Upcoming Bluegrass Related Events

9 time IBMA "Guitarist of the Year" Bryan Sutton fronts a young hot picking bluegrass band.

On Friday, June 10th at 7:30 p.m. the Blue Moon Coffeehouse in Rockland closes out their season with the award-winning bluegrass quartet, Three Tall Pines. The group’s timeless songs persuade listeners that bygone eras were just a short while ago. According to W. J. Hallock, writing for No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music, "Their talent is that they can write so simply, yet expansively, that each individual listener’s memories and experiences are jostled loose, enhanced by the music and enjoyed all over again. Songwriters who can make the listener a participant in their compositions are truly gifted." Other critics have recognized the band's ability to give voice to the past. They were named 2011 Bluegrass Band of the Year by the Motif Arts Magazine and were the winners of the Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival band competition. Short While Ago, the band’s debut album, won top prizes from Ourstage.com (#1 in bluegrass, July 2008), the Ossipee Valley Songwriting Contest (third place, August 2008), and garnered a finalist ranking in the national Newsong Contest run by NPR’s Mountain Stage. The band has recorded two other albums:  All That’s Leftand Taproot.  They have played festivals and venues all over the US and Europe. After their Blue Moon show, they are off to New York, then Amsterdam, then Denmark.  Tickets are $10 at the door; children 12 and under are free.  The address is 45 Webster Street, Rockland.  For more information visit www.thebluemooncoffeehouse.com.  To listen to the band, visit www.threetallpines.com

Mole Hill Theatre presents contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet The Stockwell Brothers Band on Friday, June 10 at 7:30 pm. 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 United States and in Canada and Europe.  As a trio, they have released two albums, Stobro and Leave My Dreams Alone.  “Tasty arrangements; brotherly harmonies, perfectly blended instruments and great songs.” – Music Revue Mole Hill Theatre is located at 789 Gilsum Mine Road in Alstead, NH.  Tickets are $10 At the Door.  This is an all ages listening event.  BYOB.  For information, call 603-352-2585.  For more information, visit www. stockwellbrothers.com.

Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer Michael Daves (Thile-Daves, Tony Trischka) performs in support of his recently released two-disc set, Orchids and Violence (Nonesuch Records).  Joining him are banjoist Noam Pikelny (Punch Brothers) and fiddler Brittany Haas (Crooked Still, Haas Kowert Tice).

Long recognized and praised as a creative force in acoustic music, Claire Lynch is a pioneer who continually pushes the boundaries of the bluegrass genre. She was the 2013 Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and a 2012 recipient of the United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Her career has been decorated with many other accolades including two GRAMMY nominations and three International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist awards in 2010 and 1997. Recently, at the 2014 IBMA Awards, she received two trophies: "Song of the Year" and "Recorded Event of the Year.” Dolly Parton credits Claire with "one of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today   Riverwalk Cafe and Music Bar is a unique venue and listening room, delivering "Craft Coffee, Craft Cocktails, and Craft Music" under a single roof.