Upcoming Concerts

Jeff and Vida

Friday, September 17, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Jeff and Vida’s nine years of performing and songwriting, have seen them delve into many different genres of music; country, honky-tonk, rockabilly, even a little rock and roll.  But throughout their career, which has included four critically acclaimed albums, literally thousands of live shows in the U.S. and Europe, and a move from New Orleans to Nashville, bluegrass has remained a key influence in their style and sound.  Nowhere is this more evident than on their new CD, Selma Chalk. 

The new record features thirteen original songs, a stellar band, and an enigmatic name. Inside the CD jacket, selma chalk  is defined as “an impurity in the most fertile soil of the South”.  Intentional or not, the title seems an apt metaphor for the music contained within- an outsiders’ take on fertile traditions of Southern and Appalachian string band music.  Indeed, a number of tracks do fit neatly into what might be called a ‘traditional bluegrass’ sound. More often than not however, the record bends bluegrass instrumentation around material that's a little edgier, a little bluesier and a little rougher than your typical bluegrass album.

“they continue to shape some of the most potent, bluegrass-influenced sounds around.” “in Vida Wakeman they have one of THE contemporary Americana vocalists” Whisperin’ and Hollerin’ (UK)

“There’s no holding back Jeff Burke on the mandolin, and the players on banjo, fiddle and other instruments are some of the best you’ll hear anywhere...the virtuoso playing isn’t standard - it’s dazzling” Music News Nashville

“Jeff & Vida make music that is real and true. Theirs are the songs you long to hear late at night on the interstate, in poolhalls and smoky whiskey bars.” New York Times Magazine

Bryan Bowers

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 7:00 pm

From his rather unglamorous beginning as a street singer, Bryan Bowers has become a major artist on the traditional music circuit. He has redefined the autoharp and is also well known as a singer-songwriter. Bryan has a dynamic outgoing personality and an uncanny ability to enchant a crowd in practically any situation. His towering six foot four inch frame can be wild and zany on stage while playing a song like `Dixie' and five minutes later he can have the same audience singing `Will The Circle Be Unbroken' in quiet reverence and delight

For nearly three decades, Bryan Bowers has been to the autoharp what Earl Scruggs was to the five-string banjo. He presents instrumental virtuosity combined with warmth, eloquence, expression and professionalism.

"To call Bryan Bowers' performance simply a 'concert' would be inadequate if not inaccurate ... (it) could better be described as an experience!"
-Deseret News

"Bowers is widely regarded as the leading virtuoso on the autoharp... Bowers also has distinct gifts as a singer and songwriter."
-People Magazine

"...This man makes more music from an Autoharp than you can imagine from a 12-string guitar and a harpsichord combined. He has more stage presence and charisma than any stage performer in recent memory."
-The Washington Times

The Chapmans

Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 7:00 pm

The Chapmans, a Missouri-based family band, have launched a new Web site, http://www.thechapmansonline.com.

The band consists of brothers Jeremy, Jason and John and their father Bill. They were the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year in 2001. They have three albums out on the Pinecastle Label, including “Simple Man,” the latest released in 2005.

According to The Chapman’s MySpace page, “the band’s musical journey begins in the early 1990s in Colorado where young fiddler John Chapman won a statewide junior division championship in his early teens. Inspired by his son’s interest in music, Bill took up the banjo and the two started a bluegrass band with some family friends. Eventually John would switch to guitar and begin singing lead vocals. When younger brothers Jeremy and Jason took up mandolin and bass respectively, a hobby turned into a full-on family passion.

“The Chapmans honed their skills through shows at county fairs and bluegrass festivals throughout the 1990s,” the MySpace biography continues. “They moved to the Missouri Ozarks in 1995 to make nationwide travel easier. In 1998 the Chapmans jumped into the national spotlight when they won the International Bluegrass Band Championship held by the Society For the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Along with the critical success of the band’s first independent album, ‘Love’s Gonna Live Here,’ the win paved the way for the Chapmans to sign a record contract with independent roots and bluegrass label Pinecastle Records.”

Byron Berline

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Byron Berline is a three-time National Fiddle Champion who turned to a musical career after earning a B. A. in Physical Education at the University of Oklahoma. Originally from Oklahoma where he began playing the fiddle at age 5, Byron lived and worked in Los Angeles for 26 years
before returning to his home state in 1995.

Byron's professional career reads like Who's Who
in the music business as he has performed with or recorded with so many notables. He has led or been a member of the following bands : Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, 1966 - 67; Dillard & Clark, 1969-1970; Dillard Expedition, 1970-71; Country Gazette, 1971-75; Sundance, 1975-85; Berline, Crary & Hickman, 1978-90; L. A. Fiddle Band, 1978-93; California, 1990-96; Byron Berline Band, 1996- Present