This past weekend in Tilmon, Texas, not too far from Austin, legends, up-and-comers, and local artists alike gathered for the Old Settler’s Music Festival, a celebration of roots music of all stripes that’s been happening since 1987. The Del McCoury Band, Flaco Jimenez, Peter Rowan, and other greats were joined by the likes of Sierra Hull, The Suffers, Brennen Leigh, American Aquarium, and so many others. Take a look at our photo recap below.
All photos by Daniel Jackson
Bluegrass is back at Bourbon & Beyond! We’re so excited to once again curate and host a stage at the bourbon, food, and music festival in Louisville, Kentucky. To add onto the already stellar main stage headliners like Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Yola, and so many more, this year’s bluegrass stage will feature Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Sierra Hull, and Hogslop String Band, as well as Gary Brewer & Kentucky Ramblers, Jon Stickley Trio, Missy Raines & Allegheny, Jake Blount, Bella White, Tray Wellington, Tyler Boone – and more to be announced! We can’t wait to gather with all of our bluegrass friends for a weekend of stellar bourbon, delicious food, and incredible music.
You can grab your tickets and learn more about Bourbon & Beyond here.
The BGS team is gearing up to board the Norwegian Pearl and join the Sixthman team – along with the likes of Emmylou Harris, the Punch Brothers, Aoife O’Donovan, Dawes, the Mavericks… (we could go on and on and on about this lineup) – as we set sail for a journey through song in Cayamo. The cruise has been a fun-filled gathering of roots music artists and fans for fourteen years now, and we can’t wait to be a part of this reunion after a year away. The week at sea promises full days of live music and community set against the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean, and it all sounds like a dream.
This year’s ship may be full as of now (though there’s still time to cross your fingers and join the waiting list if you’re the last-minute type), but no need to fret – we’ll be capturing exciting moments onboard so you can experience the fun from dry land. Stay tuned!
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Asheville, North Carolina’s history as a music center goes back to the 1920s and string-band troubadours like Lesley Riddle and Bascom Lamar Lunsford, and country-music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. But there’s always been a lot more to this town than acoustic music and scenic mountain views. From the experimental Black Mountain College that drew a range of minds as diverse as German artist Josef Albers, composer John Cage, and Albert Einstein, Asheville was also the spiritual home for electronic-music pioneer Bob Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer first popularized by experimental bands like Kraftwerk to giant disco hits like Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.”
It’s also a town where busking culture ensures that music flows from every street corner, and it’s the adopted hometown of many modern musicians in a multitude of genres, including Pokey LaFarge, who spent his early career busking in Asheville, and Moses Sumney, a musician who’s sonic palette is so broad, it’s all but unclassifiable.
In this premiere episode of Carolina Calling, we wonder and explore what elements of this place of creative retreat have drawn individualist artists for over a century? Perhaps it’s the fact that whatever your style, Asheville is a place that allows creativity to grow and thrive.
Subscribe to Carolina Calling on any and all podcast platforms to follow along as we journey across the Old North State, visiting towns like Shelby, Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington, and more.
Music featured in this episode:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford – “Dry Bones”
Jimmie Rodgers – “My Carolina Sunshine Girl”
Kraftwerk – “Autobahn”
Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”
Pokey LaFarge – “End Of My Rope”
Moses Sumney – “Virile”
Andrew Marlin – “Erie Fiddler (Carolina Calling Theme)”
Moses Sumney – “Me In 20 Years”
Steep Canyon Rangers – “Honey on My Tongue”
Béla Bartók – “Romanian Folk Dances”
New Order – “Blue Monday”
Quindar – “Twin-Pole Sunshade for Rusty Schweickart”
Pokey LaFarge – “Fine To Me”
Bobby Hicks Feat. Del McCoury – “We’re Steppin’ Out”
Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Put A Lid On It”
Jimmie Rodgers – “Daddy and Home”
Lesley Riddle – “John Henry”
Steep Canyon Rangers – “Graveyard Fields”
BGS is proud to produce Carolina Calling in partnership with Come Hear NC, a campaign from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ contribution to the canon of American music.
