. 

Just be yourself, Brayden, and hang in there; you are doing a great job. 

We thank you for being a huge Larry Sparks fan!”

David Pugh remembers …. 

“Brayden Williamson was just 16 years old, when he started listening in to my online radio show.  

Brayden, a huge fan of Larry Sparks, e-mailed me to say he had been listening to my show. I had just interviewed Larry Sparks two weeks before getting his email. Brayden told me he had just written, and released, his first single. He wanted me to listen to it.

The song he sent was Watching The Grass Grow. I thought it sounded pretty good, so I put it on my playlist. The kid was elated to hear me play it. I do a Top 12 bluegrass chart, and countdown, every week. The requests started pouring in for Brayden’s song. His single has now been on the Top 12 for 11 weeks. Plus, it hit No. 1 two weeks ago, and it’s on fire in the bluegrass world.

I am proud of Brayden Williamson He’s a great young man, who loves God.  He is multi-talented, and I think he will go far in his musical career. He has a brand-new Gospel single, that will debut on my show next Sunday night [December 1, 2019]. I know it’s going to do well for him.”

A Discography 

Brayden Williamson

  • Brayden Williamson Gospel 2019 (Brayden Williamson BW Recordings Llc, released 2019) 
  • Brayden Williamson Gospel Vol. 2 (BW Recordings Llc, 2019) 
  • Brayden Williamson Country Music Vol. 1 (BW Recordings Llc, 2019)

Singles 

  • Amazing Grace (BW Recordings Llc, May 2019) 
  • Pickin’ – (BW Recordings Llc, July 2019), aka Pickin’ is a Family Tradition; an instrumental dedicated to his grandfather, Ervin Williamson.
  • Watching the Grass Grow (BW Recordings Llc 00001, September 1, 2019)
  • I Just Go to The Cross (BW Recordings Llc, November 26, 2019) 

Bluegrass Young Uns – Hadassah White

Hadassah White is a diverse vocalist with a wide skill set. She performs bluegrass, country, traditional and contemporary Gospel, Broadway show tunes and even some opera. Some of her more popular songs include Coat of Many Colors and Wildflowers, both by Dolly Parton and When You Say Nothing at All, by Alison Krauss.

Her background with Miss Ellie String Band has helped to prepare her for musical theatre, a passion that she hopes to pursue as a career, having already excelled in the roles of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Miss Honey in Matilda and Rapunzel in Into the Woods.

When she first saw The Trail of the Lonesome Pine while in the 5th grade she became enamoured with the lead role of June Tolliver. As one of these the longest running outdoor dramas in the U.S.A., The Trail is a staple of mountain culture in south-west Virginia.

The role of June requires familiarity with traditional mountain melodies and instruments. Her time with the string band has helped prepare her to take on that character in the show’s 56th annual season during the past summer.

When, and in what circumstances, did music become – indirectly or directly – a part of your life, please?

My parents love to tell a story about how when my mom was pregnant with me, I was kicking in time to the music while my grandparents were singing. I have always loved to sing and can remember standing on a table in church so the people there could see me while I would sing as a very young child.

Long before I started school, I would sing and sing all day long. When I started school, I joined the choir right away. I sang my first solo during kindergarten and never looked back.

I’m at least the fourth generation of singers in my family tree. My grandmother sang with her parents and brother on the radio, and all throughout our region when she was still a teenager. My grandfather can play the piano and about any instrument with strings on it. So, I guess it just came to me naturally.

So, how did your singing develop from there? Did you have lessons?

I started vocal lessons with a gifted and talented vocal coach named Amber Burke. She specializes in unlocking talents in her students and maximizing their potential. She coached me to State honors choir in Virginia and to the final round of the James Bland competition for multiple years. She also directed an acapella group that I was a member of called the Ladies in Red.

Under her guidance, I was able to realize that my singing crossed many genres. I can sing an aria on Monday, a bluegrass mountain tune on Tuesday, and then a Broadway musical number on Wednesday.

I was also able to work on several musicals and choir performances with Mrs. Burke in both school and in a community theater project called All An Act players.

You play the guitar; when did your interest begin and how did your learning progress, please?

My first step was to join JAMS (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program here in Wise County in sixth grade. I learned to play guitar there and started practicing every day. It wasn’t long before I was playing in front of crowds and in church. In JAMS, I also learned fiddle and banjo. I knew right away that I had found something that I loved. I also decided to join Mountain Music School at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap Virginia. This is a week-long program each summer where aspiring musicians from all over come together to learn to play traditional bluegrass instruments. This is where I first learned to play mandolin. Later, I also took an advanced guitar class at Mountain Music School. Eventually, I became an assistant banjo instructor with JAMS. Instead of learning these instruments for the first time, now I had the opportunity to help others learn the way I had. I taught myself to play ukulele, and I use it quite a bit in church and when I’m singing with my sister, Lauren.

I owe a tremendous amount to Larry Mullins, Joey O’Quinn, and my grandfather, Danny White, for helping me learn to play the guitar and branch out to other instruments. It has opened the door for me to be able to do some cool things like open for Shenandoah and Mark Chesnutt. I also am thrilled to be a part of Miss Ellie String Band, something that never could have happened without Mountain Music School and the JAMS program. We have played lots of events like the Papa Joe Smiddy Festival, Floyd Fest, and the Dock Boggs Festival. Our band has opened for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, played with the Black Lillies, and also Dave Eggar, and we even had a surprise visit during one of our practices from U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, former Vice-Presidential candidate, who brought out his harmonica and played a few songs with us. That was something I will always remember.

What were the subsequent steps for you (you have been involved a stage musical, haven’t you)?

Yes. I was searching for different ways to use my talents. There was a school show where they needed someone who could play a guitar and sing a song. I tried out for that and before long, I found myself performing in several shows a year. My first starring role was as Ariel in The Little Mermaid Jr. I think I got the role for my singing more than my acting at the time. I have since been in several musicals, including The Lion King, Into the Woods, and Beauty and the Beast. I worked with one of the greatest coaches in VHSL [Virginia High School League] history, Jan Thompson at Central High School in Wise, Virginia, one year with the 9:00 Club. I had so much fun working with her and learning from her. We performed the Broadway musical Footloose. There were some pretty demanding dances in that show and I got to use my vocals a lot, hitting a lot of high, high notes.

I was also in four shows for a Community Theatre group called All An Act. My first show with them was one of my favorite roles ever. I played The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol: The Musical and got to sing some beautiful melodies. Alan Menken, one of the very best Broadway composers, was the genius behind that show. My favorite part was harmonizing with the other ghost actresses, Kailey Kyle and Elizabeth Mann. I learned a lot from them and we are still close friends today.

Finally, I have been blessed to work with Shane Burke, a five-time VHSL State Champion Coach of the Eastside High School One Act Team. I was part of the 2018 Division 1 Virginia State Championship team. Mr. Burke has such great insight into music and performance. He has wonderful instincts and knows how to bring the best out of his students. He has helped me to grow a lot and constantly pushes me out of my comfort zone.

