April 17^th, 2010 they’ll host  David Grier, an astonishing Nashville-based guitar virtuoso.

May 8^th, 2010 they’ll host The Joseph Brent Trio, a virtuosic classical/jazz mandolin player from NYC. He will be performing with his trio of mandolin, bass, and clarinet. They play everything from classical-jazz and are all professors at the Mannes school of Music in NYC.

The Boston Swing Dance

When – Saturday, March 13th

Admission – $15, which includes a beginners’ lesson.

Student Discount – $10 (Show your current student ID to get $5 off the admission price.)

Beginners’ Lesson – starts at 8:00 pm. The one hour lesson includes beginning swing dance, Two-Step, and ends with one intermediate swing dance move.

The band – plays from 9:00 to midnight.

Get ready for a night of Western Swing! Not to be confused with the dance “West Coast Swing”, Western Swing can be described as country jazz, popularized during the Big Band era by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. Asleep at the Wheel is a group playing it today. This music really swings.

The Doughboys, known as “The Best Two-Step Band in the Land”, is also great to swing dance to. Joined by Joyce Andersen, the evening will offer plenty of swinging, Two-Stepping and good times. Oh, and feel free to wear your cowboy duds. If you want to check out some Western Swing music, listen to Asleep at the Wheel here, or check out the music clip of The Dixie Doughboys below.

The lesson will be taught by Susan Huppe and Roger Weiss and will include the usual Swing and Two-Step, as well as the 10-step Polka (taught after the first set).

Click here to hear them do “There’s an Old Watermill” (3Mb mp3 file)

Check them out on Youtube:  Honey Don’t Sugar Moon Right or Wrong

The BBU is pleased to welcome Blue Highway on Saturday, March 20th for a concert at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington , MA . We last presented the band in 2009 at Joe Val, but this time they’ll have the evening all to themselves for a big evening to celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary.

It is rare for a band to last for 15 years in any genre, even if it goes through various lineup changes. It is astonishing to keep the same five members throughout a career that has produced numerous awards. Blue Highway is the very paradigm of a modern bluegrass band: a truly self-contained ensemble that excels on every level.

Instrumentally, their sound is defined by the intricate interplay of eleven-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Dobro Player of the Year Rob Ickes, hard-driving banjo player Jason Burleson, and the rippling mandolin and fiddle of Shawn Lane . Vocally, bassist Wayne Taylor has one of the most soulful and identifiable voices in the music, which blends seamlessly with Lane’s pure tenor. Guitarist and vocalist Tim Stafford remains one of the most respected and admired flat pickers on the scene, contributing propulsive rhythm and nimble lead playing in addition to stirring lead and harmony vocals.

It is as songwriters, however, that Blue Highway have truly enlivened and extended bluegrass. All members contribute, from Burleson and Ickes’s jaw dropping instrumentals to the nuanced, poetic songs of Taylor , Lane, and Stafford . Of their last album of new material, 2008’s all-original Through the Windows of a Train, NPR’s Folk Alley said, “Through the Window of a Train covers such topics as war, the homeless and mortality – not typical fodder for bluegrass bands. Familiar topics also surface (trains, lost love, wanderlust), but they’re presented with new perspectives.”

To mark the band’s 15th anniversary, they have recently released Some Day, an anthology featuring previously released and new material, on Rounder Records. As their innumerable awards (including multiple IBMA awards, Grammy nominations, and a Dove award) attest, Blue Highway represent the pinnacle of expression in bluegrass, echoing back the timeless roots of the music while continuing to find new musical and lyrical contexts to explore.

Help Blue Highway celebrate fifteen years by visiting http://www.bluehighwayband.com/Pages/15Years.html

Blue Highway video from the 2009 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdxiKChcrTo

Making records since she was 19, Claire Lynch has long been recognized as a creative force in bluegrass music and at the forefront of women who have expanded the genre. She has received 2 Grammy nominations, countless specialized awards and other nominations – along with reverent standing ovations for her shows at prestigious music festivals and theaters for the past 2-3 decades. Her latest album Whatcha Gonna Do was released in September on Rounder Records. A new Claire Lynch album does more than herald the arrival of a new collection of stellar vocals and tight, tasteful arrangements – each album also showcases Lynch’s remarkable taste in songs.

Over the past two decades, Lynch has crafted one of the most instantly-identifiable sounds in acoustic music. Delicate and lilting, yet uplifting and rhythmically spry, Lynch’s style encompasses classic bluegrass and thoughtful infusions of contemporary folk, country, rock, and swing. As a songwriter, Lynch’s songs have been recorded by Kathy Mattea, Patty Loveless, and others, and she has performed as a backing/harmony vocalist with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, just to name a few.

And The Claire Lynch Band is a tight meld of some of the best in the business – Mark Schatz, Jason Thomas, and Matt Wingate award-winning bluegrass and acoustic stars in their own right.

Jay & Molly will offer a workshop for melody and accompaniment instruments, using fiddle and guitar to demonstrate techniques for each. All instruments that fit within the folk genre will be accommodated. They’ll demo the tunes for everyone, then split into two groups with Jay taking the melody players and Molly working with the accompanists. Different levels can be accommodated with the more advanced melody players learning a countermelody or harmony part and the more advanced accompanists learning different chord voicings and additional bass runs. Repertoire may include a classic fiddle tune and waltz, or Jay & Molly originals such as The Lovers’ Waltz and The Wizard’s Walk.

The price is $45, and includes the workshop and one ticket to that evening’s concert with Jay and Molly at the New Moon Coffeehouse. The 2 hour workshop starts at 3PM, followed by the concert at 8PM.

To reserve your place for this workshop, send a check for $45 (per attendee) before April 3rd, 2010 payable to The New Moon Coffeehouse and send to Nick Pangaro, P.O. Box 549, Hampstead, NH 03841. Be sure to provide an email address for updates!

For more information, contact Nick Pangaro at nickpangaro(at)ellsroad.net or 603-329-8189.

An eco-conscious wedding showcase for New England engaged couples!

Sunday, February, 14, 2010
12:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Hyatt Harborside Boston
101 Harborside Drive,
Boston, Massachusetts, USA 02128
Tel: +1 617 568 1234

Come to the Hyatt and spend the day -and night- with your honey. The Hyatt is offering a limited number of hotel rooms, at a special rate, to people attending the show. On Valentine’s Day enjoy the Hyatt’s Valentine’s Day dinner special, a three-course meal, at a 10% discount per person. If you stay at the Hyatt overnight, your entrance to the show will be complimentary.

1. Eco-Swag bags for the first 100 Guests through the door
2. Music and drinks in the Chillax Lounge!!
3. Informal Eco-Couture fashion show
4. Prizes and Giveaways
5. Bring your old Cell Phones in for recycling

Please visit the website to pre-register www.elegantlygreenweddingshowcase.com

USE PROMO: CODEEGWSVENDOR to pay $12 in advance (you must pre-register to receive discount) It’s going to cost $25 at the door!