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I have this guy in the class with Ry Cooder or Tim O’Brien.

How about this:

• “Tony Furtado is a major musical force without a doubt. He has his black belt in voice, bottleneck guitar and his banjo playing scares the crap out of me.” – David Lindley

Very few musicians of any stripe so personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music.

Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.

”A native of Pleasanton, California, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Tony Furtado took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies television show and a sixth-grade music report. He first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Not long after that, Tony opted for the life of a full-time professional musician, joining Laurie Lewis & Grant Street. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, bookended his years with Grant Street.

In 1990, Tony signed a recording deal with Rounder Records, one of the country’s preeminent independent record companies. Beginning with Swamped in 1990, he recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. During this period, Tony also performed and recorded with the band SugarBeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.

Beginning in the late 1990s – influenced by such musical heroes as Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Taj Mahal – Tony added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.

Tony has performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival and countless others.

Owen brings his local trio of  players plus Lhanna Writesel on sax for a night of jazz.

Owen Ross is a jazz guitarist, composer, and producer whose music is imbued with influences
of hard bop, modern jazz, funk, and R&B. His music effortlessly blends traditional jazz elements
with contemporary influences, creating a unique voice that resonates with listeners of all
backgrounds. Ross has captivated audiences around the world with his soulful playing and
compositions, both as a solo artist, sideman, and with his organ trio, Diplomats of Funk. Based
in Montana and New England, Ross serves as a faculty member at the University of Montana
School of Music, and as an in-house engineer and arranger at Oak Hill Music and Studio
Metronome in New Hampshire.

STURTZ’S MUSIC STANDS OUT FOR ITS DISTINCTIVE, SOOTHING INSTRUMENTAL AND VOCAL HARMONIES.

The acoustic quartet – Andrew Sturtz [vocals, guitar], Jim Herlihy [banjo], Courtlyn Carpenter [cello, and Will Kuepper [bass]– falls somewhere at the intersection of folk and soul, with lead singer Andrew Sturtz’s melodic vocals soaring over the lower string instrumentals. Sturtz is based in Boulder, CO, and has toured across the U.S. opening for groups like the Eli Young Band, Trout Steak Revival, Lillie Mae, and Smooth Hound Smith. NPR’s All Songs Considered described the band as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times” in their April 2020 blog. Sturtz released their debut album You’ve Done this Before in August 2021, and now they are hard at work touring on this album and writing songs for their next album. When they’re not playing music, you’ll probably find them milling flour, farming, laying in a creek, or eating native foliage.

Joe and Mike are coming back again.  They are the absolute masters od thrie genre.  This should not be missed.

Check this band out, I had never heard of them but I have been getting calls from people who are excited about finally getting a chance to see them.   Amazing harmonies, tasty instrumentals, creative originals, and excellent covers.

Natalie is coming back, this time with Quinn Bachand.  Quinn is an incredible  multi-instrumentalist from Canada.  They will be coming west for Montana Fiddle Camp.

This will be an amazing duo.  Quinn may play the harmonica as well…..

We finally succeeded in getting these superb pickers…..mark this date down.

Here’s the bio:

Nick Dumas – Nick grew up in Brier, Washington, and was introduced to bluegrass music at a very young age by his dobro-playing grandfather. He often listened to his grandfather’s country gospel band rehearse and was so inspired by the fiddle player that he started learning to play the violin in his school orchestra class when he was 12 years old. Nick soon began taking private fiddle lessons and then joined the family band The Three Generations. After learning to play mandolin, guitar and banjo and to sing lead and harmony vocals, Nick became a co-founder of the popular Northwest-based bluegrass bands Northern Departure and the North Country Bluegrass band! In 2015, Nick performed across the world with Chicago based Special Consensus. In his time with the band, they received three IBMA awards and a Grammy Nomination. In addition to playing with this trio, Nick also fronts his own touring band “Nick Dumas & Branchline” and has been signed by Nashville based Skyline Records, releasing his newest solo album “Details” in 2023.