One of my proudest accomplishments came this past Summer when I played the lead role of June Tolliver in Virginia’s Official Outdoor Drama The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. The Trail has run for 56 years and is based on John Fox Jr’s classic novel. June is a rough mountain girl who meets Jack Hale, a prospector who has come to look for coal on her family land. Jack helps her to get an education and she becomes a refined, educated, successful opera singer. I had dreamed of playing this role for years and was so excited when the opportunity came knocking. We played every weekend, Thursday – Saturday night for 10 weeks. It was quite an undertaking, but it was a special show that I will always remember. Almost every single night we had audience members from other states and even had some from foreign countries. Since June is a mountain girl, I sang a lot of traditional mountain songs like Barbara Allen and Cripple Creek. My experience with bluegrass and mountain music made this a natural fit for me. I loved working with the cast and especially producer Jim Wardell, and his son Director Ryan Wardell. I had worked with Ryan before in an All An Act show, and we were both members of a choral group at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Today, I am working on my second One Act show, a play written by our director, Shane Burke and I am really looking forward to our Spring musical in 2020. Mr. Burke likes to keep it a secret but I have a couple of guesses about what it might be.

What are your ambitions, musically?

Music is more than just entertainment or art. It really is a way to express yourself. When I’m singing in church and it touches someone’s heart or I’m playing with Miss Ellie String Band and the audience starts to clap along and dance, I know it makes me part of something bigger than just me. I never want to quit growing as a musician. I always want to try to find that next hit song, hit that next high note, or find that next venue to sing.

I love my band and I’m so proud to be a part of that special group. Each girl is unique and talented in her own way. I hope we can stay together for a long time. I will always cherish them and I know that they have pushed me to grow and be better. I love that so many people still like the mountain and bluegrass style of music and I want to help keep that alive for years to come. Not many sixteen-year-olds are playing this style of music these days, and that makes what Miss Ellie String Band does even more special.

I hope to plan a career in musical theater. I don’t know where it will take me, but the sky could be the limit.   I want to give back to those who have given to me and share my love of music with the world.

Hadassah White has been a Bland Foundation Scholarship award winner – presented by the Lions of Virginia Bland Music Scholarship Foundation, Inc. – for three years in a row from 2016 to 2018, inclusive.

In addition to the already mentioned roles that she has performed White has played the parts of Grace Farrell in Annie and Loretta Tolliver in the Trail of the Lonesome Pine, both during 2018.

Earlier this month (October 2019) White won an outstanding actor award at the VHSL Region 1D Theatre Section competition for her part in the One Act Theatre production of the original Shane Burke play The Swan Queen of Berlin County.

In November 2018 Hadassah White was the subject of a brief feature on WCTB TV station …

A resident of Wise County, Hadassah White has always lived about five minutes from Ralph Stanley’s house and goes to school in Jim & Jesse McReynolds’ hometown; rooted in bluegrass music history!

Young Uns – Mackenzie Bell

Being raised in Rosine, Kentucky, perhaps means one has a pre-ordained musical direction. Sometimes. 

Certainly, 13-year-old traditional bluegrass and classic country fiddle player Mackenzie Bell is inspired by the great Bill Monroe.  

She started playing in public when she was eight; firstly, in church and a year later she started doing shows. 

When she was 11, Mackenzie wrote her first tune, Angel Wing Waltz,  of which she says, I “kept hearing this music in my head … I played it for my teacher, Randy Lanham, and he wrote it out … and we copyrighted it. It didn’t have a title and when Mama heard it for the first time, she said it sounded like angels’ wings rustling.” Hence the name. This tune is a track on her recently released second CD. 

She has appeared at celebrated venues including The Nashville Palace and The Station Inn, as well as at the historic Tannery Row in Buford, Georgia.  

Also, Mackenzie has played at multiple festivals in various states during the past three years of performing, doing so with elite bluegrass groups such as the Roland White Band and The Grascals, and for Special Consensus, as well as for Charlie Daniels, Riders in the Sky, and Jimmy Mattingly, the fiddle player for Garth Brooks.

She is scheduled to make a return appearance at The Station Inn with Carolina Blue on Friday, June 21, 2019, and to perform at three additional festivals in Georgia in August, September, and October.  

Mackenzie Bell was part of the on-board entertainment crew on a Bluegrass and Classic Country Music Cruise to the Bahamas on the Royal Caribbean. During the cruise, she performed with Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome, and RFD TV’s David Church, and for Buddy Jewell. 

She has been featured in newspapers and television news shows, in three KET specials on bluegrass music, filmed a segment of Spotlight on The Ozarks, and has appeared twice on Athens, Georgia’s Classic City Music Showcase. 

All of this musical activity is managed with a home-schooling schedule that is governed by her grandmother, a retired elementary school teacher. She is an extremely well-read, embracing many of the classic novels, learning about other cultures, and life from yesteryear, although she doesn’t enjoy maths as much. 

She is a very sociable person, being very active in her church youth group helping with activities such as decorating the church, to helping serve potluck meals, and, being well aware of those who are less fortunate, working at the local community soup kitchen. 

Mackenzie is a pet lover, doting on two rescued cats, Stormy and Banjo, and a dog a – little terrier mix – named Susie.  

According to her mother, “She’s a tomboy and likes bugs and mud and is forever trying to go fishing or hunt turtles instead of doing her homework!” At the same time, “she’s a typical 13-year-old girl …. and likes her hair to be just so, her boots to be shiny, and her clothes to look good when she goes on stage.”

She dreams of being on the Grand Ole Opry, of getting her driver’s license when she is 16, and wonders what it will be like to go to college. 

Mackenzie Bell has two albums, 11-17 and 12-18. Both are available at the gift shop at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museumin  Owensboro, Kentucky. 

Do you come from a musical family?

Yes, I come from a musical family. I’m not sure if you are aware but my Mama adopted me from Guatemala when I was seven months old. However, my family is very musical and I have always been raised with and around music. Mama says the good Lord put a “fine dose of Flener” in me before He gave me to her. To understand that, you’d have to know our family. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE in the Flener family can sing or play music. My cousins were the Crossmen Quartet — Boyce and Scott Flener (their grandma and my grandpa were first cousins), Darrin Lawrence and Scott Mudd married into the family by marrying Boyce and Scott’s cousins. All my Mama’s cousins on that side of the family sing or play, my Mama played piano (but can NOT sing!). My Mama’s grandpa actually knew Bill Monroe and my Mimi met him several times so I’ve always felt that connection from Mimi’s side of the family as well. So yes, I come from a very musical family. It’s all been Gospel or bluegrass too, so I think that’s why I am so in love with this genre of music. I came home at seven months and two weeks later, Mama took me to my first Crossmen Quartet concert so it’s definitely in my blood!

What is your first memory of music please?  