This week on The Show On The Road, we jump in our podcast time machine for a face-to-face interview (remember those?) with acclaimed blues and roots guitarist and singer-songwriter Samantha Fish.
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Now based in New Orleans, the SOTR caught up with Samantha Fish at the Sugar Magnolia Music Fest in Mississippi before the world shut down — and to be real, until recently, the very idea of airing this interview seemed inappropriate. Two songwriters speaking into one mic at close range? With everyone crammed into a little trailer? No sanitizer in sight? Indeed.
And yet, as in-person interviews are set to recommence and venues are reopening at last, it felt good to remind ourselves what a real Show On The Road conversation feels like. There are no Zoom glitches or quick edits needed here. We talk about favorite restaurants in New Orleans, dream festival lineups, and guitar solo self-esteem pep talks. We question if Elvis’s ghost is watching over us as we record — and you’ll notice the sound is not pristine, but maybe that’s the best part. You can hear the squeak of the seats, the grit in the voices before they are warmed up for an upcoming set. There’s a band warming up in the background and you can hear Samantha tuning her acoustic guitar just off mic before playing her favorite forlorn love-song, “I Need You More,” near the end.
For folks who are not familiar with Fish’s work, she’s been one of the hardest touring bandleaders on the blues and Americana circuit since she started recording out of her hometown of Kansas City a decade ago. She was still slinging and delivering pizzas then, but now she’s an award-winning veteran of various music scenes and a headliner at music fests from the Crescent City (where she played her first Jazz Fest) to jazz and blues gatherings across Europe and beyond. With seven albums and counting under her belt, including her Memphis brass-embellished latest, Kill Or Be Kind, and her standout rocker, Belle Of The West, (created with Luther Luther Dickinson, which we discuss at length here) Fish is proving again and again that she is in it for the long haul.
One of the more moving moments of the episode centers on Fish’s memories of growing up playing the drums and jamming with her musical family. Even then she didn’t see many girls like her taking the lead guitar as their destiny. She had to believe in herself before anyone else would, and here she is. Representation matters and Fish is showing a whole generation of young players that despite Rolling Stone barely mentioning women in their ongoing “greatest guitarists of all time” lists there are new people who walk and talk and look a little different taking up the mantle of guitar god (or goddess).
Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen
As February’s kick-off of WinterWonderGrass 2020 grows closer, the festival is excited to share with BGS the official daily schedule for their Colorado edition, taking place February 21-23 in Steamboat Springs. One of the biggest delights includes the announcement of a second headlining performance by Billy Strings, who will now play the main stage on both Friday and Sunday nights.
In conjunction with the daily schedule announcement, WinterWonderGrass plans to release a limited quantity of single-day tickets starting Tuesday, December 3. Weekend general admission passes will move to a new pricing tier starting Tuesday, December 10. Tickets and more info available here.
“We are super pumped to announce that Billy will not only perform his first headlining WinterWonderGrass set on Friday night, but that he and his band really wanted to stick around and enjoy that Steamboat hospitality, so we added him as a co-headliner on Sunday before Margo Price,” festival founder Scotty Stoughton says. “It’s a testament to Billy’s appreciation and gratitude for his fans, the community, and the WinterWonderGrass family.”
Gates open at 1:45 p.m. each day and music kicks off at 2 p.m. during the three-day music festival, with Friday and Saturday night’s programming lasting until 10:30 p.m. All attendees 21+ are invited to take part in the complementary beer sampling from 2:00-5:00 p.m. each day during the event.
Performances across the Soapbox, Pickin’ Perch, and Jamboree stages will see many artists perform two consecutive sets, and each night, performances on the Close Pick stage will close the festival.
Tickets for all three stops are now on sale and moving fast: Colorado | California | Vermont.
VIP tickets to Steamboat’s stop are already sold out, but fans are encouraged to check out the official fan-to-fan ticketing exchange powered by Lyte if they’re in search of tickets as more of the dates and tiers sell out.
Stay tuned for more information on Grass After Dark programming and beer partners for the 2020 season.
