Finger Lakes GrassRoots Culture Camp Schedule Announced! Music, Workshops & More

GrassRoots Culture Camp at Trumansburg Fairgrounds on July 16-19

Four Days of Music and Dance Workshops
Leading Up to The 27th Annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY

See the full lineup and schedule →  www.grassrootsfest.org/culture-camp-1-1/

TRUMANSBURG, NY —  Over the past few decades, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance has grown to be more than just a single event in Trumansburg, NY and this year the latest addition to the roster returns for its sophomore year: the GrassRoots Culture Camp 2017 runs from Sunday through Wednesday, July 16-19, the four days leading up to the 27th annual GrassRoots Festival which takes place July 20-23. Both the camp and the festival are held at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds.

Culture Camp is an incredible opportunity to attend four days of music and dance workshops led by many of the favorite GrassRoots performers including instructors from Donna The Buffalo, Driftwood, The Horseflies, Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band, Keith Secola, Balfa Toujours, Los Texmaniacs, Big Mean Sound Machine, Jennie Lowe Stearns, The Blind Spots, Richie and Rosie, Bobby Henrie and The Goners, and many more!

Culture Camp Coordinator and co-founding member of Donna the Buffalo, Tara Nevins, says, “GrassRoots Culture Camp offers first hand learning experience with masters of traditional and contemporary art forms, including music, dance, visual arts, and culinary arts in a fun and positive setting, promoting community and the importance of tradition and culture in our society.”

The workshops, along with themed nightly dinners and dances, provide an opportunity to immerse oneself in an intimate learning experience and to enjoy a few extra days of fun before the festival begins. Workshops include fiddle, banjo, guitar, the art of guitar and cello, bass, mandolin, accordion, improvisation, singing, children’s sing song, country songs old and new, cajun songs, songwriting, father and son duo, Native Americana, the spirit of the native american drum, Moog synthesizers, Afrobeat drumset rhythms & concepts, bodhran, scrubboard, triangle, dance, acrylic painting, yoga, youth percussion, and youth square dance. Advanced musicians as well as beginners are welcome!

PREVIOUS CULTURE CAMP ATTENDEES SAY:

“What an amazing experience Culture Camp turned out to be! Rarely is there an opportunity to immerse yourself in music while learning how to make it. The nightly shows in the dance tent were fabulous! The dinner cuisine was superb! My favorite workshops were Songwriting and Duet Singing. I left Culture Camp feeling inspired and energized!” –Phyllis Atwell

“In all honesty, last year’s Culture Camp was a major life experience for me. I was able to work and jam with with professionals, such as Jeb Puryear. At my level of playing as an adult learner, I never thought that I would have had that opportunity. I received individualized instruction from the very talented Joey Arcuri of Driftwood. I don’t think I’ve put down my upright bass since. I look forward to Culture Camp to rejuvenate the inspiration and motivation for another whole year. Culture Camp is such a beautiful way to ease into the excitement of the music festival….the feeding of my soul through music, education, arts, culture, and friends that have become family.” –Ni Lu

“My Culture Camp participation was a combination of learning, experiencing, and interacting with people up close and feeling the joy of what they do and bring to GrassRoots. It’s truly rewarding!” –Jeffrey Schriber

Watch Tara Nevins (of Donna The Buffalo) talk about GrassRoots Culture Camp

WORKSHOPS WITH INSTRUCTORS FROM:
Donna The Buffalo
Driftwood
The Horseflies
Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band
Keith Secola
Balfa Toujours
Los Texmaniacs
Big Mean Sound Machine
Jennie Lowe Stearns
The Blind Spots
Richie and Rosie
Bobby Henrie and The Goners
Jones Benally
Laila Belle
The Grady Girls
plus many more…..

NIGHTLY DANCES (Open to the public)

Sunday July 16th – Bobby Henrie and The Goners (rarified rockabilly, swing and everything in between)

Monday July 17th – Balfa Toujours – (“Balfa Always”, carrying on the legacy and tradition of the Balfa Brothers. Cajun music at it’s best.)

Tuesday July 18th – Los Texmaniacs – (Grammy-winning Conjunto band, incorporating elements from rock & roll and jazz while still honoring the roots of Conjunto Tejano)

Wednesday July 19th – Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band – (From Soileau, Louisiana, the finest in Creole/Zydeco music)

TICKETS AND DETAILS

ALL INCLUSIVE 4-DAY ADMISSION – $125 – This ticket includes four days of workshops plus nightly dinners & dances. Youth (15 and under) $65

SINGLE DAY FULL ADMISSION – $40 – This ticket includes one day of workshops plus nightly dinners & dances.
DINNER & DANCE ONLY – ONE NIGHT – $30 – 6:30 PM each night

DANCE ONLY – ONE NIGHT – $15  – 8:30 PM each night

CAMPING OPTIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR AN ADDITION FEE

LOCATION: Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Rt 96, Trumansburg, NY 14886. Info: (607) 387-5090

 

Listen to an interview with GrassRoots Culture Camp Coordinator Tara Nevins on WHCU radio  → http://whcuradio.com/morning-newswatch/grassroots-culture-camp/

You can find the event on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/1766466600330369/

FOR COMPLETE GRASSROOTS CULTURE CAMP INFORMATION, THE SCHEDULE, TICKETS PRICES, AND FURTHER DETAILS, GO TO: www.grassrootsfest.org/culture-camp-1-1/

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Donna the Buffalo Performs at Levon Helm Studios on Fri 9/4

Levon Helm Studios Presents Donna the Buffalo
Friday, September 4, 2015

“There are many meaningful, inspirational, and important happenings on this musical life journey and I will say that having had the great fortune to meet Levon Helm, and play music along side him was at the very top of my list. Levon was a soulful and beautiful spirit through and through, perhaps the most soulful and inspiring musician I’ve ever heard or watched play. I had the great honor of playing the Midnight Ramble after recording ‘Wood And Stone’ [2011] there and I am very excited to be returning to The Barn with Donna The Buffalo. It is a truly special place. A truly hallowed hall.” —Tara Nevins, Donna the Buffalo

Gates 6pm/ Show 8pm; Seating $35/ Standing Room $25
More info at http://levonhelm.com/midnight_ramble.htm
Levon Helm Studios: 160 Plochmann Lane, Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.2744

Distinctive, groove-heavy, and danceable,
Donna the Buffalo is a band for the people

Having started in 1989, Donna the Buffalo just passed the marker as their 25th year as a band and have proven to be a true purveyor of American music. What’s the recipe? To be sure, it’s infused with more spices than you’ll find at a Cajun cookout by way of a southern-fried, rockin’ country old-time jamboree. “For the dizzying array of styles and genres with which they work, Donna The Buffalo maintain a surprising level of consistency… over the course of their 25-year career, they retain a sharp focus that has helped them create some truly lasting music…” writes Elmore. “Few groups are this comfortable as performers, and even fewer would take as many risks.”