My first memory of music is my Mama rocking me and singing Gospel songs – she doesn’t sing very well (don’t tell her I said that) but I loved to hear the music anyway. We always listened to old time country music and Bill Monroe – we live way out in the country on a farm near Rosine, Kentucky, so Bill Monroe and Gospel and bluegrass music is a big part of everyone’s life around here. When I was six I took piano lessons, but I wasn’t any good and I hated it!! When I was seven I took dulcimer lessons – I liked the old timey music and was pretty good at it but, I wasn’t happy and didn’t like it. But then one day I was listening to some Bill Monroe music, and it was like I heard the fiddle for the first time (it was Kenny Baker) and I was like “I want that!” So, Mama asked one of the men at church who gave fiddle lessons if he would teach me to play. This was for my eighth birthday present, and she thought this would be like the piano and the dulcimer, but from the very first lesson I was hooked and the rest is history! Lol. I absolutely love the music and the history behind it. I love the strings and the sounds and the rosin and the people who play the music. It’s like it’s a part of my heart … that might sound kind of corny but, the fiddle and the music are just who and what I am.

Please tell me about more about how you started playing the fiddle and how your fiddle playing developed.

I was eight and wanted fiddle lessons, so for my birthday Mama asked a man at church who taught lessons. He agreed and so we rented a fiddle to start with. I was little so I started out on a half-size, and Mama only rented one from the music store in the city because she thought the fiddle would be like the piano and the dulcimer and wouldn’t last long. But I loved it from my very first lesson and have never stopped loving it. (I now have four headed fiddles, each over 100 years old) I started out with what I now call “baby” songs – Mary Had A Little Lamb, Boil Them Cabbage Down… My first lesson was an hour long and by the end of it I was playing both of those songs. It was like I just knew how to do it. I’d never had fiddle lessons before, but it was like my fingers just knew what to do. Within a month I knew playing the fiddle was all I wanted to do. Mama keeps reminding me that I was only eight years old but, I still just knew.

Anyway, so I took lessons for about a year from the man from church and then Mama and my Mimi (my grandma) signed me up for the Saturday lesson program for bluegrass music at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. The teacher was Randy Lanham, the educational director of the museum. Mama took me in for the beginner class and I played Old Joe Clark for Randy to let him see how I could play. He told Mama I needed to be in the intermediary class – he asked me to play something else and so I did, and he changed his mind and put me directly in the advanced class and the band class. I was nine in there with all these adults and I was so happy!! I remember feeling so grown up and proud that Randy thought I was good enough.

So, these lessons lasted through the summer and about halfway through the summer, Mama asked Randy if he would be my teacher and he said ‘yes.’ So, I’ve been with Randy nearly four years and I have learned so much. He has taught me the music of course, but more than that he has taught me the history, the culture, the family ties behind the music. He has taught me also that God has a purpose for each of us and that He gives us our talents to help and to serve others. My fiddle playing has improved mainly because Randy has helped me to see beyond the music to what makes the music so special. 

Of course, practice doesn’t hurt either! I began by practicing an hour each day in two 30-minute sessions. Then I increased it to two one-hour sessions and now I practice two-three times per day in at least two 90-minute sessions and sometimes I add in an extra 30 minutes at the end of the day. Randy has been working on trills, triple shuffles, and ear skills a lot lately and my jamming skills have improved so much! 

I love to perform and am on stage as much as possible. I started performing when I was nine and performing all the time has helped me learn so much. 

During her recent visit to Buford, Georgia, Mackenzie Bell played Tennessee Waltz with the Athens, Georgia, Country River Band ……

You speak of your teacher at the museum taking you straight into his advanced class, to what do you attribute your high standard of fiddling after such a short time (i.e., with just a year’s teaching)?

I think it’s because I loved it so much and I worked so hard at it. Mama and Mimi never had to make me practice – I wanted to! I would practice as much as they would let me. Plus, Mimi says I’m just naturally talented at it — of course, that’s good, but not enough — I still have to work hard and practice. But it seems to come easily to me. Randy says I’m one of the fastest learners he’s worked with. I’ve already made two CDs and I’ve been on TV and radio lots. I’ve played in festivals and shows, benefits and political events in several different states and with some pretty big people. I played for Charlie Daniels when I was 11 and he gave me one of his own fiddle bows – had someone go right out on stage and get it off his fiddle stand and gave it to me!! He told me I did a fine job and when I played the Grand Ole Opry someday to use that bow. So, I think talent has a lot to do with it, but it’s more dedication and just plain old hard work that makes a person good at something.

What bluegrass musicians have influenced / are influencing you, please?

The fiddle players Tommy Jarrell, Kenny Baker, and Gid Tanner specifically … I love the old timey mountain sounds and the bluegrass players of Bill Monroe’s era. Bill Monroe’s music has always been a great influence as was Dr. Ralph Stanley. (I met Ralph Stanley II when I performed on the Bluegrass and Classic Country Music Cruise to the Bahamas in February!!) I also love Alison Krauss – she started music when she was young like me, and I admire her as a lady in the music business. And even though I’m a fiddle player, I love listening to old records of Stringbean play the banjo!! 

Currently I like to listen to The Grascals (I played with them last July) and Carolina Blue (I’ll play with them at The Station Inn in July). I really like Josh Williams, the guitar player for Rhonda Vincent and I listen to his CD all the time!!

What have you learned from sharing the stages with the musicians that you mentioned, please?

I think the main thing I’ve learned is to always remember who you are and where you come from. To “never get above my raising” as my Mimi (my grandma) says. I’ve met and played with and for some really famous people but, they were … well, just regular normal people. I saw folks like Charlie Daniels and Ralph Stanley II as musical gods but came to find out they eat eggs for breakfast just like everyone else. LOL They use their talent and their fame for the greater good — for preserving the music, for teaching young folks like me, and for showing what God’s love can do in your life. They taught me that a person is only “famous” in their own head and that using the fact that you are well known for a good purpose is what is important. I also learned that having joy in your music is way more important than getting every note perfect!! 

Something else I’ve learned from sharing stages with folks is the importance of that very act of sharing. It means so much to me and I’ve learned to give that back — I intend to one day share my stage with a kid like me … if they call me up and say can I come play with you, I intend to say yes because I know how it felt for me and I want to pay that forward someday.

Compare and contrast what it’s like for you to play solo and with others. 

I played solo from the beginning … I never thought much about it because that’s all I was used to, all I knew. I learned to only listen to myself play, to adjust what I said or what I played based on my audience or how I wanted to play. But then I started playing with different people who backed me up on the guitar or with whole groups/bands – I began to realize that it wasn’t “The Mackenzie Bell Show” all the time after all. I had to learn how to be a PART of the group, just a cog in the wheel as a whole …. It wasn’t an easy transition but I found that I loved that dynamic and it was the best lesson I could have learned. To join my fiddle with the sounds of an upright bass, guitar, mandolin, even drums! I loved being a part of that whole sound, to work with the other folks on the stage, to know I was one of those components that created the music I loved!! But I still play by myself and came to realize that even alone, I was still part of the audience and the music. Playing alone gave me the confidence to be a strong member of a group and playing with a group made me a better solo player. 

What are your ambitions? Where do you want to go with your music?

