Upcoming Bluegrass Related Events

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary bluegrass and folk music with The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers Band at Next Stage on Friday, June 30 at 7:30 pm. The Lonely Heartstring Band is Berklee College of Music graduates George Clements, Patrick M'Gonigle, Matt Witler, Gabe Hirshfeld and Charles Clements.  Their music is a combination of old and new styles, melding the sounds of traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting and arranging.  Featuring soulful instrumental virtuosity and soaring three-part harmonies, the quintet has generated a devoted following of music-lovers across North America, performing and headlining at major music festivals and venues since 2012.  Whether it’s a festival stage, theater or intimate listening room, The Lonely Heartstring Band always delivers a dynamic, diverse and heartfelt performance.  “These are musicians of dynamic imagination and massive musical talent” -  Elmore Magazine.  “The Lonely Heartstring Band, may well be a precursor of what bluegrass music will sound like in the future" - Bluegrass Today Bruce, Barry, Alan and Kelly Stockwell's music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms and three-part harmonies.  They cover straight ahead bluegrass songs, finger picked acoustic guitar ballads, full tilt breakdowns and traditional mandolin tunes mixed in with more unusual fare - Americana melodies riding world beat grooves and Celtic, jazzy, even neo-classical instrumentals.   Featuring 2005 Merlefest bluegrass banjo contest winner Bruce Stockwell, The Stockwell Brothers have performed alongside artists from Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs to Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Jonathan Edwards and Asleep At The Wheel, recorded with Mike Auldridge and Phil Rosenthal of the bluegrass supergroup The Seldom Scene, and toured throughout the … Read More »

Unlike rock 'n' roll, bluegrass music's boundaries are often defined in very narrow terms and that has caused some bands to carefully consider their place within the genre. But, in order to survive, everything must evolve... even bluegrass. Enter the Infamous Stringdusters, the very model of a major modern bluegrass band. “At a certain point in our career, there was hesitation in calling us a bluegrass band,” guitarist Andy Falco admits. “These days, we’re much more comfortable with that label.” Banjo man Chris Pandolfi echoes the point: “We love bluegrass, but we have been influenced by other genres as much, if not more. When it comes to making music, we always try to be a blank slate and give new songs whatever they need to come to life. We just try to make something good, something that is true to who we are.” On Laws of Gravity, that's exactly what the Infamous Stringdusters — Andy Hall (dobro), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass), in addition to Falco and Pandolfi — have done. Their seventh studio set further proves that the band's collective whole is far greater than the sum of its individual parts, as the song selection and pitch-perfect performances weighs the Stringdusters' appeal to traditional fans against their musical quest to attract new listeners. It's a balance that comes naturally to the band. Here, trad-leaning tunes like “Freedom,” “A Hard Life Makes a Good Song,” “Maxwell,” and “1901: A Canyon Odyssey” pick hard and soar high, letting trade-off solos and layered vocal harmonies work their magic. As it continues on, Gravity reaches its roots deep and wide, but never sacrifices the wings of the band, as exemplified in tracks like “Back Home” … Read More »

David Davis and the Warrior River Boys have been performing traditional bluegrass for over thirty years.  An Alabama native and member of the Alabama Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, David Davis is the frontman for the group and is an accomplished practitioner of the Bill Monroe mandolin technique. Other members of the band include Robert Montgomery on banjo, Marty Hays on bass and vocals, Stan Wilemon on the guitar and singing lead and harmony vocals, and Phillip James who plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bass.   “To give them their proper due, Davis albums should come leather-bound as is afforded the finest classic writing… Fresh, vibrant, and inventive, David and the Band have ideally captured their truly unique approach to bluegrass.” Donald Teplyske-The Lonesome Review.   “Whether festivals, big city nightclubs, concert halls or local coffeehouses…frontman David Davis and the Warrior River Boys jam a big Bluegrass wallop into a concise package for today’s audiences…hard-charging energy that makes it stand out from the pack” Bluegrass Unlimited.