Joe Val Bluegrass Festival
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Big news! Details have been announced for the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival to be held February 12 – 14 in Framingham, Massachusetts.
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.
- Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
- JD Crowe and the New South
- Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper
- Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass
- Special Consensus
- The Josh Williams Band
- Buddy Merriam and Back Roads
- The Spinney Brothers
- While Mountain Bluegrass
- Acoustic Blue
- Joe Sings Joe
- Berklee Bluegrass
- Bluegrass Gospel Project
- 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.
Tags: fun bluegrass swing music, joe val, Music