My dream is to play on the Grand Ole Opry!! To stand in The Circle and share my music with the world … that is what I am working so hard for. That is my dream … but my ambition is to share my love of bluegrass music with people. I want to continue to make CDs (I already have two), but to make them in Nashville, to tour around the country playing my music and telling people about the history of the music, the culture it came from and still exists in today. I want to make people happy with my music, to make them smile, to feel better, perhaps even to lighten their load a little. God gave me my talent and sent me to my Mama to be here near Rosine, Kentucky, where bluegrass music was born. I want to share His love with people and serve others with my music. I sit and daydream of being on the Opry and would be there in a second if given the chance, but to make a difference in someone’s life with your music… THAT is what I feel is my purpose. That said … I want to have my own tour bus where I can take my kitty cats with me, travel around to shows and festivals, live in Nashville and make CDs and play on the Opry. I think it would be so great to also be a session player in Nashville and maybe work in the business side of it someday after I go to college.

Her teacher Randy Lanham is the Education Director at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Owensboro, Kentucky ……. 

“When I first meet Mackenzie, what impressed me so much about her was the fact that she was already, at such a young age, understanding the concepts of fiddling. She had a natural smooth bow arm and was learning songs really fast.

The last few years I’ve been working with her, she continues to improve in all categories of fiddling, her smooth bowing, the hard technique such as triple shuffle, her stage presence, her ear to learn her own songs. I always tell my students, that my job is to put myself out of a job, to teach my students how to learn their own songs, and Mackenzie is doing that. She learns everything I teach her, and is now learning on her own, and she is not afraid to put in the time and commitment it takes to make it happen. 

I do believe that she will be a professional musician. I rarely see a young musician with so much drive and determination, and the fact that her family support her every move. It used to be that she would ask people to play with them, now they all ask her. She has reached a point that everyone wants her to be a part of what they are doing, whether that is playing in a band, at a festival, a private event, or whatever. That shows me that she is getting a lot of attention naturally. That’s a really good sign that good things are going to continue to happen. Plus, she is just a wonderful kid, funny and a great personality.

One of the things I’m most proud of is her heart to serve others with her God given gift of music. She is always willing to share her music at charity fundraisers or nursing homes. She gets it, that she has this gift and it is not for her own gratification, but to share with others.”

Kristy Westerfield, Registrar and Archivist at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, plays bass with Kings Highway and is also from Ohio County, Kentucky … 

“She works very hard practicing on her fiddle and has a love for learning more about bluegrass.”

Bluegrass Young Uns – John Maupin 

Just turned 12 years of age, Fiddlin’ John Maupin began playing fiddle at the age of four. Since then he has been like a sponge, absorbing so much that by the time he was eight he knew over 200 fiddle tunes.

From Richmond, Kentucky, Maupin has a particular affinity with the old-time fiddle and bluegrass music of his home state. But having had the opportunity to perform at Mulate’s (dubbed ‘The Original Cajun Restaurant’) and the Mahogany Jazz Hall in New Orleans, he enjoys Cajun and jazz music also and has played on Hilton Head Island at Ruby Lee’s and The Jazz Corner.   

As far as bluegrass music is concerned, he has polished his chops with on-stage adventures with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys, Nathan Stanley, Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers, Marty Raybon of Shenandoah, the Farm Hands Bluegrass Quartet, Michael Cleveland, Jeff Guernsey, and the New Coon Creek Girls.  Naturally, he loves to jam.  

Maupin isn’t afraid to test his skills against others and has won both the Morehead Old-Time Fiddle and the Ed Haley Fiddle Competitions for two years in a row.  He was awarded the JP Fraley Scholarship from the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. 

In 2015, a 9-year-old Maupin won the Kentucky Farm Bureau talent show for both Madison County and District level. 

He then went on to perform for the state agencies in Louisville, Kentucky. He also won Willis Music’s Kids Got Talent Contest for the state of Kentucky.  

Maupin has performed on Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour where he was described as a “tsunami of personality and a future IBMA Fiddle Player of Year winner.”

You can find him performing every weekend on stage at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, as a member of the Kentucky Opry Junior Pros. He has been playing with them since he was eight years old, and really enjoys performing and playing with other musicians.

John is also a member of the HASP (Heritage Area String Program) orchestra in Danville, Kentucky, which is under the direction of Jeremy Mulholland. 

Mulholland has been impressed with Maupin’s work ethic and attitude  .. 

“My only experience with his fiddling has been seeing him in a couple of videos, in which he performed exceptionally well. His violin teacher is excellent and always has great students, and John is a hard worker.

I can tell you that he’s a wonderful student, always has a great attitude and is a valuable part of our program in Danville.”

Recently, Fiddlin’ John Maupin was honored with the 2018 Bluegrass Youth Instrumentalist of the Year award presented by the NACMAI (North American Country Music Association International) at a ceremony in Pigeon Forge. “That was really awesome,” he enthused.  

We spoke with John and his parents, and asked him about his experiences in music.

Early on, who influenced your interest in bluegrass music and in what ways did they influence you? 

“I was not born into a musical family. My grandmother bought me a fiddle when I was five. I started playing classical music. Then I discovered bluegrass music. I like how I can play it really fast and hard. 

I have always loved music for as long as I can remember. One of my first songs I can remember was Rocky Top. I was three and I’d make my mom play it over and over. I started music lessons on the piano at four years old. I loved playing, but my teacher said my hands were still too small. I was really sad and upset. So, my grandma took me to the music store and offered to buy me a fiddle because she said they came in all sizes especially for someone little like me. Right after we bought it, we went to a restaurant and I remember wanting to play it right then in the middle of the place without any music lessons.

I started lessons right when I was four. I started out using the Suzuki books. My teacher and my grandmother always had to tell me to SLOW DOWN. Then when I was seven I REALLY fell in love with bluegrass music. I loved it because I could play as loud and fast as I wanted. But I also like it because I can improvise and not go by what a sheet of music says. There were lots of people who got together and jammed playing bluegrass music. So, I started going to a lot of those. That’s when I really got into fiddle and playing a lot more.

Early on I think one of the biggest influences I had early on was Kenny Baker, Bill Monroe, and Ralph Stanley. I really like the sound of the traditional bluegrass. I love the old songs. I also like Ricky Skaggs. I would go to jams or listen to CDs and think ‘I want to learn that song!’ Then I would go back and try to figure it out by ear. Sometimes my grandmother would find the sheet music for me. But a lot of the old songs don’t have sheet music. I really liked to do a combination of the two. My grandmother has helped me a whole lot. She doesn’t play an instrument, but I bet she could if she wanted.   

I also really like Mark O’Connor and Michael Cleveland. Michael and Mark are amazing. I saw Michael Cleveland play once with Jeff Guernsey! Wow. He’s won at least nine IBMA awards alone, I think. I’d like to play like him.” 

Who helped you to build up your knowledge of the 200 fiddle tunes that you learned to play by the age of eight?