Donna the Buffalo. Photo by Bill Davis.

Donna the Buffalo is Jeb Puryear (vocals, electric guitar) and Tara Nevins (vocals, guitar, fiddle, accordion, scrubboard) joined by David McCracken (Hammond organ, Honer Clavinet & piano), Kyle Spark (bass) and Mark Raudabaugh (drums). “It’s been really fun with this lineup,” Puryear says. “You get to the point where you’re playing on a really high level, things are clicking and it’s like turning on the key to a really good car. It just goes.”

“You have to do just what you want to do, and everyone likes different things,” Nevins says. “Both Jeb and I come from this background of old-time fiddle music, which is very natural, very real, very under-produced, and all about coming from the gut—flying by the seat of your pants. So we have that in us, too.”

Donna the Buffalo has also announced The Stampede: A tour to raise awareness to the inappropriate use of corporate money in politics. They’ve joined forces with Ben Cohen, Co-Founder of Ben & Jerry’s, who has started stamping slogans on currency in protest (stampstampede.org). “As a band, we have made a long term commitment to join this burgeoning movement,” says Jeb Puryear. “It is clear to us that we will never get significant government action on issues like healthcare, student debt, wall street banks, the environment, and corporate tax evasion until we outlaw legalized corporate bribery of our politicians.”

They are joining forces with legendary American roots music troubadour Peter Rowan to kick off The Stampede in the Fall of 2015 and are looking to snowball the tour into the election year to raise awareness to the topic. Peter Rowan says, “At last, it comes around again; making music with Donna the Buffalo, one of my favorites.”

All Music Guide says their most recent album, Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday (2013 Sugar Hill Records), “highlights everything this consistent band does, and it has a warm, live-sounding production… This is what 21st century Americana sounds like, a little bit of this and that from anywhere wrapped up into a poignant, jamming dance reel, a place where the past and history meet easily in the immediate now and everybody feels like dancing.”

Donna the Buffalo has toured the nation for over twenty five years with an ever-evolving grassroots sound and plans to keep on doing so for many years to come.

For more information and tour dates, please visit www.donnathebuffalo.com
facebook.com/donnathebuffalo and twitter.com/donnathebuffalo

What folks are saying about Donn the Buffalo:

“Multi-instrumentalist Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear, both ace guitarists, split vocals and writing for this band that’s country, old-timey, rock and roll, and well, just all around great. Best tune? Pick any one.” —Vintage Guitar

“I first encountered DtB at MerleFest in the late 1990s. They were to me an unknown band with a weird name in the dance tent. I got seduced by Tara Nevins’ accordion and swishy beats and next thing I knew I was soaked with sweat and losing myself. They’re the EDM of Americana.“ —Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst

“Initially inspired by Appalachian string music, they’ve since incorporated folk, pop, soul, zydeco, and psychedelic rock. Meanwhile, Jeb Puryear’s reedy tenor and Tara Nevins’ husky comely croon complement each other with their earthy charm, yet as songwriters they each possess their own distinct character.” ––Charleston Scene

“The beauty of Donna’s presentation and the secret of their success and longevity is the purely organic way they weave genres together without diluting them. Many bands can’t generate this kind of enthusiasm and energy in half as much time and with half as many albums that Donna the Buffalo have over twentysomething years and ten studio albums.” —Cleveland Scene

“They’ve got some real chops in just about every department.” —The Nashville Scene

“Donna the Buffalo is quite simply one of the groovin’est bands in America — a bona-fide American institution.” —New Haven Register

For more information and tour dates, please visit www.donnathebuffalo.com
facebook.com/donnathebuffalo and twitter.com/donnathebuffalo

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The Duhks Announce Eastern US and Canadian Summer Tour 2015

The Duhks Announce Eastern US and Canadian Summer Tour 2015

One of the most musically adventurous bands to come from the roots scene in the past decade, The Duhks return to the stage is definitely a cause for celebration. Hailed by The New York Times as one of the artists at the forefront of the neo-folk movement, The Duhks (pronounced Ducks) are vocalist Jessee Havey and clawhammer banjoist/ vocalist Leonard Podolak, with the addition of fiddler Anna Lindblad from Sweden, drummer/percussionist Kevin Garcia, and guitarist/bouzouki player Colin Savoie-Levac. Paste calls their music, “A tasty blend of..folk traditions with hard-grooving world beats, country, bluegrass, jazz, and a healthy injection of catchy, soulful pop.”

The Duhks are on the road in the Eastern US and Canada the summer of 2015. They pick up touring in early July with shows in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Michigan before returning to Calanda to play Festival Memoire et Racines in Joliette, QC. They return stateside for a couple of New York performances and then are back into Canada in August to play the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Alberta, Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival in BC, and Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival in Ontario to complete their summer tour.

The Duhks. Photo by Coralee Penner.

Since forming in Winnipeg in 2001, The Duhks have created a dynamic blend of old- timey, French Canadian and Celtic music punched up with shades of blues, soul and driving Afro Cuban rhythms that leaves festival crowds on their feet. Over the course of four critically-acclaimed albums the band has earned Juno and GRAMMY awards and nominations and have played a significant role in the neo-folk revival.  The Duhks released their latest studio album Beyond the Blue, which was produced by Mike + Ruthy in June 2014 through Compass Records. Michael Bialas writes in Huffington Post, “this tasty potpourri of cultural influences, styles and substance sounds as vital as ever on Beyond the Blue.“

All of the people who have been in the band over the years, including non-touring founding members Tania Elizabeth and Jordan McConnell (who both appear on the album) have had a hand in shaping our sound and direction,” says The Duhks founder, Leonard Podolak. “The goal with the new record was to draw on everything we’ve learned over the years and everything we know about where we want to take the music now and create something as fresh, exciting and forward thinking as possible.

Musically, Beyond the Blue is reminiscent of 2006’s GRAMMY-nominated Migrations, but with a sound that is even more dense and grittier than 2008’s Fast Paced World. The album opens with the title track, a gorgeous song by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Gary Nicholson that begins with the bell-like drone of Leonard’s claw hammer banjo and the ethereal sound of guest Charlie Rose’s lap steel before giving way to Jessee’s expressive alto, perfectly complemented by Tania’s harmonies. On “Banjo Roustabout” electric guitar and drums bring out the more aggressive side of the band’s sound while “Suffer No Fools” is a beautifully rendered acoustic waltz ornamented by banjo, strings and percussion and beautifully sung by Jesse and Tania. Taken as a whole, Beyond the Blue represents a group of musicians at the peak of their powers, the music shaped by their collective experience of years on the road and driven by the sheer joy and inspiration that comes from reuniting and rediscovering that magic that drew them together in the first place.

