Steep Canyon Rangers

The Graves Mountain Lodge is proud to announce the initial performance line-up for the 22nd Annual Graves Mountain Festival of Music to be held May 29-31, 2014 including: Steep Canyon Rangers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice, Seldom Scene, Mark Newton & Steve Thomas, The Steel Wheels, U.S.

MerleFest, offering the feel of both music festival and family reunion, drew nearly 76,000 fans to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina during April 25-28, 2013.  Beginning in 1988 as a tribute to the life of Merle Watson, this year’s event also served as a celebration of the lives of Merle’s parents, “Doc” and Rosa Lee, who passed away in 2012.

The Graves Mountain Lodge is proud to announce the performance line-up for the 21st Annual Graves Mountain Festival of Music taking place May 30 – June 1, 2013 in Syria, VA.  USA Today listed G

Steep Canyon Rangers | Lovin' Pretty Women | Boulder Theater | 3/9/13

North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers have been picking quality bluegrass since their formation in the early 2000s, but it took a little while for their well-deserved recognition and success to begin snowballing.

Z2 Entertainment is proud to present Steep Canyon Rangers to the Boulder Theater on Saturday, March 9th, 2013.  Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, January 11th, 2012 at 10:00 am for $17 general admission.

I spent my entire weekend at DelFest thinking of a musician who wasn't even on the lineup:  Doc Watson.. I had heard of his declining health just before I departed for the festival.  I overheard many at DelFest expressing their own concern.  It appears we all had a feeling, sadly.  I wish we'd have been wrong.

I had a dream about Steve Martin, last night..

I knew I'd be writing this story, today.. That's likely why he was on my mind.  Of course he was in a white suit, with an arrow headband on his head.  [I'm a child of the seventies, after all..] But instead of playing for laughs, he was picking his banjo with fire, along with a bevy of world-class bluegrass musicians.  This was an especially fun dream, considering I've never seen him perform in any capacity beyond the movie theater.

I first heard of Elephant Revival when I met Bridget Law at a fiddle contest five years ago. She had a magnetic personality and played the fiddle with the best of them, so I made sure to look up her band when I got home. The first Elephant song I listened to was "Ring Around the Moon", and it was stuck in my head for days. Since then I have seen them play many times.

I had never seen Elephant Revival before tonight. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and the best way to see a live band. Having no expectations or prior convictions of how a show will sound or make you feel is liberating.  After all, music is foremost an innate emotional reaction to rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, and when you have no existing mental model, your mind is forced to make one, which, in its synthesis, is one of the best parts of man’s love affair with music.