This premier bluegrass music festival commemorates the legacy of Joe Val -who is arguably one of the finest bluegrass musicians to emerge from New England. In 2006, the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival received the “Event of the Year” award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Tickets
Early Bird tickets are now on sale.  Click here to order yours

Festival Lineup
Here is a tentative lineup for the 25th Joe Val Bluegrass Festival.

1. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
2. JD Crowe and the New South
3. Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper
4. Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass
5. Special Consensus
6. The Josh Williams Band
7. Buddy Merriam and Back Roads
8. The Spinney Brothers
9. While Mountain Bluegrass
10. Acoustic Blue
11. Joe Sings Joe
12. Berklee Bluegrass
13. Bluegrass Gospel Project
14. Sierra Hull and Highway 111

Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide wrote:

Singer/songwriter Joe Val was a prominent traditional bluegrass musician and leader of the New England Bluegrass Boys. A native of Everett, Massachusetts, he was born Joseph Valiante, and his interest in bluegrass started in his early teens. He was influenced by fiddler Tex Logan, who had come north to study at M.I.T. and wound up giving the young performer his stage name. Val started out as a guitar player, but also mastered the banjo and the mandolin. He got his professional start playing with the Radio Rangers, and later joined the Berkshire Mountain Boys; with the progressive Charles River Valley Boys, Val recorded a distinguished album of bluegrass-adapted Beatles songs in 1967. Although Val played with progressive groups, he himself continued to favor a more traditional bluegrass sound; to this end, he founded the New England Bluegrass Boys in 1970 with guitarist Herb Applin, banjo player Bob French and bass player Bob Tidwell. The following year, they made their debut album. Although the group underwent many personnel changes over the next decade, Val was able to produce a remarkably consistent sound over the course of numerous albums. Sadly, Joe Val was stricken with cancer in the 1980s just as his band was beginning to achieve wider recognition; his last performance was in late 1984, and he died on June 11, 1985.

http://www.goodtimestringband.com/mp3/ShebegandShemore.mp3

Here’s an MP3 of the band performing Jay Ungar’s composition Ashoken Farewell.  

http://www.goodtimestringband.com/mp3/ashoken.mp3

Filmmaker Ken Burns heard Ungar’s original Ashokan Farewell and was moved by it. He used it in two of his films: The Civil War, and his 1985 documentary Huey Long.

You might be interested in reading our earlier post about some of the wedding venues we’ve performed at. Click here to check it out

We are also perfectly happy to give advice to folks looking to have live music on their special day. Even if we aren’t available we can certainly recommend other bands that might be!

Note: Several of the folks in the Goodtime Stringband also perform with Amy Black and the Red Clay Rascals. This group plays more of mix of roots, rockabilly and rock music.

Drop us line – the info we’ll provide is free… but not cheap!!!

The Claire Lynch Band will appear at the East Hartford Cultural Community Center in East Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, January 9^th. Doors open at 7:00 PM, and the concert begins at 8:00.Tickets are pegged at $15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the gate, and plenty of seats are still available.

The band, a quartet whose bluegrass sound is laced with a delightful variety of musical signatures, is noted for its musicality and its excellence. Roger Moss, Director of Parks and Recreation in East Hartford, CT promotes a series of Americana events as a part of the East Hartford Community Cultural Center winter program of concerts and films.

The concert hall seats 298 without a bad seat in the house and featuring outstanding acoustics. Easy parking for the event is available and the hall is just off an interchange of I-84. Directions to the East Hartford Cultural Center can be found here. Tickets can be ordered on line here.