Check out the full, announced schedule:
Twisted Pine kicks off the music for the weekend on the Soapbox stage from 2:00-2:30 p.m. and 3:40 – 4:20 p.m., followed by Molly Tuttle at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m. Steamboat locals Buffalo Commons open the Pickin’ Perch stage with performances at 2:00-2:40 p.m. and 3:40-4:20 p.m., followed by the Jon Stickley Trio at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m. The Jamboree stage opens on Friday at 2:00 p.m. with performances from Meadow Mountain at 2:00-2:40 p.m. and 3:40-4:20 p.m., with two sets from Jeremy Garrett (the Infamous Stringdusters) + Friends at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m.
The Bluegrass Generals (ft. Andy Hall & Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters) will open the Main stage on Friday from 2:30-3:40 p.m., followed by Della Mae’s headlining performance from 4:20-5:35 p.m. From 6:15-7:45 p.m., Keller and the Keels will take over the main stage and Billy Strings’ headlining debut at the festival will take place from 8:25-10:00 p.m.
Saturday welcomes local Steamboat pickers Jay Roemer Band from 2:00-2:30 p.m. and 3:40-4:20 p.m. on the Soapbox stage, followed by two additional performances from Della Mae at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m. Twisted Pine returns, as well, for performances from 2:00-2:40 p.m. and 3:40-4:20 p.m. on the Pickn’ Perch stage, and the collaborative WinterWonderWomen follow with performances at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m. Telluride Bluegrass winners Bowregard takes the Jamboree stage from 2:00-2:40 p.m. and 3:40-4:20 p.m., with Cris Jacobs Band to follow at 5:35-6:15 p.m. and 7:45-8:25 p.m.
Saturday’s Main stage opens with Horseshoes and Handgrenades from 2:30-3:40 p.m., followed by a headlining performance from Molly Tuttle at 4:20-5:35 p.m. Nikki Lane follows, with a set from 6:15-7:45 p.m. and Greensky Bluegrass takes the stage for their headlining performance from 8:25-10:00 p.m.
The Battle Of The Bands winner from the January 11th competition will open Sunday’s Soapbox stage from 3:15-3:55 p.m. Two sets from Che Apalache follow, with sets at 5:10-5:50 p.m. and 7:20-8:00 p.m. Cris Jacobs Band returns on Sunday for three sets on the Pickn’ Perch stage at 3:15-3:55 p.m., 5:10-5:50 p.m., and 7:20-8:00 p.m. The Jamboree stage closes out with three sets from Pickin’ On The Dead at 3:15-3:55 p.m., 5:10-5:50 p.m. and 7:20-8:00 p.m.
ALO opens the Main stage on Sunday, with a performance from 2:00-3:15 p.m. and Travelin’ McCourys follows from 3:55-5:10 p.m. At 5:50 p.m., Billy Strings returns for his second headlining performance, and Margo Price closes out the festival’s Main stage from 8:00-9:30 p.m.
Photo credit: Tobin Voggesser
Today, the WinterWonderGrass Music & Brew Festival shares the 2020 lineup across all three of their flagship events. Taking place in Colorado from February 21-23, California from March 27-29, and Vermont from April 10-11, the traveling music festival will welcome performances from some of the hottest names currently thriving in today’s bluegrass and Americana scenes.
“It’s with a mountain of intention, huge hearts, humility, and a commitment to delivering the hottest and sweetest artists that we present to you the 2020 WinterWonderGrass landscape,” says festival founder Scotty Stoughton in a press release. “Each year, the hardest thing to do is not heed our desire to return to each and every band — and by virtue of that, friends to WWG — year in and year out. It is our sincere desire you’ll find new lifetime favorites on this lineup, have the chance to be reunited with old loves and step out of your comfort zone with open arms to new experiences.”
“WinterWonderGrass has become a home for artists, fans, staff, locals, businesses, skiers, riders, their families and all of the like,” adds festival Director of Marketing & Ticketing, Ariel Rosemberg. “We pride ourselves on creating a sustainable, safe and receptive environment, bound by the marriage of the best in bluegrass, folk and Americana, and the undefeated nature of American ski culture.”
BGS has partnered with WWG for the past two years and we are excited to once again join forces with WinterWonderGrass to create and share unforgettable experiences and world-class music across our communities and across the country.