“How’d I learn those 200 by the time I was eight? I had lots of help from LOTS of different people. I have had great teachers, lots of family support, and encouragement from lots of people. I have learned from people who play by ear, I’ve been taught to read I have been to lots of jams, I can read music, and I listen to lots of good old bluegrass music. I picked up on things from lots of great musicians. If I hear something I like, I try to learn it and add something extra to make it my own.”

You mention Michael Cleveland … in what ways has been an inspiration to you? Has he been able to give you direct practical advice?

“No direct advice from Michael. I just love his style, how much he has achieved and how hard he works. He has a movie coming out soon and I can’t wait to watch it.”  

You have won both the Morehead Old-Time Fiddle and the Ed Haley Fiddle Competitions two years in a row. How did you get into these competitions and how do you prepare for them?

“Most recently I won the North America Country Music Associations Youth Bluegrass Entertainer of the year. It’s a national competition held in Pigeon Forge. I won all these by practicing. I practice really hard and I practice even when I don’t feel like it!”

One of his teachers Wanda Barnett of the New Coon Creek Girls remembers her early lessons with him… 

“I started John on fiddle when he was five. He still takes lessons. His first performances were with me and my students as part of Earl Barnes’ “Songs of Faith” festivals in Berea, and also at Renfro Valley where I was working at the time. He often would get up and play with the New Coon Creek Girls as well. Always fearless. John has always been a very good practicer and very determined young man. The more complicated or ‘hard’ the fiddle tune the better. He loves playing and learning, and now, entertaining. John has always had an incredible support group pushing him, as well his mother, Jennifer, and his grandmother, Kiki. John, Kiki and Jen are family to me and it’s been a pleasure and delight to watch John grow up and into his fiddling!”

In this video the New Coon Creek Girls back 8-year-old Fiddlin John Maupin as he plays the tune Liberty  ….. 

 

[Recorded by Jennifer Maupin at Meadow Green Music Hall in Clay City, Kentucky]

Ms. Barnett thinks the future of bluegrass music fiddling is in very good hands … 

“I love John. He’s more than a student. He’s my friend too. Just a delightful young man. Inquisitive. We’ve been ‘together’ a long time. It’s a cool feeling knowing that you’re sharing your own talents and life experiences with someone who is truly absorbing them, and is and will be putting them to use. He is learning, bit by bit, who the old masters are; ie Chubby Wise, Kenny Baker. Fiddling past and future is in good hands with John long after I’m gone. He’s the sort who will be working and learning music his whole life. It’s cool to see. A relief really. And fun.”

A year later he was playing the fiddlers’ showpiece tune Orange Blossom Special on stage with Marty Raybon.

[Recorded by Jennifer Maupin, also at Meadow Green Music Hall in Clay City, Kentucky]

Maupin’s interests aren’t limited to music. He is an honor student and enjoys swimming, golf and horse-back riding. His other love is his family’s farm where he has his own herd of cattle. 

Young Uns #4 – Samantha Casey

Samantha Casey’s dad plays the banjo, and both her parents sing. They taught her to sing harmony around the house as a little child. Her mother learned to clog in high school and played the banjo in college but gave it up when she had children. Her great uncle (on her father’s side) played the fiddle. Samantha actually played his fiddle, one which originally belonged to Samantha’s great-grandfather, for a few years before she got her own.

Her father, Daniel, started playing the banjo as a teenager, and he played professionally with The Shady Grove Band based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for five years in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Later he played with local bands, including Roby Huffman & The Bluegrass Cutups, before forming a band with Samantha.

Music was definitely a huge part of Samantha’s childhood.

19 year old Samantha takes up the story …..

“Bluegrass has been in my family since the very beginning. My parents met when my mom decided to take clogging lessons in high school (my dad played banjo and was on the traveling team for the Buck Swamp Kickin’ Cloggers). When my parents were first married, he was the banjo player for The Shady Grove Band, touring the USA and travelling to Europe three times. Both of my parents loved the music and frequently hosted pickin’ parties. My dad left the band to re-open our family’s garden center a few years before I was born.

My mom used to dance with me as a baby to Alison Krauss, and my dad would play banjo to my baby carriage. During car rides we would listen to cassette tapes of The Bluegrass Album Band, Skaggs and Rice, The Lonesome River Band etc.”

Mum, Judy, speaks of her daughter’s apparent first inclinations and explains how Samantha got her first fiddle …

“We have video of me holding Samantha right after she was born. I held her hands and said, ‘These fingers were made for fiddling.’ Thus, we entitled her first CD (at age 10), Born to Fiddle.

When Samantha was two, Daniel bought a ¼-sized fiddle for her just in case she showed an interest in learning to play. She definitely showed an interest! She would hold that fiddle for hours, standing next to Daniel at bluegrass festivals, as if she were jamming too.”

Samantha resumes …..

“My parents taught me to sing three-part harmony around the house and we would have music time almost every night. I started fiddle lessons at the age of five from a family friend, Jan Johansson, in Cary, North Carolina. I would have a lesson every other Friday; my mom and I called them Fiddle Fridays. A year later, I learned my first song by ear (Old Joe Clark) so I could jam with the grown-ups at an upcoming bluegrass festival. I started performing with my Dad when I was seven years old. Our first show was for our local Shrine Club, and soon we started playing for more civic organizations, churches, retirement homes, bluegrass festivals, concerts and street fests.”

Jan Johansson remembers well ….

“I have known Samantha’s parents – Daniel and Judy – since before she was born. I remember one day at a gig in Selma, North Carolina, Judy told me she was pregnant and that I could expect a new student in a few years. Her first lesson was the week of September 11, 2001.”

Those fiddle lessons continued for four years. Samantha wanted to learn, so she practiced daily. It helped that she could practice playing fiddle with her father who played the banjo or guitar with her.  When not performing, the family went to bluegrass concerts, festivals and pickin’ gatherings to give Samantha as much opportunity as possible to hear other bands and to play with other musicians. Along the way her parents took her to a few fiddle workshops with Bobby Hicks, “and she really enjoyed those”, adds her mum.

To back-track a bit, mum adds ….

“She began performing when she was seven years old. She and Daniel did numerous duo shows. As she progressed, she would join Roby Huffman & The Bluegrass Cutups on stage for a song or two. Samantha always loved the stage, and performing with a full-band was fun. We soon added a guitar player and bass player to her band, Samantha Casey & The Bluegrass Jam.”

A landmark event took place when Samantha was 11 years old …….

“………. my mom found out about the Oreo Jingle Contest and my dad and I ended up winning it with our bluegrass version of the jingle. It was such a fun experience!”

Her mum elaborates ….

