Archives

BIOGRAPHY

Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee are two kindred spirits who first met on the banks of the Mississippi while touring the Midwest festival circuit. Born and raised in Arkansas, Winter found herself drawn to the evergreens and damp air of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the boundless music scene of Olympia, Washington. She released three solo records on Olympia-based indie label, K Records, and performed in ramblin’ folk bands and anarchic punk bands before serendipitously meeting Palmer T. Lee in 2013. Lee had built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he inherited and began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands before convincing Winter that they should form a banjo duo. Now, as The Lowest Pair, they have recorded and released five albums together, relentlessly toured North America, and ventured to the UK twice, playing over 500 live shows over the past five years.

After each releasing solo albums via Conor Oberst’s Team Love Records in 2018, Winter and Lee began working on The Lowest Pair’s forthcoming 10- song set, The Perfect Plan. As a songwriting team, the duo tends to see artistic sparks all around them — in poems, people, ideas, experiences – and throughout the process of writing these new songs, they felt the need to push their creative limits. They turned to producer Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes who took them to ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska, and set them in a soundscape backed by a slate of session players that lifts the album from simple folk into spirited Americana and beyond. Clawhammer banjo and acoustic guitar still hold the heart of The Lowest Pair, but the fleshed-out sound of The Perfect Plan leans gently into Winter’s punk past, as well as the sonic playground of her mind, to set the band down a new path on their musical journey.

The Birds are returning for a 3rd show at Longstaff House!!

Birds of Play is an Americawna Roots quartet based in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. Their distinct sound is rooted in and inspired by their connection to the land in which they reside. The band features multi- instrumentalists and songwriters Alex Paul on Guitar, Upright Bass, Mandolin and Vocals; Eric Shedd on Upright Bass, Mandolin, Guitar and Vocals; Anneke Dean on Violin, Guitar and Vocals and Jack Tolan on Guitar, Mandolin, Electric Bass and Vocals.

Their arrangements and compositions are a reflection of their vast and teaming pools of inspiration from artists such as Wood Brothers, Punch Brothers and Andrew Bird. Birds of Play’s high-caliber musicianship and song craft are laced with imagination and a vibrant, intuitive understanding of the human condition – while their live shows weave together an intricate tapestry of place, authenticity, magic, and humor.

Four years into this journey, Birds of Play are venturing further out of the nest to create community and bring people together to share in universal themes of love, connection, and wonder. With an uplifting and joyous exuberance – and a fourth studio album on the horizon for release this summer – these four dear friends are riding the thermals of their creativity to ever-greater heights.

Straight from Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival…….The Johnny Campbell Band is a 5-piece traditional bluegrass band that has toured the country for over 10 years. The band features Nashville locals Johnny Campbell (fiddle), Jeff Burke (mandolin), Terry Eldrige (bass), Phyllis Erck (banjo), and Luke Munday (guitar).

While many contemporary bands have taken a modern approach to the music, Johnny stays true to traditional bluegrass melodies, note for note. The band’s diverse approach to the set list appeals to everyone from Baby Boomers to Millennials, surprising each end of the spectrum with a love for the unfamiliar and impressing new fans with their deep-rooted knowledge of this time-honored style. Johnny, an enthusiastic and charismatic award-winning fiddler, started Johnny Campbell Band in Nashville, TN in 2012. Good vibes, high energy, great tunes, a flair for drama, and a memorable performance make Johnny Campbell Band a must-catch act out of the booming Nashville music scene. 

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling,” and brilliant Californian cellist, Natalie Haas, spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 16 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding, and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world including Mark O’Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.

Bob Troutman says that this is probably the only time this band plays here.  They are on the rise.

Luthier Marcus Engstrom from Bozeman says they were the finest band at Rocky Grass…quite an accomplishment.

BIOGRAPHY

AJ Lee and Blue Summit made their first appearance in Santa Cruz in 2015. Led by singer, songwriter, and mandolinist, AJ Lee, the bluegrass band has performed all over the world, but finds home in California’s Bay Area.

The latest full length project, I’ll Come Back, debuted August 2021 – with national touring in support of the record ongoing. Although falling loosely under the bluegrass label, AJLBS generally plays sans banjo, with Sullivan Tuttle and Scott Gates on steel stringed acoustic guitars, AJ on mandolin, Jan Purat on fiddle, and Chad Bowen on upright bass – a configuration effectively used to create unique space and texture in the arrangements not as commonly found in the music of their peers. Drawing from influences such as country, soul, swing, rock, and jam music, the band uses the lens of bluegrass as a vessel through which to express and explore the thread that binds and unifies all great music.

Weaving together modern and traditional styles of American music, Never Come Down is a Portland, Oregon based 5-piece composed of Joe Suskind (guitar), Crystal Lariza (vocals), Brian Alley (banjo), Kaden Hurst (mandolin), and Ben Ticknor (bass). Their dedication to thoughtful songwriting and dynamic arrangements highlight polished technical skills and a commitment to listening to each other. Formed in 2018, the band began touring extensively- steadily cultivating a passionate fan base at home in the Pacific Northwest, and eventually around the country. NCD released their first studio album “Better Late Than Never” in 2021 and their second LP “Greener Pastures” is slated for release late 2023. They’ve toured internationally and have found acclaim at festivals such as Iceland Airwaves, John Hartford Memorial Fest, Americanafest, FreshGrass and Rocky Grass.

Check these folks out:  https://nevercomedownband.com/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XzzZeW6zZsA5fmn59YwyTjXSF35J0kGk/viewhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1ftvzsJMQeZcr0096FLsZqambkGkxIYRr/view

The red-hot Timber Rattlers return to the Longstaff House stage.  Caleb is back and they are on a tear.

Mike Compton cane down with Covid and can not make the show, so you mando-geeks may be disappointed.  John Lowell from Bozeman will join Joe in Missoula and I will get to add some bass.  It will be an enjoyable show, these guys have so much experience ad a history of working together.

This is show 100