Returning to Colorado for its eighth consecutive year, and its fourth year located in the pristine ski town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, WinterWonderGrass presents headlining performances from Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, and Margo Price over its three days this coming February.
Additional artists on the bill include: Keller & the Keels, Della Mae, Travelin’ McCourys, Nikki Lane, Molly Tuttle, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Bluegrass Generals (Chris Pandolfi & Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters), ALO, Lindsay Lou, a collaborative set from the WinterWonderWomen, Pickin’ on the Dead, Che Apalache, Cris Jacobs, Twisted Pine, Jon Stickley Trio, Meadow Mountain, Jay Roemer Band, Buffalo Commons, and Bowregard, as well as special guests Andy Thorn, Jennifer Hartswick, Bridget Law, Pappy Biondo, and Will Mosheim.
Over March 27-29, WinterWonderGrass makes its way to the Tahoe region of California for its sixth consecutive year presenting three days of music at the base of Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Headliners for this festival stop include The Devil Makes Three, The Infamous Stringdusters, and two sets by Billy Strings.
Also joining the bill: Peter Rowan, Fruition, Keller and the Keels, The War and Treaty, The Lil Smokies, Brothers Comatose, Della Mae, Larry Keel Experience, Kitchen Dwellers, Andy Falco & Travis Book Perform Jerry Garcia, Cris Jacobs, Trout Steak Revival, Midnight North, Town Mountain, Pickin’ on the Dead, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, Old Salt Union, TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, Rapidgrass, and Twisted Pine. As well as special guests Lindsay Lou, Bridget Law, Will Mosheim and a collaborative WinterWonderWomen set.
A Mountaintop Dinner with Keller Williams, co-presented by BGS, will kick off the festivities in both locations on Thursday, February 20, and Thursday, March 26, respectively. These events will include a ride up the gondola in Steamboat and the Tram at Squaw, a multi-course meal complete with locally-sourced ingredients from each respective region, wine and beer samplings, plus two sets by Williams during each event.
The Vermont stop of the festival takes place over April 10 and 11 at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vermont. Previously held in December, this year’s festival stop in Vermont was scheduled to coincide with the ski resort’s closing weekend. Headliners for this iteration of the festival, billed as WonderGrass Presents: Sugar & Strings, include The Infamous Stringdusters, Cabinet, Della Mae, and Molly Tuttle.
Additional artists on the two-day lineup include: Kitchen Dwellers, Andy Falco & Travis Book Perform Jerry Garcia, Twisted Pine, Che Apalache, a special WinterWonderWomen collaboration, Saints and Liars, Dead Winter Carpenters and Damn Tall Buildings, as well as special guests Jennifer Hartswick, Bridget Law, Pappy Biondo, Will Mosheim and more.
Additionally, the Grass After Dark Series will return for post-festival programming with more details coming soon.
Tickets for all three festivals are on sale now: Colorado | California | Vermont.
Even for knowledgeable fans of folk music, the lineup of the Kauai Folk Festival offers plenty of artists to discover from Hawaii and beyond. Along with headliners like Taj Mahal’s Hula Blues Band and Peter Rowan’s My Aloha Bluegrass Band, the two-day roster also features Hawaiian music from Puka Asing, Wally Rita y Los Kauaianos, and more representing the diversity of Hawaiian traditional music.
With five stages running continuously, the lineup also includes Jonny Fritz, Blaine Sprouse, Ed Poullard, Reeb Williams & Caleb Klauder, Mike Bub, and many others. Meanwhile, Kauai Folk Workshops will offer instruction on guitar, fiddle, banjo, ukulele and mandolin, in addition to dance instructors teaching hula, square dance, swing, and two-step, and voice instructors teaching harmony singing, ballads, and Hawaiian song.
Festival director Matt Morelock fielded a few questions by email about the festival, slated for September 28-29 at the historic Grove Farm Museum in Lihue, on the southeast coast of Kauai.
BGS: What inspired the idea to create a folk festival in Kauai?
Morelock: For decades, Hawaiian music has stood on the periphery of the ‘folk’ genre. Its undeniable and indelible influence on all forms of American music deserves to be celebrated. We created the Kauai Folk Festival for such a celebration and invited all of our favorite performers, both local and continental, to sing, pick, dance, and meet one another in this tropical paradise.