“In the spring of 2007, I saw a promo online for Nabisco’s National Oreo & Milk Jingle Contest. The contest was for contestants to put their own spin on the Oreo Jingle. We all thought it might be fun to try. We got the fiddle and guitar out in the kitchen one night and came up with a bluegrass version of the Oreo Jingle. One afternoon Samantha and Daniel dressed up in Oreo Colors – Blue/White. We set up a table in our back yard with Oreos and milk on it, and we recorded their bluegrass Oreo Jingle. We sent the VHS tape to Nabisco and about a month later learned we were in the top ten in the country. The top ten videos in the country were then voted on to see who would progress to the top five. We had tremendous local support!!! Radio stations, TV stations and newspapers. . .so many of them. . .all interviewed Samantha! We had support from local churches and schools as well as audiences at her shows. After the voting concluded, we learned we were in the top five in the country. Nabisco flew us to New York City, and Samantha and Daniel competed with the other four finalists in Times Square Studio. There were several judges. Carson Daly was the celebrity judge. Samantha and Daniel WON the contest!  So she is the 2007 National Oreo and Milk Jingle Contest winner.”

 

Samantha quickly became a seasoned fiddle player well-accustomed with the recording studio …

“Our band, Samantha Casey & The Bluegrass Jam, has recorded three CDs (I was age 10, 12 and 15 when they were recorded) and performed throughout eastern North Carolina. Toward the end of my high school career we were playing around 50-60 shows per year. Playing music has been such a blessing to my family and me! Some of my fondest memories are those of late-night jam sessions or band practices at our house.”

continued on page 2…

Young Uns #3 – The Zolla Boys

The Lilly Brothers and, contemporaneously, the Gibson Brothers and the Spinney Brothers have shown that talented musicians who play and sing in the traditional mountain style with verve and intensity don’t have to come from the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia.

The Zolla Boys, Ben, aged 15 years old, and Sam, 14, are from Torrington, in the north-west corner of Connecticut, have the potential to follow such illustrious names as popular entertainers with a broad fan base.

Their singing is natural, with sibling harmonies the essence of each and every performance. The instrumentation is precise during their breaks and neat and tidy in support of the vocals.

Eric Gibson is buoyed by what the Zolla Boys have to offer …..

“The Zolla Boys give me great hope for the future.  I don’t mean to put any pressure on them, but if they keep working hard and having fun, I think their music will take them far. Sam and Ben have the fire. It will be fun to see how they use it.”

 

Ben, now aged 15 years old, speaks of his childhood, as the brothers trace their musical journey …….

“Since I was born, bluegrass was played in our home. I had a radio in my room and my parents would put me to sleep by playing The Cox family and Alison Krauss CDs. We went to many festivals and our dad was always singing and playing guitar and banjo.

Hello, I am Sam, I am 14 and I play mandolin …..

Our family loved having house shows, where we would hire a professional band to play at our house. When I was 11, during a house show with Frank Solivan, a friend of my dad’s gave him a hand-made 7/8 mandolin and told him that one of us kids might want to learn to play it. I called dibs. We researched online lessons and found Mike Marshall through ArtistWorks.

(Ben) Once my brother had an instrument, I thought I would like to try to learn too. I really liked the sound of the fiddle and thought I would like to learn that, however my dad thought it would be easier to learn guitar first. He started me out with a Takamine 000 that had belonged to my grandmother. I learned a few chords and then signed up with online music classes. I made my first submission to Bryan Sutton through ArtistsWorks when I was 12.

(Sam) After about a year with ArtistWorks we decided I was ready for a new mandolin. I have so many mandolin players that I just love, Jesse Brock, Frank Solivan, Chris Thile but I would have to say Adam Steffey has been always been my favorite. We researched what mandolins he plays and we came across Northfield Mandolins. When we called them to see where we could try one out in our area something wonderful happened. The timing was perfect. The demo mandolin that Adam Steffey plays in the videos was sitting in the Northfield shop and the owners were willing to sell it to me. It is serial #F0001 the first instrument made in that F5 series. Even though I am only 14, I have tried out a lot of mandolins at music stores, festivals and other musicians’ instruments and I still love mine the best and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

(Ben) I now own a Martin D28V and I am so happy with it. We played in jams at festivals and tried to learn as much as we could in those weekends. We started singing together pretty quickly after that first year. Our dad would teach one of us the lead and the other the tenor. It was tricky at first but once we got it all the other songs were pretty easy. My musical influences were/are Tony Rice (of course) and Bryan Sutton. Both of our favorite bands today are Balsam Range, the Gibson Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Special Consensus, Del McCoury, Hot Rize and so many more.

(Sam) Although we are big fans of so many different bands, we play a quite a bit of old brother duets. We love the Louvin Brothers, Jim and Jesse, the Blue Sky Boys and the Everly Brothers.

(Ben) In June 2014, we entered into a band contest at Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival in Tunbridge, Vermont. The winner of the contest would win a spot Sunday on the main stage. It was our first time to Vermont and we had a great weekend. We did win the contest and it was a thrill to perform for such a great bluegrass crowd. We also got to jam with the Boxcars during the open jam session which was awesome!

(Sam) After the jam, Adam Steffey told me to find him at the festival the next day and that he wanted to play with me. I did and it was the greatest day ever! He is as great of a person as he is a mandolin player! After Jenny Brook, Grey Fox asked if we would play on the emerging artist stage. From our view it doesn’t get any bigger than Grey Fox, so we were thrilled! Then it just started happening, little by little we would be adding another great festival or venue to our schedule. In 2015 we played the main stage at Joe Val, Strawberry Park, Jenny Brook, Grey Fox, Podunk and Blistered Fingers.”

 

The Zolla Boys have very supportive parents and dad, Larry, has actually become a member of the band, initially playing guitar and now playing upright bass. Well, the boys do need a driver!

Mum, Amanda, attends to the bookings and does the photography.

Larry grew up listening to folk/country rock, to John Denver and the Eagles among other notables, but when he heard some old Osborne Brothers records he was immediately attracted to bluegrass music and the banjo. He got his first banjo for Christmas when he was 14 and he took lessons at a music store in town.

A visit to what was back then was called The Berkshire Mountains Bluegrass Festival (Winterhawk /Grey Fox) sealed his love for bluegrass music once and for all. He remembers, “I heard Jim and Jesse singing Paradise (John Prine) and the harmonies just struck me.”

The habit, stimulated by attending the Winterhawk festival for 25 years in a row, is one that both parents have encouraged in Ben and Sam and it is evident that both youngsters enjoy the environment.

The Zolla Boys, the name stems from time spent at St. Anthony School, at nearby Winstead. While there, Ben, Sam and brother Tommy, now 12, were commonly known as ‘the Zolla Boys.’ The name stuck, according to the local news outlet, The Register Citizen.

Ben says, “[Tommy] does not have any interest in playing with us. He actually does not even like bluegrass!”

Another adult who plays with the Zolla Boys is banjo ace Richard Underwood.

Larry Zolla relates how Underwood came to be involved ……

“I knew Richard Underwood, because his wife, Nancy was a friend I had met through other people in the music from our area. My old band opened for the Johnson Mountain Boys back in 1984, when they played some Connecticut shows. I have always stayed friends with them and we saw more of each other when they (Richard and Nancy) moved back to Massachusetts, after living in Maryland for 25 years.”

He goes on to say ….