The Duhks On Tour:
7/2 Thu – Purple Fiddle – Thomas, WV
7/3 Fri – Mason District Park – Annandale, VA
7/4 Sat – Town Commons – Carrboro, NC
7/5 Sun – Festival For The Eno – Durham, NC
7/7 Tue – Concert Happenings in Ridgefield’s Parks (CHIRP) – Ridgefield, CT
7/8 Wed – Payomet Performing Arts Center – Truro, MA
7/9 Thu – Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA
7/10 Fri – Cabot Performing Arts Center – Beverly, MA
7/11 Sat – Prescott Park Arts Festival – Portsmouth, NH
7/12 Sun – Earlville Opera House – Earlville, NY
7/17-19 Fri-Sun – Hiawatha Music Festival – Marquette, MI
7/25-26 Sat-Sun – Festival Memoire et Racines – Joliette, QC
7/30 Thu – Towne Crier Cafe – Beacon, NY
8/1-2 Sat-Sun – Falcon Ridge Festival – Hillsdale, NY
8/6-9 Thu-Sun – Edmonton Folk Music Festival – Edmonton, AB
8/14-15 Fri-Sat – Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival – Salmon Arm, BC
8/21-23 Fri-Sun – Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival – Owen Sound, ON

For more information and tour dates, please visit www.duhks.com, www.facebook.com/theduhks, www.twitter.com/theduhks, and www.instagram.com/theduhks.

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Tellico’s Relics and Roses Hit the Streets This Week – Storytelling with Roots

Tellico’s Relics and Roses Hit the Streets This Week- Storytelling with Roots

Tellico takes you on a journey through the modern Appalachian soundscape, with masterful storytelling and memorable instrumental and vocal performances that wed tradition with a contemporary Americana sensibility

Now available at:
CD Baby,  iTunes, & Amazon

ASHEVILLE, NC — Tellico independently released their debut album, Relics and Roses, this week on June 2, 2015. The album features the singing and songwriting of Anya Hinkle (guitar, fiddle) and Stig Stiglets (bass), and showcases Aaron Ballance on dobro and pedal and lap steel and Jed Willis on mandolin and clawhammer banjo. Guitar virtuoso Jon Stickley (Jon Stickley Trio) produced the album and makes a few guest appearances with drums and guitar. The album was recorded at Sound Temple Studios in Asheville, NC.

“Relics and Roses is a record that you be will be drawn to not to simply listen, but to actively listen. While timeless and authentic are words you hear describing music quite often, here they both ring true,” writes The Daily Country.

Storytelling is at the helm of Tellico’s music. “Throughout the set, they touch on issues ranging from natural disasters to foreign adventures. One tune, though, hits especially close to home. Inspired by Asheville author Thomas Wolfe’s book of the same name, ‘Can’t Go Home Again’ tugs at the loose threads of that notion,” writes The Bluegrass Situation.

The leading track, “Backstep Blues” [Hinkle] has a “backstep”, a rhythmic hiccup that is typical of old time music, telling the story of a man’s successive retreat from his wife (with the refrain “hey where did your daddy go wrong?”), leaving her with the “backstep blues.”  “Calamity”, written by Stiglets, is a tale of disaster sparked by a combination of Hurricane Katrina and Japan’s 2011 tsunami, and the destructive and terrifying images of those events. “Forsaken Winds” is poetry unto itself with the ethereal sounds of Ballance’s pedal steel filling in the spirit of the lyrics; while “Hawkeye Pierce and Honeycutt Blues” is a tongue and cheek raggy romp in an Asheville street busker’s shoes.

“Mexico 1995” is a coming-of-age story penned by Hinkle after a solo four month journey, mostly by bus, from Nogales, Arizona through Guatemala and back. It was before the internet, before cell phones, and after a grisly war and genocide in southern Mexico and Guatemala, a real eye opener for a kid, all during the winter after Jerry Garcia died. Hinkle says, “That early morning that I walked back, on foot, into my post-college privileged American life after crossing the border at Nogales was like a dream, I was a ghost in my own shoes, my idea of who I was as porous as the haze that seemed to linger that entire day that I re-emerged.” The song uses samples from iconic songs that set up the general feeling that it’s all been done before. Hinkle reflects, “Where does a kid go with that? What’s ahead that’s worth anything?”

All of the songs on Relics and Roses were penned by Hinkle and Stiglets with the exception “White Line-River of Pride,” a Neil Young and Crazy Horse medley of two dirty electric rock tunes buttoned up bluegrass-style.

Relics and Roses is the first since Anya, Stig, and Aaron formed Tellico after recording four records with the Asheville-based bluegrass band Dehlia Low, whose final album Ravens and Crows was released on the Rebel Records label in 2011.

Find out more about Tellico & Relics and Roses at at Tellicoband.com, facebook.com/Tellico & twitter.com/TellicoBand.

Tellico. Photo by Jennifer Calllahan

What Folks are Saying About Relics and Roses:

“Fresh from the fertile roots music scene in Asheville, NC, comes bluegrass foursome Tellico, who make a remarkable first impression with splendid debut album Relics and Roses. If you’re a fan of mountain music, I urge you to check out this up-and-coming outfit… four first-rate musicians… This one’s a winner, y’all” —Jeffrey Sisk, Pittsburgh in Tune

“With deep warm tones, intimate vocals, vivid lyrics, natural arrangements, and emotional solos Tellico masterfully draws the listener into the center of their original songs. Relics and Roses paints a cinematic picture, continually stirring feelings of nostalgia. Through their wonderful musicianship they never fail to create an atmosphere that perfectly enhances their storytelling.  I love this CD!”
—Chad Manning of the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience

“….wonderfully original mountain music. Sometimes they sound like what Kate Wolf would sound like had she come from the Southern Appalachians – a beloved image if you ask me.”
—Martin Anderson, Music Director & Morning Host WNCW-FM

“The album of mostly original songs is superbly orchestrated and delivered taking the listener on an auditory odyssey that ranges from soulful and deep to upbeat and euphoric. Anya, Aaron, Stig, and Jed have woven a tapestry that is timeless and authentic and deserving of your attention.”
—Steve Johnson, Event Producer/Artist Relations Manager, Wilkesboro, NC

“Tellico picks up where Dehlia Low left off, focusing and refining their sound. Relics and Roses is… step forward in songwriting, with Anya Hinkle and Greg ‘Stig’ Stiglets crafting an acoustic soundscape of Appalachian daydreams that stack up to the works of John Hartford, Emmylou Harris and the Avett Brothers. Songs like ‘I Want To Know’ reach out and grab you immediately… a captivating album.”
–Joe Kendrick, WNCW Program Director 88.7 FM

