Bluegrass – Music at the Martin

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

Tickets are on sale now!

The first time on our stage

After six years with the US Navy’s elite bluegrass band Country Current, Frank Solivan, master fiddler and mandolin-player, is out on his own with signature passion and precision. With Washington D.C.-based Dirty Kitchen — an impressive rotation of musical powerhouses, including Mike Munford (banjo, vocals) Stefan Custodi(bass, vocals) and Lincoln Meyers (guitar,vocals)– Solivan builds on his smart, heartfelt style. Raised in the bluegrass tradition from California to Alaska, Solivan has been an award-winning musician almost since he was old enough to hold a fiddle, as well as a key mentor to some of bluegrass’s young stars. He lives with his wife, Leah, in Alexandria, Virginia where, when he isn’t playing and singing he can be found in his own (usually clean) kitchen.

Frank Solivan has opened for Reba McEntire, Brooks and Dunn, Odetta, Allison Krauss and Roseanne Cash. He’s been invited to sit in with David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Tom Paxton and the Infamous Stringdusters. Solivan has played all over the country for audiences from the Alaska Folk Festival to the National Mall on the Fourth of July, to the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, the California Bluegrass Association’s Grass Valley Festival, the Kennedy Center and the Grand Ole Opry. Solivan has recorded with Rob Ickes, Byron House, David Grier, Kathy Chiavola, Shadd Cobb, Jesse Cobb, Arlo Guthrie, Terry Eldridge, Megan McCormick, Ginger Boatwright and the late great John Hartford.

Sweet Sunny South

On Wednesday, May 26th the Colorado based old-time bluegrass string band Sweet Sunny South will appear at the Martin Hotel for their only Nevada date in 2010. The band will be featuring material from a new release that includes guest appearances by the Denver based jazz heavy, Ron Miles (Bill Frissell, Elvis Costello) on coronet and Phil Wade(The Wilders) on banjo and dobro. The CD entitled “Carried Off By A Twister” introduces a slew of new tunes and finds the band members stretching out in all sorts of new directions. “Twister” is the 5th CD released by SSS and the band is coming up on their 10th year performing together.

SSS kicks off summer 2010 with a trip to Yosemite, CA for this Memorial Day weekend’s Strawberry Festival (other acts there include Patty Loveless, Richard Thompson and Louden Wainwright III) and winds it up this year with another appearance at SW Colorado favorite Pagosa’s “Four Corners Folk Festival”. Sandwiched between are all kinds of great festival sets, theater shows and summer concert series all across Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado and more. Sign the email list at www.sweetsunnysouth.com for all the details and to find out about shows as they are added to the tour schedule. Come and get your copy of Sweet Sunny South’s new release hot off the presses “Carried Off By A Twister”!

Sweet Sunny South is a four piece string band hailing from Paonia, Colorado consisting of guitar(Rob Miller), upright bass(Shelley Gray), fiddle(Cory Obert), mandolin and banjo(Bill Powers). The band makes original music that blends elements of bluegrass, old-time, country, and swing to create a decidedly unique sound. Their specialty is creating a full entertainment experience through live performance, a journey if you will, taking the audience along for the ride across dusty landscapes of the American countryside. There’s high lonesome ballads, for the winsome and rocking old-time fiddle tunes for the dancers. All four members sing and play around a single microphone and while this approach brings to mind the glory days of the Grand Ol’ Opry, the band’s sound feels new, fresh and dynamic. Smiles warm the room while real, true music fills the air. Sweet Sunny South’s vibe is contagious and gives everyone permission to feel good.

Bluegrass Great James King

The James King Bluegrass Band returns to Winnemucca for a show at the Martin Hotel, at 7:00 PM Tuesday, October 13. Tickets are on sale now at Nature’s Corner and the Martin Hotel.

From the moment you first hear his voice, you know you are hearing bluegrass the way it was meant to be sung. James King sings bluegrass as only a handful of others before him – Carter Stanley, Red Allen, Del McCoury – ever have. Bluegrass Unlimited has called him “the most impressive lead vocalist to emerge in traditional bluegrass this decade”.

Bluegrass lead singing is a delicate balance a singer must have the forcefulness and intensity to cut through the multiple instrumental layers of a bluegrass band, while still maintaining a tender enough lilt to convey emotion and mesh with the instruments and supportive vocalists. Even the most driving numbers require a certain finesse while, conversely, the most eloquent songs demand a firm push. When you consider his mastery of this balance, the high quality of the songs he sings, his top-notch backing band, and his sheer soulfulness, it becomes clear that James King is simply the best lead singer in bluegrass today.