“The boys have been fortunate to have as influences, some of the friends I have made in music the past 20 years. Eric and Leigh Gibson, who I met over 17 years ago, have been huge inspirations and role models. (As well as being just wonderful people in general).

Wayne Taylor ([formerly a member of the] US Navy Band), and Frank Solivan I would include with them.  Can’t say enough good things about them.”

Another who has provided some invaluable bits of information is Rounder Records’ A&R man Ken Irwin. He make this assessment of the Zolla Boys’ progress ……

“…..  they are taking their time and learning as much as they can about the brother duets and learning new songs, all while keeping up with their schooling. They have a passion for the music and for brother duets in particular, but they are also finding material elsewhere and adapting it their music.

They seem to be going about their music in an appropriate and professional manner, working at a pace that is comfortable to them. I think that they understand that there is only one chance to make a first impression and continue to work on their music until they feel comfortable with taking it to the next level.

I think it’s great that they are not jumping in with both feet the way too many other acts do and have done.

I very much look forward to their continuing development. If they continue to grow as they have over the years I have known them, we’ll all be in for quite a treat.”

A sign of the Zolla Boys’ current status can be found in their impending first visit to Kentucky this coming week.

Anchored by an appearance on WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Lexington, (on October 26th) the Zolla Boys will, over four days, play for “30,000 students our age at The Freedom Hall in Louisville” (members of the National FFA Organization, October 26th – 30th); “We are hoping to bring some new young fans to bluegrass music,” Ben adds.

The mini-tour will conclude with a show in Clay City with the Kentucky Friends of Bluegrass (October 3st).

I am sure that all who witness these appearances will find the Zolla Boys are a joy to watch, and to listen to, and will be looking forward to hearing their recordings, but only when the Zolla Boys are comfortable, secure in the knowledge that they have polished the required skills.

Take it steady boys !!

Young Uns #2 – Ashley Lilly

“When we saw first saw Ashley her father, Dr. Everett Lilly, said she was just starting to sing publicly. It was at WOB 2008, and she was 10 years old. I believe that was the last year of the Roots and Branches stage over in the ballroom at the Convention Center. We went over to that stage for some reason, and hung around for quite a while.

Tiffany Underwood was the lead singer of the Songcatchers at that time, and she is a very powerful singer. Ashley hung around at the back of the stage until she was called to the mic to sing Little Cabin Home on the Hill. There is a YouTube video of that performance, and it shows exactly what we saw; a young, nervous, perhaps shy little girl with a sweet voice. It was pretty clear that she somehow understood, without knowing why, that it was important for her to sing.

My main thoughts were about the very public display of what traditional music is all about. The multi-generational aspect of the Songcatchers really hit home as I witnessed the young learning from an older generation. The image of Dr. Lilly passing his love of music and playing that music with the younger members of the group really hit home. I felt like I was on a public front porch.”

Pam Warren, superfan, offering a carefully considered view of Ashley Lilly, the subject of this instalment of the Young Uns.

Ashley Lilly, as her names strongly suggests, was born into a musical family. Her grandfather was Everett Lilly of the Lilly Brothers fame.

As well as singing with The Songcatchers, she has recorded with the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, singing on two tracks; How Deep The Father’s Love For Us and Always The One. In his review of their second album, The Farthest Horizon, John Lawless describes her contribution as “a most welcome addition.”

DJ Jim Beaver, of radio station WHUS in North Carolina, has this to say about the album and Miss Lilly …

“It’s going to surprise everyone. The biggest surprise is Ashley Lilly doing an incredible job of singing How Deep the Father’s Love For Us, I can tell you Ashley can certainly carry on the family legacy.”

I spoke to Ashley Lilly, a 7th grade student at St Francis De Sales School, Beckley, West Virginia, and her understandably-protective father Everett Lilly Jr ….

First, we hear from the proud papa.

“Ashley is, of course, the next generation in our musical family. Her grandfather is Everett Lilly Sr., who played and recorded with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, among other things. I have also played bluegrass music professionally for many years and played onstage and/or recorded with Bill Monroe, Vassar Clements, Bill Keith and Jim Rooney, The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover (made the Japan tours with them), and of course the Charles River Valley Boys out of Boston when we recorded Beatle Country on Elektra (later released again on Rounder).

When Ashley was quite small she and her mother, Karen Cummings-Lilly, often accompanied me on music trips. She caught quite a bit of attention dancing backstage at the IBMA when my Dad and all of us were warming up once, and she was just doing this naturally. Later she would often, on her own, come up and join me on the stage and just stand by me while we did our show.

When Ashley was eight years old and we were on the road she suddenly asked, ‘Daddy, can I join The Songcatchers?’ My wife and I were both quite surprised as she had never really sang for us. I replied that she could but would have to learn some of our songs.

At this point we hear this voice in the backseat singing one after another of our songs. When I asked where she had learned all of this she replied, “Do you think I haven’t been paying attention” Three months later Ashley, who had just turned age nine, sang Little Cabin Home on the Hill at our IBMA show in Nashville. That song is still on YouTube and I hope it stays there forever.”

 

And now, Ashley in her own words, about how she approaches music.

“I’ve always liked music. I didn’t really think about it. It was like second nature and I just did it.

 Yes, the music is in my blood. My grandfather and his brother were famous bluegrass musicians, and my father has played the music a long time too.

I first sang with The Songcatchers at an outdoor park. I was really nervous, but did just fine. I no longer feel nervous when I perform.

What I look for in a song are lyrics that I can relate to. This includes songs that have meaning but also songs that have my personality in them. I sing about everything. I have never encountered a genre that I don’t like. If it is a pop song I like a catchy tune and a good beat.

Because I listen to a lot of music I can sing a lot of different types of songs. I really like complicated high notes as well. I like a challenge so that when I get the song right I feel like I really accomplished something.

My favorite songs include different types of music. So I like How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (which I recorded with The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys), Can’t You Hear Me Calling?, and Baby You Don’t Know My Mind. Some other types of songs include That’s What You Get by Paramore, Are You Happy Now? by Michele Branch, Good Girl by Carrie Underwood, and Losing Grip by Avril Lavigne.

I have been concentrating on my singing, but am learning the guitar and the piano.

 I take off from school as necessary, and make up the work or take it with me. It is always worth it.

I am the lead singer for The Songcatchers and I need to make sure I do my best on all shows. I am also doing some things on my own. For instance, I recorded on the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys new CD, The Farthest Horizon and I performed with them on their show at the IBMA in Nashville. I will be going to Boston with my Dad to perform with The Charles River Valley Boys on the Joe Val Festival in a couple of weeks. I think I might be singing a high tenor on a couple of their songs which will be new for me.”

continued on the next page…

Young Uns #1 – Paige Anderson and the Fearless Kin

We never cease to be enchanted by the youthful vigour of young musical talent. 

Young Uns in bluegrass go back as far as Earl Scruggs pictured with his banjo-playing older brother Junie. Since then, there has been a young Sonny Osborne playing banjo with Bill Monroe, a teen-aged J.D. Crowe with Mac Wiseman, and a seven year old Ricky Skaggs singing Ruby on the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show. Precociousness personified.

