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A new and skilled young band from Bozeman.

Founded in early 2021, North Fork Crossing has quickly made their presence known all around Montana, and most notably in the beautiful Gallatin Valley where they live. The quintet – Cade Slayden (guitar), Ryan Kelly (mandolin), Rabi Phelan (upright bass), Silas Rea (fiddle), and Matt Hickey (banjo) – are drawn to having Bluegrass reach a younger generation, priding themselves on their unique sound as “the evolution of string band music”.

By playing many shows in Montana as well as touring across Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, they have been able to grow their audience to a wide range of listeners – consisting of Traditional Bluegrass lovers to die hard Jam-Band enthusiasts. Their genre resides somewhere in a strange untapped realm between these genres as well as Psychedelic Rock, Americana, and Folk.

North Fork Crossing has just recently released their debut, self-titled album. North Fork Crossing (2024) explores the Bozeman bands origins, consisting of songs that have been played live since the bands inception. This includes original fiddle tunes, high paced exploratory bluegrass, and ballads focused on songwriting and precision. Although they are known for their live performances, the album is a well rounded and powerful introduction to the bands studio work.

Finger-style guitar maestro Terry Robb returns to Longstaff House on August 11th.

Terry Robb is hailed as a blues guitar virtuoso and one of the finest acoustic guitarists on the international scene. His signature fingerpicking style has earned him international acclaim from worldwide audiences, esteemed music critics and his distinguished peers. Incorporating elements from Delta blues, ragtime, country, swing and jazz, Robb has built a unique blues sound that has made him a legend in his prolific music career spanning four decades.

The multitude of awards Terry Robb has received speak to his seminal talent as a blues guitarist. Robb has been inducted into both the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. He single-handedly defined the Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar, winning the prize for 19 consecutive years from its inception in 1992. In 2011, the award was renamed the “Terry Robb” Acoustic Guitar Muddy Award to honor his landmark contributions to blues music. In 2017, he received the Muddy Award for Lifetime Achievement. And Robb’s latest album, Confessin’ My Dues, garnered him a 2020 Blues Music Award nomination for Acoustic Blues Album.

One of the best fiddlers in the world…….

The early years

Luke Bulla has been singing and playing music most of his life. Touring with and singing in his family band from age four, Luke took up the fiddle at seven.

Over the course of the next few years, he won the National Fiddle Contest (in Weiser, Idaho) six times in his respective age categories. His seventh win came in the Grand Champion division at age sixteen, making him the youngest to have earned the title at the time. Entering Nashville’s Grand Master Fiddle Championship at age ten, Luke distinguished himself by being the youngest person to have made the top ten.

Off to Nashville

In the spring of 1999, Luke moved to Nashville to establish himself as a full time musician. He spent his early years in Tennessee playing fiddle in Ricky Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder, which earned him his first Grammy Award.

Following the Skaggs stint, he became a member of the John Cowan Band. More recently Luke has performed and/or recorded with Brandi Carlile, Jim Lauderdale, Darrell Scott, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Bryan Sutton, Kevin Costner & Modern West, Russ Barenberg Trio, Shawn Colvin, Tony Rice, Chris Thile, Peter Rowan, Patty Griffin, Glen Phillips, Rodney Crowell, and Earl Scruggs, to name a few. Luke was also a perennial instructor at Mark O’Connor’s fiddle camps in his early Nashville years.

Røki Kilroy

Carrying the listener on a roving, soulful journey, Røki Kilroy’s Americana songs paint a connection to the natural world, the magic and fickle, triumph and struggle. The influence of her Western, Arctic and Irish roots, lead way to a unique sound where the wild vastness of the American west, frozen solitude of Arctic fjords, and moody mist of Celtic sea shades meet in balance through ethereal vocals, eerie cadences, intricate fingerstyle guitar and warm bass tones.

Chosen as #1 Best New Band in America, the Boston Phoenix describes the Montana artist’s sound as “having the softness of Alison Krauss’s Americana roots folk with the deep bass and drums of Depeche Mode and the brooding emotion of a Bach Fugue, creating something awesome that ‘electroacoustic’ simply can’t define.” Bluesman, Guy Davis describes her sound as “beautiful and pure, it takes me somewhere deep and way back”. Røki’s sound has been compared to Joni Mitchell, EmmyLou Harris, Mazzy Star, Bat For Lashes and others.