Chris Luquette – Chris is one of the hardest working musicians from the Seattle music scene. Now living in New York City, Chris’ musicianship reflects the multitude of musical influences he turns to for inspiration. His acoustic guitar playing really stands out, but this virtuosic, multi-instrumentalist is equally at home playing mandolin, drums, bass, electric guitar, banjo, and Greek bouzouki! Chris spent 11 years as the guitar player for the fantastic Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen! They have seen the world in their travels and also received multiple IBMA awards and a Grammy Nomination as well! In addition, Chris was a founding member of Seattle-based, Northern Departure, and has found himself sitting in with Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, Rob Ickes, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Kenny and Amanda Smith, The Boxcars, Yogi and The Yogini’s and many others.

Andrew Knapp – Andrew is truly one of the best bass players you will find in the region and beyond! He is also a talented singer. He currently plays with the fantastic Seattle-based bluegrass band, The Warren G. Hardings! Andrew makes a perfect match with Nick and Chris’ sound and adds a very important and fantastic role to the trio! Andrew has also been traveling on the road with “Nick Dumas & Branchline” playing at many top tier festivals and venues across the country.

Dawn Clement (piano, vocals) and Naomi Moon Siegel (trombone) come together for the first time ever as a duo in what promises to be a night of exciting, intimate, creative music.

Dawn Clement is a joyful and formidable force in modern creative music. “In all this world of jazz, there are very few individual voices, but Dawn has come up with a voice that’s unique…” says legendary jazz trombonist Julian Priester. Her albums showcase an impressive range from master of the jazz piano trio style, to avant garde improviser, to an expressive songwriter and vocalist. Clement has collaborated with artists including Jane Ira Bloom, Ron Miles, Matt Wilson, Rene Marie, and GRAMMY-winning ensemble säje. She is also a member of Esthesis Quartet, which includes flutist Elsa Nilsson, drummer Tina Raymond, and bassist Emma Dayhuff.

Award-winning trombonist and composer Naomi Moon Siegel is changing the way the trombone is seen in music. She has “crafted a truly unique aesthetic, combining elements of straightahead, fusion and modern jazz with world-music flavors in a way that sounds entirely of the 21st century” (JAZZIZ).  A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Siegel has received the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero Award, Montana Art Council’s Artist Innovation Award, Chamber Music America’s Performance Plus Grant, and an Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award for Emerging Artist of the Year.

Two days after seeing an amazing video of Richard with Tommo Emanuel, he wrote and asked for a show.  This will be killer!

• 1999 AFG Golden Thumbpick Award
• 2001 National Finger­style Guitar Champion
• 2008 Thumbpicker of the Year
• 2009 National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame Induction
• Played with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Nato Lima, Boots Randolph, Tommy Emmanuel, John Jor­genson, Marcel Dadi, Tommy Tedesco, Joe Pass, Biréli Lagrène, Mark O’Connor, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Martin Taylor, Jorge Morel, Earl Klugh, Suzy Bogguss, Victor Wooten, John Cowan and countless more.

https://www.richardsmithmusic.com/solo

Smith was born in Beckenham, England. He picked up the guitar when he was five years old after watching his father playing an Atkins and Travis version of “Down South Blues”. He begged his father, a longtime Atkins admirer, to introduce him to the fingerpicking style. Smith soon became a child prodigy on the guitar. As a kid he could play the entire discographies of Django Reinhardt and Chet Atkins. At the age of 11 he shared the stage with his idol when Atkins invited Smith to play with him at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.^[1][2] He was also influenced by guitarist Big Jim Sullivan and briefly studied jazz guitar with Shane Hill at Warlingham School, Surrey.^{[citation needed]}

He formed the Richard Smith Guitar Trio with his brothers Rob and Sam before marrying American cellist Julie Adams and moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 1999.^[3] He founded the Hot Club of Nashville, a jam band with a varying lineup that included John Jorgenson, Pat Bergeson, Bryan Sutton, and Stuart Duncan, combining gypsy jazz and western swing. Smith performs as a solo act and a duo with his wife. His repertoire includes country, bluegrass, blues, ragtime, folk, jazz, pop, and classical music.^[4]

Larry & Joe were destined to make music together.

Larry Bellorín hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe Troop is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds in the pandemic. Larry worked construction to make ends meet. Joe’s acclaimed “latingrass” band Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants. Then Larry met Joe.

Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, maracas, guitar, upright bass, and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. The program they offer features a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce.