Tag: LA Bluegrass Situation

Top 10 Sitch Sessions of the Past 10 Years

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Since the beginning, BGS has sought to showcase roots music at every level and to preserve the moments throughout its ever-developing history that make this music so special. One of the simplest ways we’ve been able to do just that has been through our Sitch Sessions — working with new and old friends, up-and-coming artists, and legendary performers, filming musical moments in small, intimate spaces, among expansive, breathtaking landscapes, and just about everywhere in between. But always aiming to capture the communion of these shared moments.

In honor of our 10th year, we’ve gathered 10 of our best sessions — viral videos and fan favorites — from the past decade. We hope you’ll enjoy this trip down memory lane!

Greensky Bluegrass – “Burn Them”

Our most popular video of all time, this Telluride, Colorado session with Greensky Bluegrass is an undeniable favorite, and we just had to include it first.

Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris – “The Traveling Kind”

What more could you ask for than two old friends and legends of country music reminiscing on travels and songs passed and yet to come, in an intimate space like this? “We’re members of an elite group because we’re still around, we’re still traveling,” Emmylou Harris jokes. To which Rodney Crowell adds with a laugh, “We traveled so far, it became a song.” The flowers were even specifically chosen and arranged “to represent a celestial great-beyond and provide a welcoming otherworldly quality … a resting place for the traveling kind.” Another heartwarming touch for an unforgettable moment.

Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan – “Some Tyrant” 

In the summer of 2014, during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival we had the distinct pleasure of capturing Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan’s perfectly bucolic version of “Some Tyrant” among the aspens. While out on this jaunt into the woods, we also caught a performance of the loveliest ode to summertime from Kristin Andreassen, joined by Aoife and Sarah.

Rhiannon Giddens – “Mal Hombre”

Rhiannon Giddens once again proves that she can sing just about anything she wants to — and really well — with this gorgeously painful and moving version of “Mal Hombre.”

Tim O’Brien – “You Were on My Mind”

Is this our favorite Sitch Session of all time? Probably. Do we dream of having the good fortune of running into Tim O’Brien playing the banjo on a dusty road outside of Telluride like the truck driver in this video? Definitely.

Enjoy one of our most popular Sitch Sessions of all time, featuring O’Brien’s pure, unfiltered magic in a solo performance of an original, modern classic.

Gregory Alan Isakov – “Saint Valentine”

Being lucky in love is great work, if you can find it. But, for the rest of us, it’s a hard row to hoe. For this 2017 Sitch Session at the York Manor in our home base of Los Angeles, Gregory Alan Isakov teamed up with the Ghost Orchestra to perform “Saint Valentine.”

The Earls of Leicester – “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town”

In this rollicking session, the Earls of Leicester gather round some Ear Trumpet Labs mics to bring their traditional flair to a modern audience, and they all seem to be having a helluva time!

Sara and Sean Watkins – “You and Me”

For this Telluride session, Sara and Sean Watkins toted their fiddle and guitar up the mountain to give us a performance of “You and Me” from a gondola flying high above the canyon.

Punch Brothers – “My Oh My / Boll Weevil”

The Punch Brothers — along with Dawes, The Lone Bellow, and Gregory Alan Isakov — headlined the 2015 LA Bluegrass Situation festival at the Greek Theatre (a party all on its own), and in anticipation, the group shared a performance of “My Oh My” into “Boll Weevil” from on top of the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.

Caitlin Canty feat. Noam Pikelny – “I Want To Be With You Always”

We’ll send you off with this delicate moment. Released on Valentine’s Day, Caitlin Canty and Noam Pikelny offered their tender acoustic rendition of Lefty Frizzell’s 1951 country classic love song, “I Want to Be With You Always.”

Dive into 8 of our favorite underrated Sitch Sessions here.

BGS Top 50 Moments: The LA Bluegrass Situation at Largo

Posted on by Amy Reitnouer

It was 2010 when the true origins of “The Sitch” first materialized.  For five days in May, BGS founder Ed Helms congregated a lauded lineup of roots artists at the storied Largo at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles.  That first annual LA Bluegrass Situation festival included the likes of Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, The Watkins Family Hour, Gillian Welch, Will Ferrell, Jackson Browne, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Ed’s Whiskey Sour Radio Hour variety showcase.

In the festivals that followed, LABS brought in the likes of Nickel Creek, John C. Reilly, the Punch Brothers, Willie Watson, and many others before broadening to bigger venues across Los Angeles.  The online iteration of “The Bluegrass Sitch” wouldn’t come to fruition for another two years, but the heart of it was all there, on stage at Largo, from the very start.