“The bluegrass influence is as bright as the playing in the music of Tellico.” — The Alternate Root “Backstep Blues” listed in Top Ten Songs of the Week

“Asheville, NC has produced some of the most interesting new sounds in the modern bluegrass and old time music scene of late. Something about the community there is drawing creative people, and clumping them together to make string band music that pushes boundaries while holding on to tradition. Tellico is such a group —John Lawless, Bluegrass Today

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Asheville’s Tellico Debuts with Relics and Roses, Due Out June 2nd

Asheville’s Tellico Debuts with Relics and Roses, Due Out June 2nd

Tellico takes you on a journey through the modern Appalachian soundscape, with masterful storytelling and memorable instrumental and vocal performances that wed tradition with a contemporary Americana sensibility

ASHEVILLE, NC — Tellico independently releases their debut album Relics and Roses on June 2, 2015. The album features the singing and songwriting of Anya Hinkle (guitar, fiddle) and Stig Stiglets (bass), and showcases Aaron Ballance on dobro and pedal and lap steel and Jed Willis on mandolin and clawhammer banjo. Guitar virtuoso Jon Stickley (Jon Stickley Trio) produced the album and makes a few guest appearances with drums and guitar.

The album is available now for pre-order at Tellicoband.com and includes an immediate download of the leading track, “Backstep Blues,” which is also available to stream now at the band’s website. Firmly planted in Asheville NC’s thriving roots music scene, Tellico is well schooled in bluegrass but with an unbridled organic “Appalachiacana” sound, combining some of the finest voices, songs and instrumental prowess in western North Carolina and beyond. Anya and Stig’s committed, authentic vocals are alloyed with Aaron’s flowing and soaring dobro and Jed’s textured and expressive mandolin, rooted in the mountain music they grew up with while pushing tradition into a modern Americana sound aesthetic.

Tellico. Photo by Jennifer Calllahan

Storytelling is at the helm of Tellico’s music. All of the songs on Relics and Roses were penned by Hinkle and Stiglets with the exception “White Line-River of Pride,” a Neil Young and Crazy Horse medley of two dirty electric rock tunes buttoned up bluegrass-style. The leading track, “Backstep Blues” [Hinkle] has a “backstep”, a rhythmic hiccup that is typical of old time music, telling the story of a man’s successive retreat from his wife (with the refrain “hey where did your daddy go wrong?”), leaving her with the “backstep blues.” “Calamity”, written by Stiglets, is a tale of disaster sparked by a combination of Hurricane Katrina and Japan’s 2011 tsunami, and the destructive and terrifying images of those events.

“Forsaken Winds” is poetry unto itself with the ethereal sounds of Ballance’s pedal steel filling in the spirit of the lyrics; while “Hawkeye Pierce and Honeycutt Blues” is a tongue and cheek raggy romp in an Asheville street busker’s shoes. “You Can’t Go Home Again” is inspired by Asheville author Thomas Wolfe’s book of the same name. Anya found the book to be so richly descriptive in Wolfe’s longwinded style, especially when the protagonist DOES go home again, which she said, “reminded me of something that my dad always used to say: ‘you can’t go home again’! Of course you can’t. The comforting idea of home is just that, an idea. You have to face yourself and your life. Running from it, either to home or far away from it, doesn’t alleviate your suffering.”

“Mexico 1995” is a coming-of-age story penned by Hinkle after a solo four month journey, mostly by bus, from Nogales, Arizona through Guatemala and back. It was before the internet, before cell phones, and after a grisly war and genocide in southern Mexico and Guatemala, a real eye opener for a kid, all during the winter after Jerry Garcia died. Hinkle says, “That early morning that I walked back, on foot, into my post-college privileged American life after crossing the border at Nogales was like a dream, I was a ghost in my own shoes, my idea of who I was as porous as the haze that seemed to linger that entire day that I re-emerged.” The song uses samples from iconic songs that set up the general feeling that it’s all been done before. Hinkle reflects, “Where does a kid go with that? What’s ahead that’s worth anything?”

Relics and Roses is the first since Anya, Stig, and Aaron formed Tellico after recording four records with the Asheville-based bluegrass band Dehlia Low, whose final album Ravens and Crows was released on the Rebel Records label in 2011.

“I love how the songs on Relics and Roses sound with these musicians covering all details that I didn’t even realize I was longing to hear. The band’s rich playing overlays absolutely perfectly with the meanings of the songs, whether playful and amusing or searching, haunting and lonely,” says Hinkle.

What Folks are Saying About Relics and Roses:

“With deep warm tones, intimate vocals, vivid lyrics, natural arrangements, and emotional solos Tellico masterfully draws the listener into the center of their original songs. Relics and Roses paints a cinematic picture, continually stirring feelings of nostalgia. Through their wonderful musicianship they never fail to create an atmosphere that perfectly enhances their storytelling.  I love this CD!”
—Chad Manning of the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience

“….wonderfully original mountain music. Sometimes they sound like what Kate Wolf would sound like had she come from the Southern Appalachians – a beloved image if you ask me.” —Martin Anderson, Music Director & Morning Host WNCW-FM

“The album of mostly original songs is superbly orchestrated and delivered taking the listener on an auditory odyssey that ranges from soulful and deep to upbeat and euphoric. Anya, Aaron, Stig, and Jed have woven a tapestry that is timeless and authentic and deserving of your attention.” —Steve Johnson, Event Producer/Artist Relations Manager, Wilkesboro, NC

“Tellico picks up where Dehlia Low left off, focusing and refining their sound. Relics and Roses is… step forward in songwriting, with Anya Hinkle and Greg ‘Stig’ Stiglets crafting an acoustic soundscape of Appalachian daydreams that stack up to the works of John Hartford, Emmylou Harris and the Avett Brothers. Songs like ‘I Want To Know’ reach out and grab you immediately… a captivating album.”
–Joe Kendrick, WNCW Program Director 88.7 FM

Tellico Tour Dates
Fri 5/8 – LEAF Festival – Black Mountain, NC
Fri 5/22 – Music In The Valle – Valle Crucis Community Park – Valle Crucis, NC
Sun 5/31 – The Rooster’s Wife – Aberdeen, NC
Fri 6/5 – Isis Restaurant and Music Hall – Asheville, NC
Fri 6/12 – Music On The Square – Jonesborough, TN
Sat 6/13 – Granite Falls Brewery- Granite Falls, NC
Fri 6/19 – Groovin’ on the Green Summer Concert Series – Cashiers, NC
Fri 6/26 – Nantahala Outdoor Center – Bryson City, NC
Sat 6/27 – 185 King Street – Brevard, NC
Sat 7/11 – Bluegrass On The Grass, 20th Anniversary – Carlisle, PA
Fri 8/21 – The Jones House-Summer Concert Series – Boone, NC
Sat 8/29 – US National Whitewater Center River Jam – Charlotte, NC
Sat 9/19 – Apple Fest – Winston-Salem, NC
Sat 10/17 – Cowee School Concert Series – Franklin, NC

More shows to be announced!