A long time rock climber and field recordist, Røki incorporates field recordings of natural sounds into her live performances and film score compositions, the most recent recordings captured while climbing El Capitan in Yosemite. Kilroy’s experimentation with sound has lead her to work on various award winning films. Through such work, she hopes to spark people’s love for these wild places.

Hailing from North Western Montana, Kilroy’s modest upbringing sparked her love for music at a young age. Growing up in a cabin without electricity in Kootenai forest, it was easy to get lost in the sounds of wildlife and songwriting, escaping the hardships of poverty through music and connection with her small community. Working ranches, fire crews, mountain guiding and playing hootenannies, Kilroy embraced life on the road and made ends meet while living out of a beat up 1989 Toyota Celica.

Kilroy’s talent was noticed by Grammy Award winner, Skip Ewing who referred to her as “a 21st Century EmmyLou Harris”. After watching her perform at a Wyoming hootenanny, the country hit writer invited her to perform at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville with Pat Flynn and Viktor Krauss. Encouraged by Flynn, Røki began competing in songwriting competitions where she earned awards in the bluegrass and western genres. Between odd jobs and fire seasons, she couch surfed through Music Row, co-writing with a host of Nashville’s best for artists in the country western world.

Weary of the limits imposed while writing for others, Kilroy headed back to Montana, started an experimental folk project (Pterodactyl Plains) and began creating songs for the simple sake of creating music with unhindered expression.

With a tour history of 30+ countries, Røki has performed solo and with talents such as Califone, Allison Russell, Charlie Parr, Bill Callahan, Elephant Revival, Guy Davis, Lukas Nelson, Izaak Opatz, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Devil Makes Three, Infamous Stringdusters, Ben Bullington, Darrell Scott, String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth, Trampled By Turtles and others. Roki has shared the stage with greats such as Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Kostas, Little Feat, John Prine, EmmyLou Harris, Robert Earl Keen, Bill Kreutzmann, Del McCoury, Darol Angor, Sam Bush, Don McLean, Richie Havens, Doc Watson and others.

MINOR GOLD – Americana/Folk Duo (AUS)

Minor Gold are ARIA nominated artists Tracy McNeil & Dan Parsons. Canadian and Australian respectively, this Trans-Pacific duo echo 70’s cosmic Americana with an easy charm and potent honesty.  The strength of the songwriting and the indeterminate perfection of how these two artists’ voices lock in together hit right where the emotions live inside us.  With dynamics ranging from the intense restraint of campfire intimacy through to open throttle abandon, Minor Gold delight and enthral as they weave masterful harmonies and deft guitar playing around unforgettable, stripped back performances.

Since the release of their acclaimed debut album in August 2023, Minor Gold have been making waves in the Americana/Folk scene internationally. With extensive national tours in AUS and the U.S, including major festival appearances and Official Showcases at major conferences AmericanaFEST in Nashville, TN and Folk Alliance International in Kansas City; Minor Gold were also the support for The Teskey Brothers in the U.S and have recently taken home the ‘Folk Award’ in the 2024 Queensland Music Awards.

I have heard so much about these guys since booking them.  Telluride and IBMA winners……….plus local band Blue Point, a big night of full-on bluegrass.

For the past 16 years, Michigan based bluegrass band, Full Cord has been making a name for themselves blending traditional bluegrass music in which they are deeply rooted with jazz, western swing, and classic rock n’ roll while keeping the traditional bluegrass feel alive and well. These influences make every performance memorable and unique.

Following a ‘22 win at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival competition and the ‘22 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Momentum Band of The Year, this band has been hot on the touring trail nationwide and love to bring their style of bluegrass back home to Michigan.

Hold on to your hats when these folks hit the stage – they are bringing their version of the bluegrass train full steam ahead.

