Boston Bluegrass Union

Bluegrass Jam Camp at Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival
2023-08-28 - 2023-08-30 | Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, 29 Meadow Rd, Brunswick, ME, 04011, United States
Check out this Pre-Festival Jam Camp on Monday- Wednesday before the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival! Join teaching artist Austin Scelzo for Wernick Method Classes teach real bluegrass jamming! Take the classes, miss none of the stage show!
Austin plays with Rock Hearts and On The Trail and is a seasoned musician and trained Wernick Method instructor.
* Hands-on learning in large and small groups
* No jamming experience necessary
* You will be jamming the first hour!
* All bluegrass instruments welcome
* Intermediates welcome, and given added challenges
* Friendly, encouraging, knowledgeable teaching
* Gentle tempos! Mistakes expected!
* Music/tab reading not needed or used
Learn many bluegrass standards
How to lead songs and how to follow new songs
How to find melodies, fake solos, sing harmony
Group and individualized instruction on backup skills
Understanding, low-pressure, time-tested teaching
Register at: https://wernickmethod.org/event/as-2023-08-brunswick

Concord Conservatory Open Bluegrass Jam
2023-08-24 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-08-17 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-08-10 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-08-03 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-27 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-20 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-13 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-06 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) and 3 more dates | Concord Conservatory of Music, 1317 Main Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
The Open Bluegrass Jam is back!
Thursdays, 7:30 – 9:00 pm in the sanctuary
Open to bluegrass players at all levels – guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro, bass, singers – join Max Anderson as he calls the tunes, posts the charts, and leads the group (at a manageable speed) through the great repertoire of tunes and songs from the bluegrass tradition.
Open to musicians and those who just want to listen and observe.
Jam dates:
December 2, 9, and 16, January 6, 13, 20, and 27, February 3, 10, and 17, March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, April 7, 14, and 28, May 5, 12, 19, and 26
$10 suggested donation is greatly appreciated to support the program.

Tuftonboro Country, Bluegrass and Gospel Jam session
2023-08-22 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-08-15 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-08-08 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-08-01 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-07-25 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-07-18 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-07-11 18:30 - 21:30, 2023-07-04 18:30 - 21:30 and 3 more dates | The Old White Church, Center Tuftonboro, NH
The weekly Tuftonboro Country, Bluegrass & Gospel Music Jam Session continues at the historic Old White Church of Center Tuftonboro every Tuesday from 6:30 until about 9:30 pm. Fans of country, bluegrass and gospel music are invited to enjoy an evening of music. There is no admission charge, a donation is requested to help cover operational expenses. The Church is located on Route 109A, just across from the Tuftonboro General Store & Post Office. Everyone is invited to attend the jam session while enjoying cookies and a cup of coffee. For more info call Joe at 569-3861.