Find out more about Tellico and Relics and Roses at at Tellicoband.com, facebook.com/Tellico & twitter.com/TellicoBand.

 

 

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Tellico Debut Album Release Celebration at Isis on Fri 6/5 – Added to LEAF Festival Fri 5/8

Tellico. Photo by Jennifer Calllahan

Asheville’s Tellico Debuts with Relics and Roses, Due Out June 2nd Announcing Shows at LEAF & Isis in Asheville this Spring!

Explorative acoustic music that goes beyond conventional bluegrass, integrating with equal ease an old-time banjo-fiddle groove and an Americana aesthetic with drums and electric steel guitars.

“….wonderfully original mountain music. Sometimes they sound like what Kate Wolf would sound like had she come from the Southern Appalachians
– a beloved image if you ask me.”
—Martin Anderson, Music Director & Morning Host WNCW-FM

“The album of mostly original songs is superbly orchestrated and delivered taking the listener on an auditory odyssey that ranges from soulful and deep to upbeat and euphoric. Anya, Aaron, Stig, and Jed have woven a tapestry that is timeless and authentic and deserving of your attention.”
—Steve Johnson, Event Producer/Artist Relations Manager, Wilkesboro, NC

Tellico will independently release their debut album Relics and Roses on June 2, 2015. The album features the singing and songwriting of Anya Hinkle (guitar, fiddle) and Stig Stiglets (bass), and showcases Aaron Ballance on dobro and pedal and lap steel and Jed Willis on mandolin and clawhammer banjo. Guitar virtuoso Jon Stickley (Jon Stickley Trio) produced the album and makes a few guest appearances with drums and guitar.

The album is available now for pre-order at Tellicoband.com and includes an immediate download of the leading track, “Backstep Blues.” Tellico is pleased to announce Asheville regional shows including a Friday evening set at LEAF Festival on May 8th and an album release celebration at Isis Music Hall on Friday, June 5th. Visit their website for the most updated show listings.

Firmly planted in Asheville NC’s thriving roots music scene, Tellico is well schooled in bluegrass but with an unbridled organic “Appalachiacana” sound, combining some of the finest voices, songs and instrumental prowess in western North Carolina and beyond. Anya and Stig’s committed, authentic vocals are alloyed with Aaron’s flowing and soaring dobro and Jed’s textured and expressive mandolin, rooted in the mountain music they grew up with while pushing tradition into a modern Americana sound aesthetic.

Storytelling is at the helm of Tellico’s music. All of the songs on Relics and Roses were penned by Hinkle and Stiglets with the exception “White Line-River of Pride,” a Neil Young and Crazy Horse medley of two dirty electric rock tunes buttoned up bluegrass-style. The leading track, “Backstep Blues” [Hinkle] has a “backstep”, a rhythmic hiccup that is typical of old time music, telling the story of a man’s successive retreat from his wife (with the refrain “hey where did your daddy go wrong?”), leaving her with the “backstep blues.” “Calamity”, written by Stiglets, is a tale of disaster sparked by a combination of Hurricane Katrina and Japan’s 2011 tsunami, and the destructive and terrifying images of those events.

“Forsaken Winds” is poetry unto itself with the ethereal sounds of Ballance’s pedal steel filling in the spirit of the lyrics; while “Hawkeye Pierce and Honeycutt Blues” is a tongue and cheek raggy romp in an Asheville street busker’s shoes. “You Can’t Go Home Again” is inspired by Asheville author Thomas Wolfe’s book of the same name. Anya found the book to be so richly descriptive in Wolfe’s longwinded style, especially when the protagonist DOES go home again, which she said, “reminded me of something that my dad always used to say: ‘you can’t go home again’! Of course you can’t. The comforting idea of home is just that, an idea. You have to face yourself and your life. Running from it, either to home or far away from it, doesn’t alleviate your suffering.”

“Mexico 1995” is a coming-of-age story penned by Hinkle after a solo four month journey, mostly by bus, from Nogales, Arizona through Guatemala and back. It was before the internet, before cell phones, and after a grisly war and genocide in southern Mexico and Guatemala, a real eye opener for a kid, all during the winter after Jerry Garcia died. Hinkle says, “That early morning that I walked back, on foot, into my post-college privileged American life after crossing the border at Nogales was like a dream, I was a ghost in my own shoes, my idea of who I was as porous as the haze that seemed to linger that entire day that I re-emerged.” The song uses samples from iconic songs that set up the general feeling that it’s all been done before. Hinkle reflects, “Where does a kid go with that? What’s ahead that’s worth anything?”

Relics and Roses is the first since Anya, Stig, and Aaron formed Tellico after recording four records with the Asheville-based bluegrass band Dehlia Low, whose final album Ravens and Crows was released on the Rebel Records label in 2011. “I love how the songs on Relics and Roses sound with these musicians covering all details that I didn’t even realize I was longing to hear. The band’s rich playing overlays absolutely perfectly with the meanings of the songs, whether playful and amusing or searching, haunting and lonely,” says Hinkle.

Tellico is Pleased to Announce Asheville Regional Shows Including

LEAF Festival on Friday, May 8th
Set Time: Eden Hall @ 7:15-8:30pm
www.theleaf.org/the-festival/

AND

Isis Music Hall on Friday, June 5th Album Release Celebration
Jon Stickley opens solo and will join Tellico for some tunes
$8 adv / $10 dos; 5pm/ 8:30pm Show
828-575-2737
www.isisasheville.com

Tellico Tour Dates
Fri 5/8 – LEAF Festival – Black Mountain, NC
Fri 5/22 – Music In The Valle – Valle Crucis Community Park – Valle Crucis, NC
Sun 5/31 – The Rooster’s Wife – Aberdeen, NC
Fri 6/5 – Isis Restaurant and Music Hall – Asheville, NC
Fri 6/12 – Music On The Square – Jonesborough, TN
Sat 6/13 – Granite Falls Brewery- Granite Falls, NC
Fri 6/19 – Groovin’ on the Green Summer Concert Series – Cashiers, NC
Fri 6/26 – Nantahala Outdoor Center – Bryson City, NC
Sat 6/27 – 185 King Street – Brevard, NC
Sat 7/11 – Bluegrass On The Grass, 20th Anniversary – Carlisle, PA
Fri 8/21 – The Jones House-Summer Concert Series – Boone, NC
Sat 8/29 – US National Whitewater Center River Jam – Charlotte, NC
Sat 9/19 – Apple Fest – Winston-Salem, NC
Sat 10/17 – Cowee School Concert Series – Franklin, NC

Find out more about Tellico and Relics and Roses at at Tellicoband.com, facebook.com/Tellico & twitter.com/TellicoBand.