When you are selecting artists, do you have a certain audience in mind? In other words, is there a common thread that runs through your lineup and/or your ticket holders?
We’ve attempted to represent the broadest swath of ‘folk’ music and musicians that we could find. From bluegrass to blues – from Cajun to country – we chose the best performers in as many genres as possible to illustrate the diversity of American folk music. The common thread is diversity. Artists were chosen for their enthusiasm and skill.
What have you learned about the process of booking festivals that has really surprised you?
We’ve learned that a worthwhile festival is one with a purpose. Hawaiian music and musicians are fighting against the expense and logistical complication of geographical separation as well as the mass perception of their music and culture as ‘foreign,’ when in truth Hawaiian music and culture is both a product of and strong influence on what we consider ‘American’ culture and music. We’ve learned that a higher purpose can confound the typical challenges that festivals face in finding an identity and audience.
For someone who has never been to Kauai, how would you describe it to them?
In addition to being GORGEOUS BEYOND BELIEF, Kauai is rural and cosmopolitan at the same time. There are more wild pigs than human beings living on this island. The natural beauty and local hospitality are legendary. You can book a hotel and rent a car here just like you can anywhere else in the U.S. Flights aren’t as expensive as you think. Beer is cheap. Fresh food and clean air are abundant. There’s really no reason NOT to visit!
In addition to interest from the locals, you will be hoping to attract people from the mainland as well. What are some of the amenities or unique qualities that will make this festival a destination event?
We’ve opted to keep festival admission affordable rather than spending time and resources on lodging and flight packages. We trust that Kauai Folk Festival attendees from the mainland won’t have trouble booking a flight, renting a car, and finding a hotel room. Kauai itself is a uniquity. The festival and the astounding Grove Farm Museum are an amenity. There’ll be a broad selection of spectacular local cuisine (plenty of accommodations for vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free diets), and extremely creative beverage and local juice options. We’re also ‘on call’ via www.kauaifolk.com to assist with any travel questions or complications!
What do you hope that attendees will take away from the Kauai Folk Festival experience?
We hope that Kauai Folk Festival fans will leave the event with a deeper understanding of the historical interconnectedness between Hawaiian culture and ‘mainland’ culture. In the production process, we are finding similarities and cross-influences on a daily basis!
Bourbon & Beyond, the world’s largest bourbon festival, will return to Louisville, Kentucky, on September 20-22, expanding to three days full of incredible music, unique culinary events, and unmatched experiences from the region’s best distilleries at the new Highland Festival Grounds At Kentucky Expo Center.
In total, more than 45 artists will play on three stages, including Alison Krauss, Del McCoury Band, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real, and Margo Price. The bluegrass stage will be curated by the genre’s leading authority, The Bluegrass Situation. The BGS lineup includes Greensky Bluegrass, Mipso, Amythyst Kiah, The Travelin’ McCourys, Cedric Burnside, Ben Sollee, Dustbowl Revival, Lil Smokies, Front Country, with more to be announced.
The event will be headlined by Foo Fighters, Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters (returning after originally being scheduled to appear in 2018) and the Zac Brown Band. Additional acts include John Fogerty, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and many others.
The current music lineup for Bourbon & Beyond is as follows (subject to change):
Friday, September 20:
Foo Fighters, John Fogerty, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, The Flaming Lips, +LIVE+, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real, Greensky Bluegrass, Blackberry Smoke, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Pearl, Mipso, Amythyst Kiah
Saturday, September 21:
Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Trey Anastasio Band, Alison Krauss, Grace Potter, Squeeze, Jenny Lewis, Del McCoury Band, Samantha Fish, The White Buffalo, Maggie Rose, Patrick Droney, The Travelin’ McCourys, Cedric Burnside, Ben Sollee
Sunday, September 22:
Zac Brown Band, ZZ Top, Leon Bridges, Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros, Kurt Vile And The Violators, Margo Price, Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, White Reaper, Whiskey Myers, Southern Avenue, Caroline Jones, Dustbowl Revival, The Lil Smokies, Front Country