Darin and Brooke Aldridge
2023-08-12 20:00 - 22:00 | The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), 14 Summer Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Darin and Brooke Aldridge are excited. And why not? With two new band members, a new record label, and five original songs on their latest album, the bluegrass and Americana duo are back with This Life We’re Livin,’ their ninth recorded project together and first release on Billy Blue Records. This Life We’re Livin’ celebrates the space the husband-and-wife team now occupies – the top of bluegrass music.
Armed with the talents of the proverbial Triple Threat of uniquely distinctive singing, commanding instrumental skills, and accomplished songwriting, Darin and Brooke continue to ascend to new heights in the industry while maintaining their easy-going, down-to-earth connection with audiences everywhere. Brooke, a former runner-up on TV’s Nashville Star, is a four-time consecutive winner and reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). She is nominated for a fifth time in 2021. Once a six-year member of The Country Gentlemen with the late Charlie Waller, Darin is a former IBMA Mentor of the Year and a truly gifted singer and multi-instrumentalist. Together with their band – Billy Gee on bass, Samantha Snyder on fiddle, and Jacob Metz on banjo and resonator guitar – Darin and Brooke have been recognized with the IBMA’s nomination for 2021 Vocal Group of the Year. They have had multiple nominations over the years from the IBMA, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA), and the Inspirational Country Music Association. They have enjoyed top spots on the Billboard, SiriusXM, Bluegrass Today, Bluegrass Unlimited, Americana/Roots, and Gospel charts. Their music videos have been featured on Country Music Television (CMT), CMT Edge, Great American Country (GAC), Bluegrass Ridge TV, and The Bluegrass Situation. Their television appearances include PBS’ Mountain Stage, Songs of the Mountain and Music City Roots; RFD-TV’s Larry’s Country Diner, Country’s Family Reunion, and The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour; Great American Gospel, The Bluegrass Road, and Blue Highways TV. Their long-held dream to one day play the Grand Ole Opry came true on July 4, 2017, and since then, they have graced the Opry stage more than 30 times.
Their rise became especially meteoric when they joined forces in 2016 with John Cowan, who plays bass for The Doobie Brothers and is a member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame as cofounder of New Grass Revival. This collaboration has led to performance opportunities with artists ranging from bluesman Keb Mo’ to stints with Country Music Hall of Famers Vince Gill and Jimmy Fortune (The Statler Brothers). Says Cowan, “When someone asks me what I love most about Brooke and Darin, my response is – everything! Brooke’s angelic singing, Darin’s rock-solid baritone tucked up under her wings, their musicianship. But mostly, it’s their commitment to their beliefs that renders them to be gracious, concerned, and helpful to all they encounter. My music and interior life have been so tremendously enriched by the gift of their friendship.”

Missy Raines & Allegheny
2023-08-06 19:00 - 21:30 | Cafe Amici, 1640 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT, 06517, United States
11-time IBMA bluegrass bass player of the year Missy Raines is touring with her new bluegrass band, Missy Raines & Allegheny. This band is a significant nod, and return, to her deep bluegrass roots. The music is traditional and hard-driving at its core, but energized with Raines’ well-known penchant for originality and innovation.

Missy Raines & Allegheny features some of the brightest young stars in bluegrass today with Tristan Scroggins on mandolin, Ellie Hakanson on fiddle, Ben Garnett on guitar, and Eli Gilbert on banjo. Their new album, Highlander, produced by Alison Brown, is scheduled for release on Compass Records in 2023.

Fiddlers Three Concert in Tuftonboro, Sunday, August 6
2023-08-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Old White Church of Center Tuftonboro, 149 Middle Road (Route 109A),, CENTER TUFTONBORO, NH, 03816, United States
The well-known fiddlers, Ellen Carlson, Melissa Caron and Kathy Sommer, will perform a concert at The Old White Church in Center Tuftonboro, on Sunday, August 6 at 7:00 pm. The Church is located at 149 Middle Road (Route 109A), across from the Tuftonboro General Store & Post Office. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Pay at the door, cash or check.
Fiddlers Three, accompanied by Shana Aisenberg on guitar and Brendan Dowd on bass. feature spectacular high energy and sweet-sounding fiddles along with resonant heartfelt vocals. The trio has been fiddling together for years with a fun approach to many styles of music and to hear them perform is a joy.
The historic Old White Church of Center Tuftonboro located on Route 109A, just across from the Tuftonboro General Store & Post Office, is an intimate, cozy setting that regularly hosts weekly Country & Bluegrass jam sessions and other music concerts. The doors will open at 6:00 pm, and the concert begins at 7:00 pm. Seating is limited to 100, so be sure to come early to avoid disappointment. For more information about this concert or to reserve tickets, call Joe Ewing at 603-569-3861.