Photo Credit: Lincoln Andrew Defour

We Had Ourselves a Situation…

Posted on by Editor

 

I still can’t believe this weekend actually happened.

But it did.

This past Thursday through Sunday, May 3 – 6, the best in bluegrass, folk, roots and Americana gathered in Los Angeles, first at Largo on La Cienega, then amongst the trees of the Santa Monica mountains above the city at Tree People’s Mulholland/Coldwater park.

With the recent launch of the new site, things were already in a rather surreal state.  The site response alone has been overwhelming (not to mention all the great coverage via Ed’s Funny or Die video or the multiple articles that have been popping up).  But this weekend took things to another level.

Thursday night kicked things off with Sean and Sara Watkins, plus friends like Tom Brosseau, Willie Watson, Chris Thile, and others, after which John C Reilly did a special performance of An American Song Cycle with some of his own friends, and even featured LA-based old-time wunderkind Frank Fairfield.

Friday launched with Ed’s band The Lonesome Trio, featuring Jacob Tilove on mandolin and Ian Riggs on bass…. The Whiskey Sour Radio Hour was a true variety show, in the vein of a cracked out Prairie Home Companion, with appearances by Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate, Will Forte, and one incredible sketch involving New Yorker cartoonist Matt Diffee, the Punch Brothers, and Critter Eldridge doing his best hardcore rap.  The late show featured Chris, Noam, Critter, Gabe and Paul tearing up the stage, including rousing tributes to both Levon Helm and Earl Scruggs to round out the night.

Next, the Steep Canyon Rangers joined, along with the one and only Steve Martin on Saturday night.  I would say it’s hard to believe I was seeing the SCR guys only a few years back at The Cave in Chapel Hill, playing to a small but devoted crowd, and yet it’s not that hard to believe at all because they’re so damn good.

And as if anything could possibly top all of that, Sunday was a magical night under the stars, with acts from the three previous nights brought together on an outdoor stage, jamming to Foggy Mountain Breakdown for an encore.

To call it a Situation doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Since then, it’s been all about recovering, catching up on sleep (ha!), and getting back to work (be patient, we’ll have a brand new, updated cal available very soon).

If you were able to join us for the festival, I want to hear all about your favorite parts and any other comments you might have.  If you weren’t, well, we’re just getting started, and if this weekend was any indication, we’re on to something BIG, with plenty in store for you to join us next year.  I can’t wait.

(don’t worry… more festival photos to come soon….)

WE GOT OURSELVES A SITUATION!

Posted on by Editor

“Everything bluegrass, folk, Americana, roots, twang, old-time, western swing in the Southland.”

Welcome to THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION!  We’re so glad you’re here.  Joining the forces of local music blog BLUEGRASSLA and the annual LA BLUEGRASS SITUATION festival at Largo, The Bluegrass Situation aims to be a resource for enthusiasts and residents, showcasing local artists, venues, and upcoming shows, while demonstrating to the world the amazing talent and local fanbase that await them in LA.

We are here because we love the music, we love the community that surrounds it, and we love our city.  And we hope you will join us as we continue to tell the story of Los Angeles bluegrass.

While you’re here, be sure to sign up for our mailing list (in the top left corner of the site) for articles, videos, newsletters, and the all latest in Southern California bluegrass.  Take a look around, explore some of our exclusive articles, and let us know what you think!  The Bluegrass Situation is a work in progress, so we need your feedback!  (And while you’re at it, don’t forget to Like us on FB and follow us on Twitter!)

To kick things off, we’ve got a Funny or Die Exclusive (in which our own Ed Helms may or may not expose the truth behind the site…).  Welcome to The Sitch!

The Bluegrass Brainwash Conspiracy with Ed Helms from Ed Helms

Last Chance for Tickets to the 2012 LA Bluegrass Situation at Largo!

Posted on by Editor

We’ve got good news, readers…

Think you’ve missed your chance to see this year’s LA Bluegrass Situation festival at Largo at the Coronet?? Think again.

Until 4pm Monday, April 30, the first fifty people to email [email protected] will get TWO FOR ONE tickets to see An American Song Cycle with John C Reilly & Friends (plus some very special guests) this Thursday, May 3!

John’s roots and Americana musical review is bound to be a raucous good time and we’d love for you to join us… This is a CASH ONLY deal. Just email your name and contact info to [email protected] and pay at the door. But hurry! These tickets won’t last long and the deal is only available until 4pm PT tomorrow.

For more information, check out https://thebluegrasssituation.com/festival/

Hope to see you at The Sitch!