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John Cloyd Miller (Red June) Wins MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest: “Cloud of Dust” Places #1 in Bluegrass

John Cloyd Miller (Red June) Wins 2013
MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest

“Cloud of Dust” Places #1 in Bluegrass Category

John Cloyd Miller won first place in the 21st annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest in the bluegrass category at MerleFest 2013. Miller is a vocalist, guitarist and mandolin player for the Asheville-based band, Red June, a nationally touring acoustic Americana trio that includes his wife, fiddler and vocalist Natalya Weinstein, and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Will Straughan. The winning song, “Cloud of Dust,” appears on Red June’s 2012 sophomore release, Beauty Will Come.

“‘Cloud of Dust’ highlights the frustrations and resolve of a young man during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.” John says, “This song tells the story of what happens when we abuse our land.” Red June kicked off 2013 with the release of a music video for the song which features powerful archival footage from the Dust Bowl.

John Cloyd Miller. Photo by Terry Manier.

Acclaimed NC traditional musician, Riley Baugus, says, “John’s music reminds me of being in the Blue Ridge Mountains, high on a hill all alone and hearing the sound of the mountains coming from all around and filling your soul with the feeling that everything is just right in that place. His voice is strong and pure and harkens back to a time when there was no need for electronic enhancement and tuning adjustments. In short, John is the real thing and is just incredible.”

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest offers songwriters the opportunity to have their original songs heard by a panel of professional songwriters and others from the Nashville music industry. The 2013 winners were chosen from more than 700 entries. Winners in the Bluegrass category included 1st Place – John Cloyd Miller’s “Cloud of Dust” (Asheville, NC); 2nd Place – Todd Grebe’s “Master of My Destiny”  (Nashville, Tenn.); and 3rd Place – Aaron Burdett’s “Magpie (Saluda, NC). Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via and Johnny Williams.

“The talent this year was amazing!” says Laurie Brintle-Jarvis, coordinator of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. “They gave an inspirational performance on the Cabin Stage on Friday evening, sharing their talents and enthusiasm with the crowd.” For more details about the contest, visit www.MerleFest.org/ChrisAustinSongwritingContest.

In 2012, Red June made their MerleFest debut, performing at the 25th anniversary festival. Later that year they released their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, and performed at numerous shows and festivals across the country including Music City Roots, Suwannee Springfest, Beartrap Summer Festival, and Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival. The band was selected for an official showcase at The Station Inn in Nashville at the Americana Music Association conference, and was featured in the October 2012 issue of Southern Living magazine with Douglas Rogers writing, “Bands like Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers, and Red June have recently put the sounds of Appalachia back on the map.”

Red June at MerleFest by Will Sparklin

A native of Hickory, NC, Miller’s musical background includes deep roots in bluegrass. A self-taught musician, he grew up listening to his grandfather, legendary bluegrass fiddler and NC Folk Heritage Award winner, Jim Shumate. After graduating from Appalachian State University, Miller moved to Utah and joined the bluegrass band Lo-Fi Breakdown. Eventually the band relocated to Asheville, NC, and continued to perform until early 2009. Around that same time, Miller, Weinstein, and Straughan formed Red June (named after an heirloom apple variety), a group that emphasizes songwriting while combining elements of bluegrass, old-time, country and American roots music.

“Beauty Will Come by Red June just may be the most stunningly gorgeous country album in years. Everything about it: from the exquisite three-part harmonies and acoustic loveliness of the mandolin, fiddle, guitar and upright bass…This is the epitome of Americana…” says Mike Greenblatt with Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly.

For more information, visit www.redjunemusic.com or www.johncloydmiller.com.

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Tara Nevins (of Donna the Buffalo) and Friends Tour the Southeast This December

Tara Nevins (of Donna the Buffalo) and Friends
Tour the Southeast This December
Performing Songs From Her Latest Solo Release ‘Wood and Stone’

Tara Nevins and Friends on Tour:
Wed 12/5  Atlanta, GA  Smith’s Olde Bar
Thur 12/6  Charlotte, NC  The Double Door Inn
Fri 12/7  Asheville, NC  The Grey Eagle
Sat 12/8  Huntsville, AL Kaffeeklatsch

“A tour de force from start to finish” –Elmore Magazine about Wood and Stone

“If heroes and heroines of rock ‘n’ roll are defined by their uniqueness, they definitely broke the mold when they made Tara Nevins.” —Wildman Steve

American roots traditionalist Tara Nevins will be touring this winter in the southeast for select shows, in between her other gigs with Donna the Buffalo. She will be performing songs from her latest solo release, Wood and Stone, on Sugar Hills Records which hit in the Top 20 on the Americana Music Chart in 2011.

Joining Nevins for this tour are Riley Baugus (Banjo), Mike Compton (Mandolin), Pete Finney (pedal steel & electric guitar), David Grier (Acoustic Guitar), Todd Phillips (bass), Mark Raudabaugh (Donna the Buffalo’s  Drummer), and Amber-Dawn Rische (harmony vocals & 2nd fiddle).

Fans of Nevins from her 21-year tenure with Donna the Buffalo are familiar with her versatile talents; she shares the vocal and songwriting responsibilities for the band and is a stellar musician on fiddle, guitar, and accordion. (She plays a mean scrubboard too.) Prior to DTB, Nevins was a founding member of the all-female, old time/Cajun band The Heartbeats.

Wood and Stone was produced by Larry Campbell at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY and showcases Nevins’ ever-evolving repertoire as she journeys both back to her own “roots” and head-long into new territory. Featured guests on the album include Levon Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Teresa Williams, The Heartbeats, along with the core band of Larry Campbell, Justin Guip, and Byron Isaacs.

CMT says, “With the wonderful fiddle groove and vividly written lyrics, Nevins gives a glimpse into her roots. Stepping out for a rare solo record (beyond her beloved band, Donna the Buffalo), she meshes her Cajun influences, unique voice, drums and steel guitars for an intriguing look at her heritage.”

“Two surprises on the album are “Stars Fell on Alabama,” in which Nevins turns the ‘30s jazz standard into a bleak, gothic soundscape, and “Tennessee River,” an even more desolate turn recalling the best of Lucinda Williams,“ writes Lonesome Road Review.