The Earls of Leicester feat. Jerry Douglas
2023-07-28 20:00 - 22:00 | The Cabot, 286 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA, 01915, United States
Shawn Camp (guitar, lead vocals) – Charlie Cushman (banjo, guitars) – Jerry Douglas (Dobro, vocals) – Johnny Warren (fiddle, bass vocals) – Jeff White (mandolin, vocals)
When the Earls of Leicester formed in 2013, their mission was ambitious but exact: to preserve and promote the legacy of bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, in hopes of reviving the duo’s music for longtime admirers and introducing a new generation to their genre-defining sound. Within a year of releasing their self-titled debut, the Nashville-based six-piece far surpassed their own expectations, winning a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album and earning six awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Now, with their first live album, Earls of Leicester offer up a selection of songs that fully capture the pure joy and supreme musicianship that propel their every performance.
Recorded over two nights at Nashville’s CMA Theater, The Earls of Leicester Live at The CMA Theater in The Country Music Hall of Fame bears a boundless vitality that makes songs from over a half-century ago feel irresistibly fresh. Despite the band’s painstaking precision in recreating the catalog of Flatt and Scruggs’s Foggy Mountain Boys, the album unfolds with an easy warmth that honors the essence of traditional bluegrass, which Douglas describes as “music that was meant to be played on back porches.” Earls of Leicester Live is also accompanied by a DVD that shows the complete splendor of their live set: the throwback attire, the off-the-cuff but illuminating between-song banter, the relentless hotfooting required of their stage setup. “Our goal is to go out and reacquaint everybody with the music of Flatt and Scruggs just the way they did it, which means fewer microphones and a good amount of choreography,” says Douglas. “We’re trying to put as much as we can into the music before it even reaches the speakers.”
Made up entirely of songs from 1954 to 1965, Earls of Leicester Live combines classic tunes with more obscure numbers unearthed thanks to the band’s encyclopedic familiarity with Flatt and Scruggs’s body of work. To that end, the setlist includes notorious crowd-pleasers like “Martha White Theme Song” (originally penned as a jingle for Martha White Self-Rising Flour) and “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (a breakneck-paced, banjo-driven instrumental popularized thanks to its use in Bonnie and Clyde), as well as the harmony-laced “You Can Feel It in Your Soul” and the sweetly crooning “All I Want Is You.” Earls of Leicester Live also serves up several tracks integral to Flatt and Scruggs legend—including “I’m Gonna Sleep with One Eye Open,” a song famously banned from the Grand Ole Opry—along with more oddball offerings like the gracefully sprawling two-part instrumental “Steel Guitar Blues/Spanish Two Step.” And in one of the album’s most poignant moments, the Earls of Leicester deliver the wistfully lilting “Reunion in Heaven”—a song the band performed at Foggy Mountain Boys mandolin player/vocalist Curly Seckler’s gravesite earlier this year, as per Seckler’s personal request.
Throughout Earls of Leicester Live, the band wholeheartedly channels the spirit of Flatt and Scruggs while allowing each member’s distinct charm and singular musicality to shine through. And though their unbridled passion instantly stirs up a freewheeling energy, a closer listen reveals the profound mastery of skill infused into each performance. “This is the result of years and years of trying out different instruments, different string gauges, different techniques to try to create these sounds,” Douglas notes. In that process, he adds, the Earls of Leicester eventually dug up decades-old instruments in order to achieve the ideal texture and tone they were seeking. “Everybody in the band plays something old,” says Douglas. “This music just sounds so much more true to form when it’s played on old instruments.”
For Douglas—a 14-time Grammy Award-winner who founded the Earls of Leicester and produces all their material—that approach builds on a lifelong dedication to studying the music of Flatt and Scruggs. Soon after hearing the Foggy Mountain Boys at age seven, he devoted himself to deconstructing their recordings, paying particular attention to the captivating Dobro work of Josh Graves. “I remember sitting by the record player and trying to figure out what Josh Graves was doing,” he says. “There was no one to teach me, so I just had to listen.”
Douglas attended a number of Flatt and Scruggs concerts as a kid, and later played with each musician on separate occasions. Although his own prolific career as a musician and producer has kept him more than occupied over the years—including appearing on more than 1,600 albums, recording with the likes of Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, and Elvis Costello—Douglas was unable to shake his vision of one day revisiting the music of Flatt and Scruggs. “I probably could have stayed focused on everything else I’ve got going on, but this just haunted me,” he says.
As Douglas points out, the most crucial factor in forming the Earls of Leicester was replicating the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry that long fueled Flatt and Scruggs. “I looked for years to find the group I needed for the alchemy to work,” he says. In the end, Douglas landed on the lineup of Shawn Camp (Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton), Jeff White (Vince Gill, Loretta Lynn), Charlie Cushman (Jimmy Martin, Mel Tillis), Johnny Warren (son of Foggy Mountain Boys’ Paul Warren), and Barry Bales (Alison Krauss & Union Station)—and found himself beyond floored by their immediate synergy. “I had to stop the band in the middle of the first song, because I was scared to keep going—it felt like Flatt and Scruggs were going to jump right out of the wall,” he says in reflecting on their first meeting. “I’d hoped it was going to be even half that good, and it ended up just taking my breath away.”
With The Earls of Leicester arriving on New Year’s Day in 2014—and later amassing its many accolades, including Album of the Year at the 2015 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards—the band released their acclaimed sophomore album Rattle & Roar in July 2016 and, at the 2017 IBMA Awards, took home the Entertainer of the Year prize for the third year in a row. But for Douglas, the most rewarding aspect of Earls of Leicester lies in playing for a live audience and witnessing their reaction firsthand. “One of the biggest payoffs for me is playing this music for younger people, and watching them fall in love with it,” he says. “And even better than that is having the older folks come up to me and tell me, ‘I never thought I’d get to hear that music again.’ That’s when I know when we’ve really done our job.”
On Earls of Leicester Live, that generation-spanning appeal is undeniable, with the band’s sheer delight and wonder as infectious as each indelible melody. And as the Earls of Leicester transport the audience into a much simpler era, the album ultimately fosters a tender connection with the past, a sense of promise for the future, and a newfound solace in the present moment. “This music conjures up my childhood—it drops me off into a kinder, gentler place, and I think it should do that for everybody,” says Douglas. “When people come to see us, we want them to forget about the outside world and all the stress or strife that goes along with it, and hopefully hold onto that feeling for a while even after the show’s over.”

