Bluegrass Related Events for February 2020

Young Boston based band has won many IBMA awards in their short career. They have toured the world, and perform everywhere to rave reviews. Mostly all original songs, done in traditional style, and played with skill and passion. Certainly one of the hottest bands in America.

An acoustic band born in the land of tech innovation, Front Country was never going to be accepted as an authentic American roots band out of the gate. Cutting their teeth in progressive bluegrass jams in San Francisco's Mission District and rehearsing in the East Bay, they learned to play roots music their own way, with the tools they had on hand. One day in late February, the five members of Front Country were warming up for their record release show at the renowned bluegrass club the Station Inn, in their new home base of Nashville, Tenn. They'd never played most of these songs live before.It wasn't a given that these musicians would wind up in anything remotely resembling a bluegrass band. Singer Melody Walker got into world music and belted out roots-rock. Bassist Jeremy Darrow studied jazz. Leif Karlstrom trained as a classical violinist, and still prefers that title to "fiddle player." Mandolinist Adam Roszkiewicz studied classical guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The actual guitarist in the band, Jacob Groopman, did his share of exploring after college, too. "I was in an Afrobeat group for about five years, touring around in this 10-piece kind of hippie Afrobeat band," Groopman says. In the bluegrass world, musicians tend to define themselves by their relationships to tradition — specifically, the tradition of high-and-lonesome singing and a hard-driving sound. There are regional variations from Virginia to Colorado. The West Coast has its own freewheeling tradition, and that's where Front Country started out: at a monthly jam in San Francisco. Then its members heard about a band contest at a bluegrass festival. "And we ended up winning that band competition," Walker says. "The very next day, … Read More »

You may have seen them close the Showcase Stage, see them again this Saturday in Harvard MA. Noah y Maurizio “Re-imagining the String Band” Noah y Maurizio Saturday, February 22, 7:30pm Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard, MA. Details - Notlob Parlour Concerts presents Noah y Maurizio Noah y Maurizio is a Boston-based band that comes out of the vibrant musical environments of the Berklee College of Music and the Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival. The individual members of the group are widely recognized as emerging artists in the acoustic music scene, but come from varied musical backgrounds - Traditional and Contemporary, Appalachian and Venezuelan, Brazilian and Jazz influences combine to give Noah y Maurizio a unique sound and broad appeal. Their debut album “Acoustic Travelogue” is set to come out in Spring 2020. "Noah y Maurizio's debut album is an inspiring display of brilliant solo and ensemble playing, as well as beautiful tune writing and arranging. This is a special group with a unique sound - definitely worth keeping an eye on this group!" - Mike Block Etc. Suggested donation: children and seniors $10, adults $15-20. Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance time. Reservations About notloB Parlour Concerts Since 2007, notloB Parlour Concerts has presented over 200 Folk, Old-Time, Blue Grass, Progressive String, Celtic, and World (mostly) acoustic unplugged concerts in unique venues throughout the greater Boston area. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notlobmusic/ email - [email protected] Phone – 978-226-8862