More recently (can it really be 20 years ago since their debut appearance at WoB?), the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars – Michael Cleveland, Josh Williams, Chris Thile, Cody Kilby and Brady Stogdill – and Alison Krauss and Sierra Hull were both in high school when their debut albums were released.

Also, Ron Stewart toured with his family band as a youngster, as did Darrin and Rhonda Vincent.

All have brought great pleasure to all who have witnessed their prodigious talents. But, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

There are learning facilities for kids at some bluegrass festivals and the IBMM has a very nice programme that provides both instruments and instruction at the museum, offered to young pickers at little or no cost. The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation has a similar program called Play It Forward, which is now being replicated by other groups.

Paige Anderson and the Fearless Kin 

I became aware of Paige Anderson and the Fearless Kin when they were listed as the youngest band appearing at this year’s San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival (February 7th  – 17th).

The Fearless Kin is a teenage trio of Paige (18 years) a bluegrass flatpicking prodigy and promising young songwriter [she also plays bass and clawhammer banjo], with siblings Aimee (17 years, who plays fiddle), and Ethan Anderson (14 years, who plays mandolin and bass as his main instruments, helps little sister Daisy on Dobro® sometimes, and plays the banjo a little).

Keeping them in order is mum Christy Anderson, who plays bass.

Starting as the Anderson Family Bluegrass they have been traveling around the US, playing at various well known festivals and venues since 2004.

Their first album, a six-track EP, Wild Rabbit, (released in December 2012) reveals that they write powerful original songs with arrangements beyond the formative age of the players. Allied to that are strong, sibling harmonies with vocal stylings resembling that from the Appalachian mountains.

I talked to Paige, asking ………

How did you get into music? 

My Dad started playing the banjo back in 2004, and he wanted someone to play music with. He had an old nylon string guitar (it was his from high school) in the closet, handed it to me, and showed me a few chords. It all started there!

I started taking guitar lessons from local Grass Valley/Nevada City musician Barry Angell for a couple of years, and after that I started learning on my own and having help every so often with Kathy Barwick (musician and guitar player extraordinaire from Sacramento, CA). Kathy has been such a great mentor and female role model for me throughout the years.

My sister Aimee and brother Ethan started the same time as me (2004) on the fiddle and mandolin. My mom Christy later then picked up the bass, youngest sibling Daisy started on the little fiddle, and our musical adventure with Anderson Family Bluegrass started.

When we started out, my Mom was home schooling us, then after school all us kids would go upstairs and practice either together or individually, with Mom helping. Dad would come back home and we’d all practice the set with the family. Our parents have always taught us a good work ethic when it comes to music, working, and life.

We live on 5 acres here in the hills of Grass Valley, cut our own wood for the winter, maintain the property, have an organic garden, and so on. It’s not that they “push” us kids with the music, they’ve just taught us that anything takes hard work, whether it be music or life. I really appreciate that we’ve been raised that way. I think there was a good balance between free time and work for us. It helps, too, that all of us kids love music dearly and have fun with it.

Who are your main influences? 

I’m influenced by all kinds of different music. My flat picking heroes are Clarence White, Doc Watson, Kathy Barwick, Jim Hurst, and many others. Aside from bluegrass, I also listen to a lot of old Appalachian music, blues, folk, old country, and Americana music.

How did each of you pick the instrument that you play?

When my Dad handed me his old guitar, I loved it and didn’t ever think of switching instruments. As a family, we went to CBA’s (California Bluegrass Associations) Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival and watched the “Kids on Bluegrass” program (2004). Aimee saw someone playing fiddle and decided then that it was going to be her instrument, and Ethan saw the mandolin and thought the same thing. Mom later picked up the bass, and Daisy the little fiddle. In 2009 Daisy decided she wanted to play a different instrument than Aimee, so Daisy picked up the Dobro. She’s been playing it since then and loves it!

Tell me a bit more about your siblings; when did each become interested in music and what are their hopes as far as their music is concerned? 

Aimee (currently 17, plays fiddle) and Ethan (currently 14, plays mandolin and bass) became interested in music the same time I did (2004), and Daisy (going to be 12 pretty soon) became interested in music a few months after that and picked up the little fiddle, later the Dobro®.

All of us kids have passions aside from music, for Aimee it’s photography, for Ethan it’s computer stuff, and for Daisy it’s painting, but they all want to incorporate this musical journey into their lives and see where it goes. Aimee wants to combine traveling, music, and her photography, which I think is awesome because music gives you that opportunity to travel and see the world.

Who has influenced you and them most? 

Some of our main influences are Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens, Flatt & Scruggs, The Carter Family, and Vern Williams.

Paige, from where does your inspiration come for writing songs? 

I think I get a lot of inspiration for my songs from hardships, true stories, history, death, scenery, and life in general.

I co-wrote my very first song with Chuck Ragan back in 2009, and ever since then writing has been a huge part of my life. Chuck and I wrote a song about a true story, a woman from Arizona who was abducted by Indians in the 1800’s, was forced to walk along the treacherous Santa Rita Mountains in Southern Arizona, managed to escape, and survive. My grandpa (whom we call Papa and lives South of Tucson, AZ) told me the story and it really sparked the idea for that song. Chuck Ragan co-wrote it with me, and I honestly think if it weren’t for him and his encouraging words of wisdom about songwriting, I wouldn’t be writing like I am today.

Chuck is a folk/punk rock artist paving a path for folks who are along the similar genre. You can check out his music at http://chuckraganmusic.com to get a better idea of what his sound is.

Does one of your songs have a really interesting back story? If so, which? 

Each one of my songs has a special meaning to me, but one that particularly stands out is called Where Did You Go. My family and I have been playing music together since 2004, and during that time we’ve met so many people whom have become close family friends and then passed away. I’ve experienced a lot of death, feelings of loss, and watching the grief of others. My Dad, sister Aimee and I have even seen someone die of a heart attack right in front of us at a festival.

I think the comfort in letting go and realizing life begins, and life ends at some point, has really been an interesting topic for me to think about. Where Did You Go is a song about that. It’s touched a lot of people that have heard that song, and that makes me feel good that I can pass along an emotion like that in one of my songs.

 

What are your hopes for 2013?

Well, right now I’m going to Sierra College (Grass Valley) and taking business to get a little more knowledge under my belt (music business classes start in the Fall), and I’m planning on booking more gigs and touring with my band, Paige Anderson & The Fearless Kin.

Anderson Family Bluegrass is still going strong and playing festivals and events (next event being the Benson Arizona Bluegrass Festival, April 27th & 28th). I graduated from high school last year, and I want to pursue music as my career. I know that music isn’t the easiest path, but I love it. It’s something that I’m so passionate about and couldn’t imagine life without it. I honestly couldn’t have an office job, not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just not me as a person. I want to travel and share our music with as many people as we can.

So my hopes for 2013 are to write more tunes, play more music, travel, and do what we all love!

 

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