The band will be performing at Frank and Jess’s wedding on Saturday, and then at an international birthday party on Sunday. A late night ride towards the base of the white mountain’s would not be out of the question…

National Heritage Museum
33 Marrett Rd.
Lexington, MA 02421
(781) 861-6559

If you have young children at home – or are exposed to much television advertising – you know about Furry Vengeance, a new theatrical film from Summit Entertainment. The premise is a fairly common Hollywood morality play where venal developers bulldoze a forest to build a housing and retail tract, only to be outsmarted and ultimately defeated by the cute, furry critters who have been displaced.

So why are we interested in this movie on The Bluegrass Blog? Well it turns out that The Goodtime Stringband, a group near Boston, has a role in the film and performs a version of Cotton Eyed Joe onscreen, which is also included in the soundtrack release.

THE CLAIRE LYNCH BAND
with
AMOS, STOCKWELL AND BUCHWALD

Tickets: $18 General / $16 Students and Seniors
Ticket reservations and info: 802-254-9276
Venue: The United Church of Putney at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney, VT

Twilight Music presents an evening of bluegrass and Americana music with The Claire Lynch Band and special guests, Amos, Stockwell and Buchwald. By any measure, the Claire Lynch Band is high on the bluegrass world’s A-List, with musicians whose accolades include the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year award and two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album (Claire); two IBMA Guitar Player of the Year awards (Jim Hurst); two IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards (Mark Schatz); and Canadian Open Mandolin Championship and Florida State Championship awards on both fiddle and mandolin (Jason Thomas).

Claire Lynch began her musical career in the mid 1970’s with the Front Porch String Band, a quartet which became one of the sharpest, most exciting post-modern bluegrass bands on the circuit. In 2004, she formed The Claire Lynch band with multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire, Jim Hurst. In 2005, Claire signed her second three-album deal with Rounder Records, and has since released CDs containing an IBMA Song of the Year nominee and a #1 song on the National Bluegrass Survey. Her latest CD, Whatcha Gonna Do, took the #1 spot on the January 2010 BMP national bluegrass CD chart.

An in-demand songwriter and recording session vocalist, Lynch’s songs have been recorded by Patty Loveless, the Seldom Scene, Cherryholmes, Kathy Mattea, the Whites and Stephanie Davis, and her exquisite harmonies have graced albums by such artists as Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, Kathy Mattea, Jesse Winchester, Sarah Watkins and Ralph Stanley.

The Claire Lynch Band includes Jim Hurst (guitar, banjo, vocals), Mark Schatz (bass, clawhammer banjo, percussive dance) and Jason Thomas (fiddle, mandolin, vocals). After five years with the band, Jim moves on to pursue his solo career after this weekend’s concerts in New England. Hurst has released three CDs, and recorded and toured worldwide with Trisha Yearwood, Sara Evans, Holly Dunn, Missy Raines, Travis Tritt, John Cowan, Tim O’Brien and others. A prominent figure in the new acoustic music scene, Mark Schatz has worked and/or recorded with an impressive variety of artists including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Maura O’Connell, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Tim & Mollie O’Brien and most recently, Nickel Creek. He also acts as Musical Director for the internationally-acclaimed Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, which showcases his other talents – clawhammer banjo and Southern Appalachian clog dancing. Toronto native, Jason Thomas (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), is an award winning multi-instrumentalist who plays a wide range of musical styles. He has performed and recorded with the likes of Tony Rice, David Grier, Matt Flinner, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush and Tim O’Brien.

“a sterling, silvery vocal presence and a gift for supple, emotional ornamentation…. Lynch’s talent is a diamond… gorgeous voice and sense of purpose, supported by a superb ensemble”
- The Washington Post

“the perfect mix of that famed trio Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. She’s got the interpretive skills of Ronstadt, the clear and pure voice of Harris and the bluegrass soul of Parton.”
- The Atlanta Journal Constitution

“Claire has complimented many of my records with her beautiful harmonies, but she has one of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today. I’m so happy to see and hear her shine on her own. I love this CD and I love Claire. She’s a great gal.” – Dolly Parton

“Claire Lynch is a rare talent indeed. She has a beautiful, effervescent voice which can handle both contemporary and traditional musics with complete authenticity. I love to listen to her and I love to sing with her.” – Linda Ronstadt

Amos, Stockwell and Buchwald, five seasoned Vermont singers and pickers, will open the concert. The band features Bob Amos, for many years the guitarist and lead vocalist with Sugar Hill recording artists, Front Range, his daughter, Sarah Amos, on vocals, 2005 Merlefest bluegrass banjo contest winner, and member of newgrass and contemporary folk trio, The Stockwell Brothers, Bruce Stockwell, Kelly Stockwell (former Goodtimer) on bass, and Adam Buchwald on mandolin. The group plays a mix of hard driving, traditional bluegrass standards and Amos’ original songs.

For more information, visit www.clairelynch.com, www.bobamos.com, www.brucestockwell.com and www.myspace.com/circlestrings.

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