For more visit www.TaraNevins.com

WATCH- Stars Fell on Alabama Official Music Video
WATCH – Tennessee River performance and interview

About the Players for the Tour:

Riley Baugus. Photo by Abigail Seymoure

RILEY BAUGUS
Riley Baugus represents the best of old time American banjo and song. His powerful singing voice and his expert musicianship place him squarely in the next generation of the quality American roots tradition. When not teaching or building banjos, Riley can be found out on the road performing or in the studio recording.  Riley was the acapella ballad singer for the voice of Pangle in the Academy Award-winning film “Cold Mountain”.

His banjo playing can be heard on several recordings such as Alison Kraus and Robert Plants “Raising Sand, Willie Nelsons “Country Music”, and his two acclaimed solo recordings, “Life Of Riley” and “Long Steel Rail”, to mention only a few. He’s performed with many Old Time string bands and artists such as Dirk Powell, Tim O’brien, Kirk Sutphin, and The Lonesome Sisters. Riley makes his home near Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Photo Courtesy of Mike Compton

MIKE COMPTON
Preservationist, performer, modern-day musical pioneer, composer, and educator, Mike Compton, a musician’s musician has rightly earned a reputation as one of the best and most influential mandolin players in acoustic music today. Grammy award winner, nominated IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year, and musical US Ambassador throughout the world, Mike has entertained at Carnegie Hall, at the White House, and been honored by the Mississippi State Senate with State Resolution Number 45, a special honor commending his musical accomplishments.

Over a span of 35 years, Compton has made a career playing on recordings of others adding his signature sound. Mike has made music with such diverse notables as Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes, David Grier,producer T-Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou and Down From The Mountain tours), Nashville Bluegrass Band, John Hartford to name a few, and has performed on over 100 CD’s in a variety of genres, with some of the most beloved artists of our day.

Photo Courtesy of Pete Finny

PETE FINNEY
Pete Finney is a pedal-steel guitarist (and multi-instrumentalist) who has toured and recorded with Patty Loveless for over 20 years, and also worked extensively with folks like the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Jim Lauderdale, Doug Sahm as well as countless others,
and has recording credits with the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Bonnie “Prince” Billy,  Radney Foster and Beck.

Photo Courtesy of David Grier

DAVID GRIER
The most award-winning guitarist in recent memory is David Grier. For the past several years, he has been voted by the members of the International Bluegrass Music Association as Best Guitar Player of the Year. He has also appeared on two Grammy- winning recordings: “True Life Blues-A Tribute to Bill Monroe” and “The Great Dobro Sessions.” David is also included in the book, “1,000 Great Guitarists.”

In addition to touring solo, David also appears as the guitarist for Psychograss, who are currently celebrating a critically acclaimed new album, “Now Hear This”.  David makes his home in Nashville.

Photo Courtesy of Todd Phillips

TODD PHILLIPS
Todd Phillips is the bassist of choice for many of the most innovative, as well as traditional, acoustic instrumental and bluegrass recordings made since the mid-1970s.  A two-time Grammy Award winner and founding member of the original David Grisman Quintet, Phillips has made a career of consistently performing and recording with acoustic music’s finest and most creative artists.  He also played in The Tony Rice Unit and the now classic bluegrass recording group The Bluegrass Album Band.

Phillips has had the opportunity to work with a virtual “who’s who” of acoustic music’s finest, such as Vassar Clements, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, John Hartford, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Mike Marshall, Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien, Del McCoury, Darrell Scott, Larry Campbell, John Doyle, Dirk Powell, Joan Baez and many more.  Phillips has produced recordings for guitar great David Grier; “Panorama”, and two projects for mandolinist Matt Flinner; “The View From Here” and “Latitude”, which lead to the formation of the innovative instrumental trio; Phillips, Grier & Flinner and their two unique and highly acclaimed CDs; “Phillips, Grier & Flinner” and “Looking Back” (Compass Records).   Todd Phillips lives in Nashville, tours with Psychograss, Russ Barenberg & Brittany Haas, will tour Russia (w/ Bill Evans) in August 2012, reuniting with The Bluegrass Album Band (scheduled 2013) and is doing studio work in his new home town.

Mark Raudabaugh. Photo By Lori Sky Twohy.

MARK RAUDABAUGH
Atlanta based drummer, Mark Raudabaugh, is a versatile and skilled performer who is currently on the road with Donna the Buffalo. He has also toured with Papa Mali, Bobby Lee Rodgers and The CodeTalkers, Grant Green Jr., Ruby Velle and The Soulphonics, among many others.

Photo Courtesy of Amber-Dawn Rische Nicholas

AMBER-DAWN RISCHE NICHOLAS
Amber-Dawn Rische Nicholas has been performing worldwide for many years as a violinist and singer with the now disbanded Arista/Sony Nashville signed group, Jypsi. With the band, she had the opportunity to play many prestigious venues such as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, South By Southwest (SXSW), Stagecoach, and many more including several appearances at The Ryman and The Grand Ole Opry. She has toured/performed with major artists including, Darius Rucker, Ronnie Milsap, Hootie & the Blowfish, etc. She has also gained invaluable experience working in the studio with many of the world’s top record producers such as Don Was, Nathan Chapman, Tony Smith, and the list goes on.

Amber-Dawn presently performs with her husband Bobby Nicholas in their duo BAD Nicholas.  They have recently written and recorded their first album together “We Will Fly”.  Amber-Dawn makes her home in Nashville.

Visit TaraNevins.com and Facebook.com/TaraNevins or Facebook.com/TaraNevinsFiddle for more information about the album, a gallery of images, videos, music, and lyrics.

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Red June Releases “Beauty Will Come” on June 5th: Appalachian Rooted Americana

Like their namesake heirloom apple variety, Red June has strong roots in the Appalachian tradition while constantly forging new ground in Americana music.

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RedJuneMusic.com

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Red June is an acoustic trio based in Asheville, NC who creates and performs beautifully distilled Americana music. They are making waves with their dynamic, yet refined sound that features striking 3-part harmonies, tasteful instrumental work and honest, soulful songwriting that seamlessly blends old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country music. Poised to release their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, on June 5th, 2012, listeners can expect an album to fall in love with. “The record is a brilliant integration of old-time, bluegrass, and beyond, and feels like a holding of hands… the blend is beautiful,” says singer/songwriter Kari Sickenberger of Polecat Creek.

