Past Concerts
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Mystic Lizard
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Mystic Lizard is a bluegrass band based in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area. Band members are all long-time fixtures on the New Mexico bluegrass scene and recognized as some of the top bluegrass musicians in the state, including Bob Goldstein on guitar and vocals, Ben Perea on banjo, Lance Quadri on acoustic bass and vocals, and Bob Gray on mandolin and vocals. Each of these musicians has played in several other notable local bands including The Bill Hearne Trio, Syd Masters and The Swing Riders, Elliott’s Ramblers, The Bluegrass Pelicans, Cross Country, The Watermelon Mountain Jugband, The Clear Ditch Ramblers, The Big River Boys, The String Cats, and The Hot Club of Santa Fe. Since their debut performances in the spring of 2007, this band has created a buzz of excitement in the New Mexico bluegrass community with hot picking, intricate vocal harmonies, and creative arrangements of bluegrass standards, rearrangements of folk-rock songs from the 60's and 70's, flashy instrumentals, and original songs both from both band members and a variety of undeservedly obscure song writers.
Notwithstanding virtuoso instrumental skills, Mystic Lizard emphasizes vocals in most of their repertoire. Bob, Lance, and Bob split lead vocal duties and trade off the tenor and baritone parts for carefully crafted 3-part harmonies. That’s not to say that they don’t also enjoy kicking it into high gear now and then to burn through a hot instrumental number too.
Grey Larsen and Cindy Kallet
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Grey Larsen discovered Irish traditional music in the early '70s and pursues it with devotion to this day. Regarded as one of America's leading Irish flute players, Grey joins the silken grace of the East Galway flute style with the driving momentum found in Irish music at large. He has spent decades learning from elder masters, both in the US and in Ireland, and combines his traditional training with an academic background in composition and early music. Through the playing of many traditional musicians in Ireland and other Celtic lands, several of Grey's own tunes have been adopted into the common repertoire.
Cindy Kallet has been writing music and playing the guitar since she was eleven years old, and has performed throughout the US for more than thirty years. She is a gifted songwriter, singer and guitarist with five solo albums to her credit. In the twenty-five years since the release of her first album, Cindy has built a devoted audience of all ages and from all walks of life. Her fans find many reasons to love her music, from her deep and intricate guitar playing to her clear and heartfelt singing to her honest and intelligent songwriting to her quietly outrageous humor. Her passion for folk tradition is deeply personal and challenges listeners to draw their own connections with the music.
For information on these charming musicians, visit their website: www.kalletlarsen.com
Steve Smith & Hard Road with Bill Evans & Megan Lynch
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Steve Smith and Hard Road evolved into a full working group as a result of the success and chemistry of the musicians who came together to work on Steve's original live studio recording Hard Road (dn444) released in 2004. This chemistry in the studio has led to an excellent rapport onstage, on the road and in the song-writing and harmonies that have become the signature Hard Road sound. www.desertnight.com
At the heart of Hard Road is the song-writing team of Steve Smith, one of this generation’s mandolin masters, and Minnesota songbird Chris Sanders.
The Hard Road line-up for 2010 brings Aaron McCloskey's exciting new guitar stylings to the group and a musical sophistication beyond his years. Also appearing on selected dates are Bill Evans (www.nativeandfine.com) on 5-string banjo, Bill Amatneek on bass and national champion fiddler Megan Lynch. Evans adds his now legendary style and drive to the group while Amatneek (original bassist with the David Grisman Quintet) anchors the groove. The band is fortunate to welcome the stunning gifts of true fiddle star Megan Lynch. www.beml.info
Blue Canyon Boys
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Winners of the 2008 Telluride Bluegrass festival band contest, the Blue Canyon Boys offer a unique style of Colorado Bluegrass steeped in tradition with enough excursions to keep all types of music lovers tapping their feet. This bluegrass powerhouse consists of Gary Dark on mandolin, Jason Hicks on guitar, Drew Garrett on bass, and Jeff Scroggins on banjo. Blending incredible brother-duet-style vocals and hard-driving instrumental proficiency, this energetic band is driving audiences to their feet and keeping them there. With two well-received recordings of originals and interpretations of traditional songs by the likes of Monroe, Stanley, and McReynolds the Blue Canyon Boys have become one of Colorado’s most celebrated Front Range bluegrass bands. The Boys are currently working on their fourth release, tentatively titled, um...: BCB-004.
Here’s what people are saying about the Blue Canyon Boys:
“The Blue Canyon Boys is a band on the rise as evidenced by its first-place contest finish at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. “House Full Of Sorrow” is their third release (BU, July ’06 and July ’07) with 14 selections, almost half of which are originals. The performances reflect a high level of perfection with dynamic instrumentation and exhilarating vocal harmonies. Among the selections are “Lyin’, Cheatin’, Cryin’”, Hello, Who’s Calling?” and “You Better Get To Heaven”. From every aspect, “House Full Of Sorrow” is the Blue Canyon Boys most successful recording to date, placing them on the fast track for more challenging ventures." (Bluegrass Unlimited, October '09)
Allen Mills and Lost & Found
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lost and Found was Formed in 1973, the original lineup of the Lost & Found bluegrass band consisted of bass player Allen Mills, banjo player Gene Parker, mandolin player Dempsey Young and guitarist Roger Handy. The band became quite popular playing bluegrass festivals, with Mills' exceptional songwriting contributing much to the group's fame; "Love of the Mountains," recorded by the original lineup, has become a contemporary bluegrass standard. In addition to contemporary songs, the band also recorded more traditional fare, such as "The Man Who Wrote 'Home Sweet Home' Never Was a Married Man." Most of their albums feature similar material, and the band continues to be a strong positive force in contemporary bluegrass music. The band first recorded for Outlet Records in 1975, then achieved wider fame after it signed with Roanoke's Rebel Records in 1982. By the mid-'90s, only Allen Mills and DempseyYoung had stayed, recruiting guitarist Berry Berrier and banjo player Lynwood Lunsford as replacements. Through out the years Lost and Found has had many talented member of the band, including Ronnie Bowman, Shane Bartley, Greg Luck, Jody King, Ben Green along with others. As of today, the band is made up by Allen Mills on bass, Scottie Sparks on Guitar, Ronald Smith on banjo and newest member Scot Napier on Mandolin replacing the legendary Dempsey Young who passed away December 10, 2006.