• 2024 WYCE Album of The Year: Cambium

• 2024 Artist feature in February 2024 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited

• 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition winners

• 2022 IBMA Momentum Band of The Year

• Winner of WYCE’s 2019 Jammie Award for ‘Best Album by a  New Artist for Choreomania

• Winner of the 2021 ROMP band contest

• Picked up by Dark Shadow Recording (Stephen Mougin) following our performance at ROMP

• Selected for the 2021 IBMA Songwriter showcase for our song  by Brian Oberlin – “Downtown”

• Artist Feature in August 2021 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited

• 2022 IBMA Showcase artists

• Hindsight released in May of 2021 in top 20 albums reported for airplay on Roots Music Report for over a year

• Seen & Heard at: Hoxeyville, ROMP, IBMA Showcase band, Charlotte BG Fest, Milan BG Fest, Kendalville BG fest. Cervantes, Telluride, Podunk, Pagosa Folk N’ Bluegrass, Wheatland Music Festival, Frankfort BG Fest & more!

Quick quotes from reviews of the band, performances and albums from notable sources.

• First-tier players who bring life and energy to the music – Don Stiernberg

• Full Cord is a bluegrass band that can hold its own with any of the subgenres (bluegrass, newgrass, jamgrass) out there today – Don Stiernberg

• This music makes me smile! – Missy Armstrong

The Rattlers are back…….

Jamie Drysdale -A class act guitarist with on-point bluegrass runs. Naturally entertaining the crowd with his quick, witty humor. He is always writing unique and ear-catching originals. Also known for his touring/songwriting with the Jackson Hole band “The Random Canyon Growlers”

Jesse Brown -A violinist who has genre hopped many bands and instruments. He is known for his years spent with “The Lil’ Smokies” both touring and writing music. You can also catch him playing with legendary Montana band “Mission Mountain Wood Band”.

Dave McMeekin -Guitar plater turned banjo player who finally settled on the mandolin. He writes tunes the way they oughta be written with three chords, three verses and one chorus. Bringing in that high tenor harmony that every bluegrass song needs!

Dillon Johns -A graduate of the music program at The University of Montana. He now teaches elementary school music, passing on his extensive knowledge of music to the next generation. You may have heard doghouse bass, but you haven’t heard it like this! One thing you’ll get a Timber show is proper dose of delicious bass solos.

Caleb Dostal – A prodigy in the field of contemporary banjo. Caleb has been playing since he was 11. He first heard the banjo on some old CD’s around the house and fell in love with the sound, and from then on has had an almost inhuman drive to improve his ability and discover more of the possibilities that the banjo holds.

Local artist, Ro Myra has attended shows at Longstaff House and will be appearing on June 27th.

“I spent most of my life running away from it, and now I’m right back where I started.”

Nowhere, Nebraska, Myra’s extraordinary debut, is more than just a musical homecoming, though. Recorded over the last few years in Denver, Nashville, and Austin, the album is a complex reckoning with the past, a nuanced, literate reexamination of small-town life in the shadow of heartbreak, self-destruction, and second chances. While the arrangements here are broad and sweeping, Myra’s storytelling is sharply focused and firmly rooted, offering up rich, detailed character studies with keen insight and deep empathy. She writes with a novelist’s eye, isolating moments and emotions with surgical precision, and she sings with a weathered grace that makes the hard truths go down easy. The result is a warm embrace of an album all about memory and forgiveness, growth and pain, freedom and fate, a collection that calls to mind everything from Lucinda Williams to Bruce Springsteen to Lori McKenna to Brandi Carlile to Sheryl Crow as it makes peace with the past in order to more fully inhabit the present.

“This album was born out of an intention to become more of an observer in my daily life,” Myra explains. “I wanted to go back to this childlike state, to this honest, authentic space where I could try to understand the people and the places that shaped me, and maybe come to a better understanding of myself in the process.”

https://www.teamwass.com/music/artists/melissa-carper

Melissa Carper is in the area for the Red Ants Pants Festival and is coming with her band to play Longstaff House.  Please check out her music.    This is beautiful, sincere country music, closer to bluegrass or mountain music that is coming from Nashville today.  Anyone inspired by Ralph Stanley is welcome here any day.

“I don’t think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya,” said bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, when asked about what he called “old-time mountain music.” When Melissa Carper heard those words, something jumped inside her. While staying in the country with a friend, she found an old DVD of Down From the Mountain, the documentary and concert film of the “O, Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack that featured this particular Stanley interview. She immediately jotted down “borned in ya” on a piece of paper. “I knew I had to write that song,” she recalls.