Red June is made up of Will Straughan on resonator guitar, vocals and guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, vocals and guitar, and Natalya Weinstein on fiddle and vocals. The three have been longtime friends and first jammed together at a pickin’ party in Asheville in 2005. In late 2008 they formed Red June and went on to release their debut album Remember Me Well in 2010. Remember Me Well was voted the #1 regional release of 2010 by the listeners of the southeast’s premier independent radio station WNCW. “For those who seek well-crafted songwriting and impeccable musicianship, you just can’t go wrong with the acoustic instrumentation and powerful harmonies of Red June’s Remember Me Well. It’s an exciting debut from a collective of outstanding performers,” writes Chris Mateer in No Depression.

Beauty Will Come was recorded and mixed in late 2011 at Hollow Reed Arts Studio in Asheville by musician/engineer extraordinaire Chris Rosser, who co-produced the record along with Red June. The innovative young graphic artist, Peter Gaillard, designed the album art using an old lithograph of a Mourning Cloak butterfly. The image resonates with the album’s themes of transition, hope, loss and renewal.

More personal than their debut album, Beauty Will Come begins with an uplifting song by Straughan titled “These Old Chains.” “Every Hard Mile”, by Miller, is an expansive song featuring the band’s signature 3-part harmonies. Track three is an exciting old-time inspired fiddle tune written by Weinstein & Miller titled “Piney Branch Breakdown.” Straughan then brings us “All that the Fall Leaves,” a playful waltz about the search for true love.

“Bittersweet” is a pensive song from Weinstein, and is the song from which the album title was drawn. Next is the only cover song on the record, a gospel a capella originally recorded by Ralph Stanley called “I’m Willing to Try.” Following, is John’s nod to his bluegrass heritage with “Cloud of Dust.” Straughan’s beautiful and powerful “Soul’s Repair” follows and Miller then brings us the light-hearted “Foolish Me.” Next is a set of Irish reels, “Scott’s/Connors” penned by Straughan and named after his young guitar student and student’s brother. The final track on the album “Red Sky of Morn” is a collaborative song written by all three band members along with Laurelyn Dossett.

Red June is already well underway to becoming a longtime southern favorite, akin to the Appalachian heirloom apple variety from which they gleaned their name. Ripening early with a full balance of flavors, Red June is touring across the country and has performed at the renowned Music City Roots live radio show in Nashville as well as the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival and Suwannee Springfest. They will also be performing three days at the 25th anniversary MerleFest in April of 2012. As acclaimed songwriter & musician Joe Newberry says, “Red June is one of our truly great bands. They never fail to talk the talk and walk the walk.” Red June is sure to capture eyes and ears with their new release, Beauty Will Come.

WATCH “Soul’s Repair” live from Music City Roots

WATCH “Cloud Of Dust” from the Rooster’s Wife in Aberdeen, NC

WATCH “Bittersweet” from the Rooster’s Wife in Aberdeen, NC

Spring/Summer Tour Dates

4/27 – 4/29 MerleFest, N. Wilkesboro NC

5/5 French Broad River Fest, Hot Springs NC

5/12 Pinecone Concert Series, Cary NC

5/19 Opening for the Steep Canyon Rangers

at Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain NC

6/7 Reynolda House, Winston-Salem NC

6/8 Hickory Unitarian Church, Hickory NC

6/9 Mountain Home Music, Blowing Rock NC

6/14 Whitewater Center, Charlotte NC

6/15 Altamont Theatre, Asheville NC

6/21 Marsh Woodwinds Upstairs, Raleigh NC

6/22 Ashland Coffee & Tea, Ashland VA

6/23 The Mainstay, Rock Hall MD

6/26 The Living Room, NYC

6/27 Johnny D’s, Boston MA

6/30 Wesley United Methodist Church, Amherst MA

7/1 Firebox TrueGrass Bluegrass Series, Hartford CT

7/21 Gallivan Center Folk & Bluegrass Festival,

Salt Lake City UT

7/22 Mountain Town Music, Park City UT

7/24 Cardiff Schoolhouse, Glenwood Springs CO

7/28 Cooper Creek Square Concerts, Winter Park CO

7/29 Fiddles, Vittles & Vino Festival, Colorado Springs CO

8/1 Poudre River Library, Fort Collins CO

8/4 Beartrap Summer Festival, Casper WY

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redjunemusic.com

twitter.com/redjunemusic

facebook.com/redjuneasheville

youtube.com/user/redjunemusic

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Town Mountain and The Freight Hoppers Play The Grey Eagle on Dec 2nd

Town Mountain
The Grey Eagle
w/ The Freight Hoppers
Friday, Dec 2, 2011

$10 adv/ $12 Dos, 9pm
185 Clingman Ave.

Asheville, NC 28801
828-232-5800
www.thegreyeagle.com

Asheville Bluegrasser’s Town Mountain are returning to The Grey Eagle on Friday, December 2nd. The Freight Hoppers will be joining them for the evening’s entertainment, bringing the bluegrass an old-time scenes in Asheville a little bit closer together.

A common thread that binds us to music is familiarity with tradition and the unexpectedness of progression. In a time when bluegrass music is all over the place with it’s predictability; whether it is the crisp clean sound of the contemporary side, the tones of a sixty-year tradition, or the jam band mentality, you can see it coming. It’s all great and Town Mountain is happy to be right in the middle of this bluegrass gumbo.

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, “Town Mountain’s not your grand daddy’s bluegrass”, or “Town Mountain is a great traditional bluegrass band”. Fortunately both of these statements are true and false all at the same time therefore canceling each other out and in turn making it hard to pigeonhole just what Town Mountain can be called. Newly signed with revered Pinecastle Records, Town Mountain is Phil Barker (Mandolin, vocals), Robert Greer (Guitar, vocals), Jesse Langlais (banjo, vocals), Bobby Britt (fiddle), and Jon Stickley (bass, vocals).

This year Town Mountain has teamed up with Pinecastle Records to release their third album, Steady Operator in the late spring. Now the band, more musically mature and honing in on a sound that suits them collectively as well as personally, is ready to show the acoustic music world that they are in fact on the cutting edge of old and new. A recognizable sound with youthful interpretation of a music that continues to evolve, this is Bluegrass.

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The Freight Hoppers play old time music with an emotional, raw excitement that keeps one foot planted in the past and the other in the present. Of course that’s only when they keep their feet still, for this is high energy dance music of an older day played like there’s no tomorrow. Finding their passion from a love of string band music of the 1920’s and 30’s, The Freight Hoppers have been entertaining crowds of fans at festivals and music halls alike as they travel around the country. The heart of the band is held together by the powerhouse fiddle and banjo combo of David Bass and Frank Lee, while the rhythm section of Isaac Deal on guitar and Bradley Adams on string bass keep the music driving. Add in the vocal duo of Frank and Isaac, and you’ve got yourself one of the most exciting traditional bands to come out of the woodwork. Based out of the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers draw from a deep source of rural southern music for their inspiration.

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