Danny Paisley and Southern Grass
2023-06-25 16:00 - 19:00 | GuitartownCT, 166 Mather Street, Hamden, CT, 06517, United States
Hard driving traditional bluegrass by 3-time IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year. Outdoor concert, bring chair, refreshments and sun hat.

Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus & Southern Rail in a Joyous Collaboration
2023-06-11 17:00 - 18:00 | Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St., Wellesley Hills, MA, 02481, United States
The renowned Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus is joined by Southern Rail for a joyous and uplifting program of bluegrass and song. Not to be missed!

“Southern Rail is one of the most significant groups in contemporary bluegrass…on the cutting edge of creativity”. – Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine

Music Worcester Presents: Sam Bush
2023-06-09 20:00 - 21:30 | The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States
There is only one consensus pick of peers and predecessors, of the traditionalists, the rebels, and the next gen devotees, for bluegrass music’s ultimate inside outsider (or is it outside insider?). There is only one Sam Bush.
The mandolin/fiddle/guitar-playing icon has taken the genre to new heights over a 50+ year career having worked with such legends as Leon Russell, Emmylou Harris, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, and Lyle Lovett. In 2009, the Americana Music Association awarded Bush the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Greensky Bluegrass are just a few present-day bluegrass vanguards among so many musicians he’s influenced. His performances are annual highlights of the festival circuit, with Bush’s joyous perennial appearances at the town’s famed bluegrass fest earning him the title, “King of Telluride.”
“With this band I have now I am free to try anything. Looking back at the last 50 years of playing newgrass, with the elements of jazz improvisation and rock-&-roll, jamming, playing with New Grass Revival, Leon, and Emmylou; it’s a culmination of all of that,” says Bush. “I can unapologetically stand onstage and feel I’m representing those songs well.”
Experience the legendary instrumentalist in live performance with his band in Worcester, MA on Friday, June 9, 2023.