Our old friend Mr. James King is on his way to Winnemucca for another fall visit. I dug my CD’s out this weekend, and once again, James and his band had me grinning and laughing, crying and sobbing, and sitting simply carried away with delight and wonder. If you are a fan of traditional bluegrass music, or a fan of great emotional singing, or a fan of watching a group of musicians locked-in together to take you on a journey, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

Spring Creek~Rural and Cosmic Bluegrass

Spring Creek from Lyons, Colorado, are quickly gaining a reputation as the hottest young band in the Rocky Mountains. The quartet play a mix of bluegrass standards and compelling originals, and all four musicians are also accomplished vocalists. Spring Creek is built on the fundamentals of bluegrass, yet they create their own classic contemporary style. Continue reading “Spring Creek~Rural and Cosmic Bluegrass”

The Earl Brothers

The Earl Brothers, a 4-piece, all-original string band from Northern California, stands at the cutting-edge of a movement so new, it has yet to be definitively named. Whether one chooses to describe them as “Honky-Tonk Bluegrass,” “Hillbilly Gothic,” or “Neo-Traditional,” there is one thing on which everyone seems to agree. There is something about this band’s “less is more” approach to songwriting, singing, and musicianship that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and take notice.

For those who remember the goose-bumps they felt the first time they heard the high-lonesome sound of Bill Monroe or the otherworldly harmonies of the Stanley Brothers, that same thrill of discovery is being created all over again by the Earl Brothers. Unlike other traditional bluegrass bands that seek to re-create the music of the original bluegrass masters, the Earl Brothers are blazing their own trail, extending the genre, while simultaneously staying solidly within the gritty tradition that started in the 1940s and 50s. Listeners are left with a mix of exhilaration and bewilderment upon their first exposure to this new-yet-old form of music. As one listener remarked, “There is something mysterious that happens when the Earl Brothers take the stage. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t have to. I just know that something important is going on.”

In the short time since the release of their second album, Troubles To Blame (the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Whiskey, Women & Death), The Earl Brothers have received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from music-lovers, festival promoters, radio DJs, and music journalists across the country and abroad. The album rose to the top spot on the WDVX play list in Knoxville, TN, just a few short weeks after its debut on that station. CD orders and radio requests have been tumbling in from such far-flung locales as Australia, Belgium, France, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and even New York City!

The band is built around the unique vocal and songwriting attributes of the creative duo of Bobby Earl Davis (banjo) and Danny Morris (guitar). There is an indescribable “something” that happens when these guys sing together that makes the listener feel as if he or she has taken a step outside of the current time and place and somehow ended up in a different dimension that is unmistakably old-time but is simultaneously avant-garde. The subject matter is mostly limited to “dreadful” subjects—death, drinking, chasing and losing women—and an occasional honky-tonk gospel to atone for all of these transgressions. Rounding out the sound is the tasteful fiddle playing of Tom Lucas and the driving bass of James Touzel.

Give them a listen on their MySpace page:

Jackstraw ~ Bluegrass

When Jackstraw last performed to a sold out house at the Martin Hotel in December 2005, the audience, along with Jesse, Dave, Jon, and Darrin, were all left breathless, and grinning from ear to ear. We’ve had dozen’s of astonishing shows and hundreds of talented artists perform on our stage and these guys are right at the top. We can’t think of anything more joyous than spending another evening with Jackstraw.

A stand-up bass, mandolin, and two guitars, this is a bluegrass band with a unique approach to traditional bluegrass and traditional county music along with a suitcase full of great original tunes.

Intensity, dexterity, and pure joy

It’s what they call: High Energy Acoustic Bluegrass from the Pacific Northwest.

Give them a listen at Jackstraw’s MySpace page.

SEATS FOR THIS SHOW ARE BOUND TO SELL-OUT SO GET YOURS TODAY!

About Jackstraw

After ten years on the road and five albums, Jackstraw is a Northwest institution. This coal-fired Portland quartet plays the kind of music as deep and old as the silt washing out of a defunct Appalachian strip mine. Most of the time it’s bluegrass, but not always. As often as the boys rip through a Stanley Brothers chestnut, they tap into their own deep collection of originals, swerve into honky-tonk or barn-burn a rock ‘n roll classic.

Throughout the band’s history, critics have been quick to praise their energy and speed, often drawing comparisons to punk music. It’s true, Jackstraw does play fast. But the band never replaces musical depth and feeling with showmanship. Jackstraw is not afraid to explore new territory, but they won’t turn on their musical forbears and the hallmarks of bluegrass –great songs, great picking, and great singing. It is this steadfast adherence to their principles that has kept Jackstraw fans coming back for a decade and consistently wins the band new hearts.

A Jackstraw show is truly an inclusive, multi-generational experience. The band’s devoted following includes bluegrass purists, alt-country fans, kids who want to dance, and people who know a good tune when they hear one. Jackstraw was born when rhythm guitarist Darrin Craig and lead player Jon Neufeld met mandolin picker David Pugh and bassist Jesse Withers in 1997 at Artichoke Music, a Portland guitar store and acoustic music institution. Not long after their formation, Jackstraw recorded their first album and hit the road.

Five records later, the band has toured throughout the United States, playing roadhouses, listening rooms and clubs as well as festival stages. Along the way, they have shared bills with many bluegrass greats such as Del McCoury and Tim O’Brien and included legends like Danny Barnes (Bill Frissell, Robert Earl Keen, Bad Livers) and Tony Furtado (Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss) as temporary band mates.